TixInfo Price Index
When is the best time to buy tickets?
We recorded the cheapest fees-included ticket price of 5,076 events every day until showtime (Jul 25, 2026 – Oct 2, 2026). For concerts, sports events and comedy shows, waiting usually paid off: following the same events from 30 days out to show day, the cheapest ticket fell a median 24% for concerts, 22% for sports and 14% for comedy. Theater was the exception: over the final two weeks its cheapest ticket rose a median 5%.
Data as of · updated daily as more events finish
- Events followed to show day
- 5,076
- Jul 25, 2026 – Oct 2, 2026
- Daily prices recorded
- 74,988
- since Jul 14, 2026
- Concerts, 30 days → show day
- −24%
- 194 concerts
- Theater, final 2 weeks
- +5%
- 281 performances
How much do ticket prices drop before the event?
Concerts: −24% from 30 days out to show day (194 events; −14% already a week out; 73% got cheaper, 24% pricier). Sports: −22% from 30 days out to show day (147 events; −9% already a week out; 73% got cheaper, 24% pricier). Comedy: −14% from 30 days out to show day (62 events; −8% already a week out; 66% got cheaper, 27% pricier).
- Concerts−24%
- Sports−22%
- Comedy−14%
| 2 weeks | 1 week | 3 days | 1 day | Show day | Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts | −7% | −14% | −17% | −17% | −24% | 194 |
| Sports | −4% | −9% | −18% | −21% | −22% | 147 |
| Comedy | −4% | −8% | −8% | −11% | −14% | 62 |
Use this chart on your site
Free to use with a link back. The chart updates itself as new data comes in.
What happens in the final two weeks?
More events reach show day with two weeks of history, so this view adds theater: concerts −9% (622), sports −14% (294), comedy −10% (153) and theater +5% (281) between 14 days out and show day.
- Concerts−9%
- Sports−14%
- Comedy−10%
- Theater+5%
Is it cheaper to buy tickets on the day of the event?
Often, not always. Against each event’s own price a week earlier, 44% of concerts were at least 10% cheaper on show day and 27% at least 10% dearer; theater went the other way (13% cheaper, 35% dearer). The table has every category.
| 10%+ cheaper | Within 10% | 10%+ dearer | Median | Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts | 44% | 29% | 27% | −7% | 958 |
| Sports | 50% | 25% | 25% | −10% | 372 |
| Comedy | 39% | 35% | 26% | −2% | 247 |
| Theater | 13% | 52% | 35% | +4% | 704 |
When was the cheapest day to buy?
For events we tracked through their final three weeks, the lowest price of that stretch came in the last two days for 38% of concerts, 41% of sports events, 47% of comedy shows and 16% of theater shows; 46% of theater shows were cheapest two to three weeks out.
| Last 2 days | 2–3 days | 4–7 days | 8–14 days | 15–21 days | Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerts | 38% | 11% | 13% | 16% | 21% | 442 |
| Sports | 41% | 12% | 13% | 13% | 21% | 232 |
| Comedy | 47% | 9% | 14% | 13% | 18% | 125 |
| Theater | 16% | 11% | 20% | 7% | 46% | 83 |
Is it the same for every sport?
Over the final two weeks: MLB −13% (217 games), NHL −26% (37 games, all preseason) and NFL −16% (33 games, 30% preseason). Leagues with fewer than 30 games followed to game day are not shown yet.
So when should you buy?
- Concerts, sports and comedy: in our data, waiting has usually paid, and most events got cheaper into the final days. Not all of them: 25–27% got at least 10% dearer in the last week. If you need a specific seat, or the show could sell out, waiting is a real risk.
- Theater: buy earlier. Prices rose more often than they fell in the final two weeks.
- Either way: set a price alert on the event page. We record every partner marketplace once a day and email you when the cheapest price drops.
How we measure this
What we record. Once a day we read the cheapest listed ticket for every event on our partner marketplaces (HelloTickets, Ticket Squeeze, TicketNetwork), with fees included where the marketplace shows them. The cheapest of those is the event’s price for that day. It is the price to get in, not the price of a good seat.
How we compare. Every event is compared with itself: its price a given number of days before the event, divided by its price at the starting point (30 or 14 days out). We report the median across events. An event counts only if we recorded it at the starting point (within 3 days for 30 days out, 2 days for 14) and 7 days, 3 days, 1 day and on the day of the event, so every point on a curve describes the same events.
What we leave out. Hospitality packages, parking and other non-ticket listings; postseason games whose matchup was not set yet; readings from a marketplace before we could trust its prices (Ticket Squeeze before 2026-07-23; TicketNetwork before 2026-08-26); and 135 one-day collapses below half an event’s final price, the signature of a non-seat listing.
Limits. These are events from Jul 25, 2026 – Oct 2, 2026, mostly summer and early-autumn dates. A few readings from one marketplace are list prices before fees, which adds some day-to-day noise. Events that sold out can drop out of our data before show day. Past prices do not promise future ones.
Free to cite. Quote the numbers or republish the charts with a credit to “TixInfo Price Index” and a link to tixinfo.com/price-index/best-time-to-buy-tickets. For a custom cut (an artist, team, city or date range) write to [email protected].