# Tessitura Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Tessitura the right Ticketing solution for you? Explore 36 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/111612/Tessitura-Software/reviews --- Tessitura 4.1 (36) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/111612/Tessitura-Software/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 14th, 2026 # Reviews of Tessitura Ease of use 3.2 Customer Service 4.1 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews LM Luke M Individual Giving ManagerArts and Crafts, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “I've worked on systems coded in-house by teams of 2-3 ppl with other companies that are way more cohesive and seamless and can integrate with other systems.“ November 4, 2024 SW Steve W Business Technology Systems AdministratorEntertainment, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Customer support at base level is not the best and it can take some time and discipline to get issues in front of the correct support team.“ November 25, 2024 Jared D Director of ProgrammingPerforming Arts, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Great tool to develop and maintain KPIs. Though the learning curve, assuming ticketing software is in your background the learning curve is not terribly steep and I know I have just scratched the surface.“ October 27, 2020 LM Luke M Individual Giving ManagerArts and Crafts, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It does not integrate with ANY other software, making it a virtually useless CRM for any modern company/nonprofit.“ November 4, 2024 Shelley E Fundraising Data Reporting and Analytics ManagerMuseums and Institutions, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I've used Tessitura for 20 years, in multiple organizations and found it to be user friendly.“ February 9, 2022 MM Matt M Assistant Box Office ManagerConsumer Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Cost is very high and prohibitive for smaller venues.“ May 28, 2025 Jared D Director of ProgrammingPerforming Arts, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Newly implemented dashboard are extremely versatile and powerful, but sometimes a touch cumbersome if you need a look at data.“ October 27, 2020 Jared D Director of ProgrammingPerforming Arts, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The near-infinite report customization can be a double edged sword because any tick-box accidentally checked (or unchecked) may dramatically change the content of a report.“ October 27, 2020 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 36 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Shelley E. Fundraising Data Reporting and Analytics Manager Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Cadillac of CRM sytems" February 9, 2022 5.0 I've used Tessitura for 20 years, in multiple organizations and found it to be user friendly. Reporting and analytics options have improved greatly over the last 5 years. Without knowing SQL I'm able to create custom visualizations for end users. Pros I like that Tessitura is a non-profit helping other non-profit organizations. They truly take feedback from end users and improve the software every year. The technical support and world-wide community support is amazing. Everyone is willing to share and help find best solution. Every department is able to work in the same system and get the full picture of each patron. It forces collaboration where silos existed in the past. Ticketing and Develoment folks will use it the most, Marketing some, Finance the least. Security features are robust and easy to manage as an administrator. Cons My current organization is in the middle of implementation. Because the system is so flexible there are times when there are no hard and fast rules of how to set up a process. Everyone uses it differently so that's good and bad. I wish it had facility management capabilities since so many non-profits rely on that for operations. Alternatives considered [Salesforce Service Cloud](https://www.capterra.com/p/136189/Salesforce/) Reason for choosing Tessitura Salesforce doesn't include all facets of our business, such as event registration and management. Switched from [Gateway Ticketing](https://www.capterra.com/p/9324/Galaxy/)[Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT](https://www.capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/) We wanted a unified CRM with all departments working in same software. This helps us to see the big picture of patron engagement and improve customer service. Review Source MP Mark P. Director of IT Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Flexible and full featured software that can do almost anything if you are committed to the setup and work required." February 6, 2024 4.0 Pros Tessitura has been flexible and the solution we needed at the time we implemented to handle our complex admissions, membership and fundraising needs. Support is always helpful and typically quick to respond. I love having all data in a single location. Cons Product is very complex and many users are deterred by that. Tessitura is on the right track but a little slow in updating technologies to match other competitors. I feel like I spend a lot of time defending the software and it's functionality to our less technical end users. The cost is not insignificant, but has been worth it at this point for us. Switched from [Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT](https://www.capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/) Decreased functionality in the previous product that was needed on our campus. Integrated database with flexibility to do almost anything that has been requested of us. Review Source LM Luke M. Individual Giving Manager Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Terrible Software" November 4, 2024 1.0 Negative. It is not worth it. I've worked on systems coded in-house by teams of 2-3 ppl with other companies that are way more cohesive and seamless and can integrate with other systems. Tess has entire teams at its disposal. There is no excuse for how terrible this software is. Due to reasons I won't get into here, our company can unfortunately not switch. Pros I like that this software would be impressive if you lived in the year 1990. I guess you could say I like that it has the most basic capability of storing information...the buck stops right about there Cons Pretty much everything. It is insanely expensive, and if you want to change anything to make it fit your needs they charge an arm and a leg. It crashes constantly, and there is no consistency in what you can copy/paste regarding donor information. It does not integrate with ANY other software, making it a virtually useless CRM for any modern company/nonprofit. Furthermore, when you are forced to change your login info every couple of months, it can't process the change, so you have to contact your administrator or call the Tess helpline, and they are generally condescending and act like you're dumb when the program doesn't work on your end. They've literally said "well, it should be working, so I don't know what you're doing..." and laughed. