Top 6 Events APIs for Developers in 2018

What Are Events APIs?

APIs (Application Program Interfaces) are the infrastructure that allows the greater majority of internet applications to function.

The technology functions as the backend that allows different aspects of a piece of software or website to communicate with one another.

One of the hottest subcategories of the technology is event APIs.

The title covers a broad assortment of potential services and applications.

Most event APIs function as a web of endpoints that allow a sizeable amount of people (more than 5) to communicate with one another.

They do this in a variety of ways.

Communication methods include

• webinars,
• public calendars,
• online storefronts,
• or services that provide the infrastructure needed to host public events, like concerts.

via GIPHY

Event APIs can be used to:

• Find local and nearby events
• Find sporting events
• Find concert events
• Find available tickets
• Search categories & perfomers

Examples of the technology can be found in

• software hosting websites,
• idea conglomerates,
• ticket selling services,
• and dating applications.

To say it differently, event services allow large groups of people to communicate and plan for a common objective, one that usually involves the gathering of an even larger group of people.

Not all APIs are created equal, however.

Today we’re going to discuss the standout examples from the technology-based category.

Let’s break down how we will be evaluating each API.

We will be looking for all of the following.

• Accuracy – How precisely does the API communicate between endpoints?
• Utility – How useful is for the service? What features does it offer?
• Price – What is the service’s value proposition? How well will it return on your investment?

We will precede each of these factors with a quick breakdown of what each API is and what it does, and we will end things off with a cross-section that outlines what you get with each.

Without further delay, let’s get started.

List of Top Events APIs

Here is a list of some of the top events APIs we reviewed and thought were worth mentioning:

1. Ticketmaster

The Ticketmaster API package provides a few different features.

The service will allow you to pull venues, tickets, and payments with ease.

The app can be used as a general Events API, Sports API, and Concert API.

The package includes nine different endpoints and is frequently updated.

You can acquire the API Key and clientSecret credentials at the ticketmaster website.

• Accuracy: The service has several clearly defined endpoints. Accessing them is simple and their goal is easy to understand. Expect precision.
• Utility: Ticketmaster will allow you to create carts, add deliveries to that card, add payments, and much more. The technology excels in its utility.
• Price: Easily accessible and provides an excellent value proposition.

2. Trade Events

Trade Events provides data on business-related events within the United States.

You can use the service to market products and software to clients overseas.

Events and services include industry conferences, webinars, lectures, and trade missions.

All of these services are vetted by the ITA and similar trade agencies.

You can acquire the credentials through RapidAPI.

The technology is updated somewhat frequently.

There are small, 2 to 3-month gaps in between each update.

Expect moderate customer service and a simple user interface.

Slow responses arise occasionally, but all requests are responded to at some point.

• Accuracy: Data provided by endpoints is accurate and efficiently delivered. It rarely takes more than a few seconds to receive information from a URL. In some scenarios, the wait time can be extended if multiple URLs need to be acquired.
• Utility: Very functional. Trade Events does an effective job of cutting out the fluff and getting you right to its most essential features. These features include those listed above, as well as a well-crafted user communication infrastructure.
• Price: Trade Events is available as a paid subscription service. There is not a one-time fee for acquiring credentials. Additionally, there are no free trials currently available.

3. Global Events Intelligence

PredictHQ focuses on helping businesses better understand demand and plan for the future with demand intelligence. Companies use PredictHQ’s API to discover anomalies impacting their demand to understand more than “there was a spike in demand at that time”. Events are a major driver of demand changes and PredictHQ’s systems detect and verify millions of events across the world, across 19 different event types. Businesses use the API to train and improve forecasting models at scale.

• Accuracy: Event data is highly complex and requires extensive maintenance and verification. Once an event enters their machine learning pipeline, a series of models trigger alerts made up of over 100 different kinds of issue alerts to ensure the highest quality data possible.
  Enablement: Intelligent event data is a relatively new data source and PredictHQ has a major focus on technical documentation through jupyter notebooks that data scientists can leverage to get up to speed fast.
  Price: Several price options are available. Free trials and flexible payment plans are on offer.

4. SeatGeek

This API positions itself as an all-purpose event planning solution.

It focuses mainly on sporting events, but other activities, such as concerts and films, can be planned as well.

It is a good universal option for those with a very general outline of how they want their business to operate.

You can acquire credentials through their website.

• Accuracy: Endpoints work well, and function at a fast pace. Expect excellent performance.
• Utility: Useful services and a bevy of features.
• Price: Limited pricing options. Up-front fee for credentials. No free trials are available.

5. Eventful

Eventful allows you to search for events, shows, concerts, and general venues on a local level.

It has a database that functions on both local and regional levels.

Credentials are easily acquired on their website.

• Accuracy: Precise, clearly defined endpoints. Very few mistakes are made in delivering URLs.
• Utility: A swath of useful features. It comes highly recommended.
• Price: It has a low price point and an admirable value proposition.

6. Eventbrite API

The Eventbrite API has numerous, useful networking features.

Designed for planning events, the service has a number of features that serve this goal.

The project has seen frequent updates and is still receiving support in the present day.

Frequent updates are a good sign for an API, as they indicate long serve success and support.

Eventbrite API can be used to integrate itself with other application, such as Alexa and Google. This capacity creates numerous opportunities for the API to expound upon its value proposition.

With the EventAPI package, you will be able to find, create, and organize events.

Credentials are token-based, and endpoints are clearly defined and easily accessed.

• Accuracy: Endpoints work well, and provide a number of options. You will able to add questions, create bookmarks, create event access codes, and more.
• Utility: The API works well, and as intended. Response times are fast and the user interface is intuitive.
• Price: EventBriteAPI has an excellent value proposition. It has a free trial option, and a paid subscription service if you are satisfied with the technology.

Summary: Best Events APIs

Each API listed provides unique values and can service your business in many ways.

Selecting one may seem difficult at first, but if you can organize your business’s long-term goals, the choice may become clearer.

Below, we have selected our three best choices for each category.

• Best Accuracy: Eventful, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek
• Best Utility: Eventbrite API
• Best Price: Ticketmaster

Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the best events API? Let us know in the comments.