How NeedATicket tracks ticket prices every hour

What we check, and when

Every hour, at 32 minutes past, we ask StubHub's API for the cheapest ticket listed for each show we carry. That covers concerts, sport, theatre and comedy in the UK, the US and the other countries our listings reach.

The figure we show is the listing price. StubHub adds its booking fees at checkout, so the total you pay there is higher than the number on our pages.

We only write a new figure when the price has moved. Each change is kept with the time we saw it, which is what lets us draw a price line for every show.

What we keep

Each event page has a 30-day price line built from those changes, plus the lowest and highest cheapest price in that time.

We also read the cheapest seat in each section of the venue. For the 200 shows people look at most, that happens every hour; for the next 1,800, every 12 hours; and for every other show, at least every three days. That is the sections view on the event page.

What a price alert does

At 40 minutes past each hour, after the new prices are in, we compare them with every confirmed alert. You get an email when the cheapest price falls, or falls below your budget if you set one.

You get at most one email a day per alert, and only when the price actually moved. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and your address is never sold or shared.

An alert can also wait for a show we do not list yet. Name the artist, team or show, and the alert fires the day it appears.

What we do not do

We do not sell tickets and we are not StubHub. Our buttons take you to StubHub, and we earn a commission if you buy.

Prices can move between our checks, and an alert does not hold a ticket for you. The price on StubHub at the moment you buy is the one that counts.