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Head of Business Support Music Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A beast of a product" June 25, 2019 4.0 Tessitura is at the heart of everything we do as an organisation. It holds our customer data, we use it to manage our ticketing and website offerings, to manage Direct Debits and donations, marketing, and much more. We could not function without it. Pros It is so customisable, and does so much. There are facets for all areas of our organisation. Cons It is so customisable. This is an amazing feature, but comes with a lot of pitfalls and makes life challenging at upgrade time. Alternatives considered [Spektrix](https://www.capterra.com/p/89233/Spektrix/) Reason for choosing Tessitura Tessitura offers a lot more flexibility and is more powerful for users. Review Source JP Joshua P. Tessitura Operations Manager Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fantastic software with a bit of a learning curve" February 18, 2025 5.0 I have worked in non-profit theatre for over 15 years and used several different systems. I have been using Tessitura for over 10 years now and have no desire to ever go back. Pros Tessitura is designed specifically for non-profit arts organizations and is consistently working to meet their specific needs. It has excellent flexibility and can be adapted for a wide variety of operational requirements. It also does a great job of consolidating data into one place to easily pull and analyze. Cons Because of the freedom and flexibility the system offers, it is less "user friendly" than some other systems. There is a somewhat steep learning curve for new users. Review Source SW Steve W. Business Technology Systems Administrator Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A Great System For Managing Ticket Sales" November 25, 2024 4.0 Pros Tessitura is a great way for us to interact with ticket sales for internally booked shows. There are a great portion of analytics that allow us to analyze show sales, on sale data etc. Cons Software has outages, sometimes at very inopportune times. (These can be frequent). Customer support at base level is not the best and it can take some time and discipline to get issues in front of the correct support team. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Friends & Development Organiser Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A ticketing system which actually works" April 12, 2023 4.0 Very good overall, it does exactly what is needed for a busy venue Pros Easy to use and to train others to use. Within a day of training it would be possible to have someone selling and printing tickets without issue. Cons The seating plans can look off centred as it’s very square, would be better if it could replicate the floor plans better as selling for an unfamiliar venue could be tricky Review Source VR Verified Reviewer ICT Systems Coordinator Music Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A top-tier ticketing and CRM solution for arts, cultural, and musical venues" July 23, 2019 5.0 Tessitura is the lifeblood of our organisation used by our box office, marketing, and fundraising departments to store all manner of customer information. It is a powerful piece of software with many customisation options that, when configured and utilised correctly, proves a useful tool. Pros Tessitura is a mammoth piece of software that has lots of features available for ticketing, fundraising, and marketing. It holds a wealth of constituent data and we can write our own SSRS reports in-house to query this data. Support is amazing, very quick to answer any queries, and very knowledgeable about all aspects of the software. It has been relatively easy to upgrade our software/database version following the very useful documentation found on the Tessitura Network website. The TN website also features webinars, a community forum, and is packed full of information on upcoming networking events. Tessitura also offer a Tessitura Network Express Web (TNEW) website solution for online bookings which integrates well with the Tessitura software. Cons Although the software itself is very customisable with custom plugins and such, it can cause headaches when upgrading to newer versions and has the potential to cause issues – these customisations must be backed up, checked for compatibility, etc. Technical support has originally been handled by agents in the US which had the potential to cause issues with time zones with our organisation being based in the UK, however they have recently restructured their support for Europe and have implemented a new helpdesk system which have helped improve this situation greatly. There are a lot of functions and features that I still feel I’ve barely touched on as an administrator, as well as there being a steep learning curve for end-users due to the sheer number of features available. UI elements do look a bit dated compared to other solutions on the market. Review Source Jared D. Director of Programming Performing Arts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Tessitura - the Rolls-Royce of ticketing software" October 27, 2020 4.0 Aside from an antiquated"look and feel" (of reports, UI, etc.) functionality is KEY. Tess seems to be as functional as necessary for my organization. Pros As an integral part of the team working to settle financials for events I can get almost any data collected through Tessitura sliced and diced in a report with tremendous customization. I have been pleased with the content of reports in particular. Without this tool, it would be impossible to provide the backup documentation necessary for settlement and reporting throughout the sales cycle. I also love the scheduled reports feature. I can develop custom reporting and set it once to send to multiple parties throughout the sales cycle and never worry about it again. Newly implemented dashboard are extremely versatile and powerful, but sometimes a touch cumbersome if you need a look at data. Great tool to develop and maintain KPIs. Though the learning curve, assuming ticketing software is in your background the learning curve is not terribly steep and I know I have just scratched the surface. Cons The near-infinite report customization can be a double edged sword because any tick-box accidentally checked (or unchecked) may dramatically change the content of a report. Special care must be taken and there are many ways to produce reports with inaccurate or undesired content. