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The Raffle Ticket Pricing Strategy to Follow

How much should a raffle ticket cost? It’s a question many charities, non-profits, and religious organizations ask themselves, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Raffle ticket pricing comes down to who your target audience is, what prizes you’re offering, and how many tickets you are realistically going to sell.

Key Takeaways

  • 50/50 raffles, cash prize raffles, and non-cash prize raffles each have unique benefits and pricing considerations.
  • Ticket cost should balance affordability with fundraising goals, factoring in prize expenses and the number of tickets you can realistically sell.
  • Many organizations set prize amounts at ~100x the ticket price, but audience expectations and local regulations also play a role.
  • Platforms like Raffle Rocket simplify running raffles—from ticket sales to winner management—while ensuring compliance.

What Is a Raffle?

A raffle is a fundraising tool that can be used by charities, non-profits, and religious organizations. The concept is simple: Those organizations sell numbered tickets and then draw winners who receive prizes. Anyone who participates has the option of buying a single ticket or purchasing a bundle to increase their chances of winning.

Not all raffles are the same, though, and there are cash prize raffles, non-cash prize raffles, and 50/50 raffles where the winner gets half of the money that’s raised through ticket sales.

What Types of Raffles Can I Run?

  • 50/50 Raffle: In a 50/50 raffle, the winner takes home half of the money that is raised through ticket sales.
  • Cash Prize: Cash prizes are simple. Your organization puts up a lump sum of money, and everyone who buys a ticket has a shot at taking it home.
  • Non-Cash Prize: Think goods and services. From raffle gift baskets and gift card trees, to home appliances and luxury trips. The possibilities are endless when raffling off non-cash prizes.

How Much Should a Raffle Ticket Cost?

The challenge with pricing is always figuring out how much to charge for raffle tickets. You don’t want tickets to cost so much that people don’t buy them, but you don’t want to make them so cheap that your organization can’t meet its fundraising goals.

There are a few key things to consider as you try to find the perfect price for your raffle tickets:

  1. What are your fundraising goals? How much money are you looking to raise with your raffle? That question should be the starting point as you consider raffle ticket pricing. Consider how much money you’ll be spending on the raffle itself and then how many tickets you can realistically sell. 
  2. How much will prizes cost? If you’re hosting a cash raffle or a non-cash prize raffle, you will likely need to spend money on the prize beforehand. You’ll need to cover these upfront costs through ticket sales, although seeking donations for your prizes from local businesses in your community is often helpful.
  3. How many tickets are you realistically going to sell? If you’re a small organization, it might not be realistic to sell thousands of raffle tickets. Larger organizations may be able to sell significantly more. When you make your tickets less expensive, though, people are more likely to buy them in bulk.

How Do You Calculate the Expected Value of a Raffle Ticket?

Once you know your total costs and your fundraising goal, divide the total by the number of tickets you estimate you’ll be able to sell. That will give you the price at which you should sell your tickets.

Why Bundled Pricing Works

Most successful online raffles use a tiered or bundled pricing structure rather than selling tickets at a single price. This approach rewards participants for buying more tickets and helps boost overall sales. 

For example, you might offer 1 ticket for $10, 3 for $20, or 10 for $50—each tier giving buyers more chances to win for a slightly better value. Bundled pricing makes participants feel like they’re getting a deal and encourages larger purchases, helping your organization raise more funds with minimal extra effort.

A person looks at their phone and celebrates after winning a cash raffle.

How Much Money Should You Offer in a Cash Raffle?

Cash raffles can be great opportunities for your organization to hit its fundraising goals. Because you put one lump sum up as a prize, once you set your raffle ticket pricing, you’ll know exactly how many tickets you need to sell to break even and eventually reach your fundraising goal.

It’s important to get the prize money right, though, so consider these questions:

  1. How much are tickets? Many charities opt for a cash prize that is roughly 100 times the cost of a ticket. If a ticket is $5, that means the prize will be $500. If you’re charging more per ticket, then the expectation will be that the prize is bigger.
  2. Who’s your target audience? If you’re hosting a raffle at a big corporate event, you may need to make the total prize significantly higher than it would be for a small organization or religious group selling to people in their community.
  3. What are the legal requirements? In Alberta, for example, the prize needs to be a minimum of 20% of the total ticket value of your draw, which is the total value of all the tickets available in a raffle.

How to Run a Profitable Raffle

Wondering how to make the most money from a raffle for your organization? Start by setting clear fundraising goals and working backward. Figure out how much you need to raise, account for the cost of your prizes, and then decide on a ticket price that’s realistic for your audience.

Keep your raffle simple and appealing—bundling tickets at a discount often encourages people to buy more, which can significantly increase your total sales. Partnering with local businesses for donated prizes can also cut costs and maximize profits. And don’t forget to promote your raffle widely, both online and in-person, to get as many eyes on your tickets as possible.

Two people high-five in an office after a successful fundraiser.

Meet Your Fundraising Goals with Raffle Rocket

For charities, non-profit, and religious organizations, hosting a raffle is an incredible way to help you meet your fundraising goals. Raffle Rocket’s online platform makes the entire process easy, too, from selling tickets to contacting winners to marketing your raffle.

See just how easy it is to run a raffle with Raffle Rocket today.

FAQs About Raffle Ticket Pricing

How long should you run a raffle?

Most organizations find that 4 to 6 weeks is the ideal length of time to run a raffle. That gives you enough time to promote your raffle, remind people a few times, and create some excitement without dragging things out. If you’re hosting a raffle alongside a big event, you can shorten that timeline and sell tickets in the weeks leading up to the event, then draw the winner on the big day.

What is the maximum raffle size I can host?

With Raffle Rocket, we permit raffles of up to $2 million in ticket value.

Start setting up your own online raffle fundraiser!

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