RushTix vs. Jukely: A Bay Area Comparative Review
As a frugal concert junkie, I want to see as much music as possible without breaking the bank. Since I moved to the Bay Area nearly two years ago, I’ve averaged between 2 and 3 shows a week, a feat that has been enabled by services like Jukely and RushTix. I’ve used Jukely on and off for nearly two years and RushTix for two months. Below is a comparison of both subscription event services in a few select categories. More detailed information about how these services work can be found on their respective FAQ pages. If the below interests you, follow my referral links to start free trials of Jukely and RushTix.
Overview
Both Jukely and RushTix function in similar ways. Pay a flat fee and attend nearly as many events as you can through their partner venues.
Local venues whose shows have yet to sell out allot guest list spots to Jukely and RushTix, who in turn pay the venues/promoters a percentage of the ticket price for each ticket their members use.
Jukely currently operates in sixteen cities and is solely focused on live music events. Currently, RushTix operates exclusively in the Bay Area and hosts a wider variety of events, including live music, theater, comedy, film, food, and cultural.
With both services, if I see something remotely interesting that doesn’t conflict with my work schedule I say, “Sure, why not.” By paying a flat fee, these services have taken away my perceived risk of buying tickets for something I may not enjoy and have enabled me to discover new bands and genres. Through RushTix I attended a rock show at a converted speakeasy, a chamber opera, a local film festival and a jazz show at a swanky social club, amongst others. With Jukely I’ve attended numerous rock, funk, reggae, and bluegrass concerts as well as my first EDM show.
Event Selection
This will depend on personal preference. Jukely typically has more concerts available to attend in a given week while in addition to concerts RushTix has plenty of theater, comedy, film and conference options. It is worth noting that many of the concert listings on both services overlap.
Winner: Tie. If volume of concerts is most important to you then Jukely may be your preferred option. On the other hand, if you like to mix it up every so often, RushTix is the way to go, typically doubling the number of events listed by Jukely at any given time.
Value
Both Jukely and RushTix have a number of pricing options, for brevity’s sake, I’ll just review the middle tier.
On Jukely, $45/month gets you a pair of tickets for up to four shows per month. With RushTix, $39 a month will get you 400 points to use as you wish. Concerts typically cost 25 RushTix points, but events can range from -10 to 600 points to claim. If you don’t use all your points in a month, they roll to the next month.
Winner: At an average of $20/ticket, each service becomes well worth the asking price at the two event/month mark. The advantage goes to RushTix as the least costly choice and for having the ability to cash in on potentially pricey theater, movie or festival tickets with the use of rollover points.
Customer Service
Both of these services have exceptional customer support.
Jukely representatives have promptly responded to questions I’ve had both via email and text message. When I wanted to learn more about Jukely’s business model, their head of marketing was happy to field my call.
With RushTix I’ve received near immediate responses to my general questions with much more detail than I was used to hearing from Jukely. When I left feedback, I received follow up questions directly from their CEO.
Winner: Needless to say, I’m impressed by both companies’ commitments to their members. Slight advantage goes to RushTix for being local and for their keen interest in customer feedback.
Transparency
Similar to customer service but worth mentioning. One of the main complaints I’ve gotten from friends who have considered signing up for Jukely is that you are unable to view their current lineup of shows unless you are a member or on a 14-day trial. While a little annoying, there is a workaround for this problem — sign up for a 14-day trial, even if you cancel they will put you on a weekly mailing list that details about half of the shows that will be coming up on their app. Additionally, you can check out the Jukely weekly playlist.
RushTix is a bit more transparent — check out RushTix.com and you will be able to see all events that they currently have guest list spots for.
Ease of Use
For RushTix, while having a large catalog of event listings is a good thing it can be time consuming to scroll through over 100 listings at a time, especially if you hit a loading screen. The options to sort by category and to search by key word are helpful if I have something specific in mind, but generally I go through all events as to not miss anything worthwhile.
Jukely has a sleek iOS and Android app that makes suggestions on its home page to narrow down the results.
Winner: Jukely
Overall Recommendation
If you’re someone who lives in the Bay Area and enjoys live music you should absolutely sign up for either RushTix or Jukely. I lean towards RushTix for the reasons I mention above, namely the larger variety in events, but I have held onto my Jukely membership as well, in pause mode, just in case.
Please use my referral links for a free trial/discounts