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Corporate Partnerships Music Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A CRM that fits our needs" April 17, 2020 5.0 It's been positive for managing relationships and for data mining. Pros It was created with music institutions and not-for-profits in mind and has all the ability to hand every need our unique business type(s) have. Cons It's a pretty advanced program and there is a massive learning curve. Getting staff on board to learn it can be a challenge. In addition, it's one of those softwares that is "only as good as the data you put into it." Review Source AH Andrea H. Owner and designer Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Tessitura review" November 27, 2018 5.0 Overall I like the program. It has everything I need to get my work done and easily see what we need to sell the following day. Pros I recently started using tessitura and I like the simplicity of it. I am able to easily view the events and see how many seats are available for what date. Cons Only con I have is for the saving button, it says "done" instead of "save". It sometimes confuses me when I'm closing an order. Review Source CA Cody A. Used the software for: ### "A Beast that can work for you" February 1, 2017 5.0 Tessitura is the biggest and worst CRM you can use. It has a giant network of constantly evolving apps, fixes and test cases. The annual conference is huge and a boon for those in the Arts. You will definitely need a dedicated IT person for Tessitura though, as it is complex and robust. Review Source MM Matt M. Assistant Box Office Manager Consumer Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Tessitura - Pretty Good" May 28, 2025 4.0 Overall, Tessitura satisfied about 80% of my daily box office needs. That is still higher than other theatre ticketing software but not enough to justify it's high cost Pros Tessitura is a decent ticketing software and having worked with many other theatre ticketing programs it might be the best. That is, however, faint praise Cons Cost is very high and prohibitive for smaller venues. Larger venues and/or theatres with major donors most likely will be the only ones able to afford Tessutura Review Source BL Brian L. Visitor Services Representative Performing Arts Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Tessitura Review" September 9, 2024 3.0 I like how it is easy to learn the system. But I wish some payments take fewer steps to do the debit/credit or cash transaction. Opening the report, I wish it was already opened by the time we opened the application, instead of opening a report and then closing it before you leave. Pros I liked how it was easy to use. The system has a security page where you log in. The style looks very separate which means that getting the information looks like a Windows 95 style. The tabs are functional and usage is fine to look for a show. Cons It has had some technical problems from the start. The database is really old, I cannot find the patron with its search bar. You have to search by first name. Also, the payment takes too many steps when it should be reached quicker to pay. Review Source JG Jon G. Owner Philanthropy Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Tessitura and Fund Raising" April 19, 2018 2.0 Shop around. There has to be a more efficient and effective product. Pros The integration of ticketing with prospects/donors is alluring, esp. for performance art organizations. Cons This is a ticketing software with a CRM work-around built in. It's confusing, user abusive and extraordinarily expensive. In our town, NPO's had to group together, in one building, where they created a new company that specializes in Tessitura software management. It's a clever use of the software and a business structure. This company then went out and sold it's software services to other performance art organizations as far away as Los Angeles. However, all organizations can see who has who in their database. You can't go into the account, but it becomes readily apparent our prospects and donors are being hit on all the time by all the same organizations. It's tricky. But the fact remains. Tessitura is enormously complex, just to get acknowledgements out is a lot of busy work. When I came on board, the previous development person really used Tessitura as a storage unit and did all the fund raising in Excel and Word. And from a NPO business perspective, once you commit to this software, extraction is basically a blackmail. It costs a fortune to leave it and organizations still have this challenge of ticketing tied to fund raising. Review Source JD Jill D. Director of Corporate Sponsorship & Individual Major Gifts Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good Across Departments - Lacking for Development" February 9, 2022 3.0 The Tessitura folks are great; however, the system is just not built for non-tech users. Pros A lot neat details and the analytics are beautiful. Cons If you don't have a someone on staff to customize on a regular basis, you will have a very nice system that probably won't meet your basic fundraising needs in timely, generally fuss-free fashion. Reason for choosing Tessitura Ticketing and finance integration. Only ticketing ended up working. Review Source ZM Zach M. Development Officer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Tessitura pros and cons" August 31, 2022 3.0 Pros Tessitura provides quality metric reports. Cons Tessitura’s user interface can be confusing. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer ICT Manager Music Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Essential ticketing software for Arts venues" April 13, 2018 4.0 Runs the entire CRM and ticketing solution for the organisation. Pros Company fully understands the requirements of the industry that it is targeting. There is an excellent community with end users willing to engage and help each other. Cons Requires quite a lot of resource to manage and maintain in terms of staff and hardware. Would hope to see this improve in coming releases and perhaps a shift to a cloud implementation. Review Source GB Grace B. Piano Faculty Music Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Could be better " October 22, 2018 3.0 Pros This software has a lot of muscle power, no doubt about it. There is a lot of functionality, and every problem you come across when it comes to how to send tickets out, sending receipts to patrons, etc has a solution Cons 1) This software is WAY too complicated for the average theater. The learning curve is very steep, which complicates the hiring process for temporary employees (cause they never get to the point of mastery and efficiency with the software), and there is no way to edit out which functions to "see" on your screen. For example, if xyz theater never uses a third of the functions of the software, there should be a way to visually hide them so that employees dont get confused about what they are seeing on the screen. 2) When it comes to entering information for credit card payments, the software designers never apparently thought about how the average patron reads out their information over the phone. You have to select the type of card used before entering the card number, meanwhile the patron is halfway through spewing out their number over the phone while the ticketing office employee is scrambling to write it down on a pad of paper cause Tessie wont let them enter the number yet. If there was more flexibility in the order that information could be entered (card type then number vs number then card type), the daily functionality of the software would be much improved. Review Source KK Katie K. Development Database Manager Performing Arts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Industry-standard database for arts & culture" October 17, 2017 5.0 Detailed data for informing managerial decisions, increased interdepartmental communication, many facets of constituent knowledge and ways to slice and dice our donorbase Pros Integrates all departments on the same database. Highly customizable. Integrates with many other common industry systems (mail2, Boca, etc.). Great reporting capabilities. Fantastic support documentation and staff. The user community is unparalleled in skill level, camaraderie, and enthusiasm. Ability to share an instance in a consortium environment, with advanced settings to control who can see what information. Cons Steep learning curve - it can be difficult to get beginner users to do much more than search for and look at records. Not the most user-friendly interface. Customizability also means the out of box product can be pretty bare bones compared to everything the software is capable of. Review Source CR Corinne R. Membership Manager Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Designed for larger orgs with data management support" May 22, 2019 4.0 It has been hard to learn, and I frankly still don't feel confident pulling lists that my data is correct. I appreciate it's enormous capacity on the back end, but there's not a lot of front-end user options. Pros The record integration is absolutely seamless. I can look up a constituent and see exactly when they came, what donations or purchases they have made, etc. The tech support is robust. Cons I have taken a training class in this product, have some experience in coding, and still feel like I only barely understand the basics. It is hard to learn, not intuitive at all, and has more functions than we can currently use at our size (small-mid-size museum) Plus: Expensive! Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Communications and Content Specialist Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great" August 15, 2018 5.0 Pros Tessitura is definitely the most popular in the nonprofit arts industry. It's ticketing and fundraising features are integrated and allows for a full constituent report. Cons Lately, the software seems outdated. Unlike Raiser's Edge, Tessitura demands a full training to know the ins and outs of the software. It's not the most user-friendly software out there. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Assistant Manager, Patron Services Performing Arts Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Tessitura is an easy to use fundraising and ticketing software system that I would reccomend" February 1, 2018 3.0 Pros Ease of use in the ticketing function. One is able to see and use a seat map in real time to place and track orders. These orders are then linked to the constituents account where you can track the moves management of a particular donor and see their giving history. Cons Does not have the full capacity of moves management as seen in Raiser's Edge NXT but has a better ticketing and box office functionality. A better database for those who own their own performance venue and have a larger marketing than development team. Not ideal for someone who is focused on development first. Review Source CM Cameron M. Box Office Lead Events Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great intent difficult to learn" April 11, 2019 3.0 Overall I have not been happy with Tessitura. I feel it is far harder to use than helpful. The features it offers are great but it does not make it worth the investment. Pros Tessitura has a lot of good ticketing features. It has a great ability to customize and tracks data way better than SABO. The best part of this software is when it comes to selling subscriptions. It is really easy and user intuitive when it comes to this feature. Cons This software is really difficult to learn and train others on. The UI is confusing and it is difficult to find what you are looking for. The worst part of this software is how easy it is to give an order to a different patron. there are no warning signs and this has been a common problem around the office. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Individual Giving Assistant Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "I've been using Tessitura for a few months and I enjoy the ability to learn new functions every day." January 9, 2018 5.0 Pros There are so many functions to learn about this software that I always am excited to learn. Tessitura gives you so much information so many forms that it's insane on what this software can hold. Cons It is a bit complicated and you do need a specialist if you want to really learn how to fully utilize the software. 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