Description
SeatLayer is a WordPress seating chart plugin for selling event tickets with
reserved seats. Add an interactive seat map to a page or post, let visitors
choose where they sit, and accept payment through your own connected payment
gateway.
Build theatre, auditorium, concert and dinner-show seating plans in SeatLayer,
then publish them on WordPress with a Gutenberg block or shortcode.
Explore the WordPress seating chart features ·
Try the interactive seat selection demo
Scale evidence
Tested on public venue files in September 2026: a 200,000-seat stadium is
ready to browse in 1.95 s, and one event handled 10,000 buyers at once with a
9 ms seat hold (p99) and zero server errors. Method and every run:
https://github.com/seatlayer/seatlayer-performance ·
Try the live stadium demo: https://app.seatlayer.io/demo/play/century-stadium-200k
Interactive seat maps and reserved seating
- Numbered seats and venue sections. Show row, seat, section, price and
availability for exact-seat selection. - Tables, booths and general-admission areas. Combine reserved rows with
other seating and capacity areas in one published venue chart. - Accessible seating and multiple floors. Show your configured seat labels
and floor layouts. - Best Available for groups. Find a suitable group together using
best-available seat selection.
3D seat views and mobile seat selection
Buyers can switch between the map and interactive 3D on supported browsers
and devices, with a full 2D fallback. Explore SeatLayer’s
3D seating charts.
The responsive picker adapts to the space on your page, with touch selection,
pinch-to-zoom and a mobile selection summary. Chart branding and category
colours come from your SeatLayer venue configuration.
Live availability, ticket types and checkout holds
- Live seat availability updates as inventory changes.
- Ticket types and category pricing show the options configured for the
event, such as Adult, Child or Senior tickets. - Active event offers appear in the buyer journey when configured in
SeatLayer. - Temporary seat holds protect the selected inventory during checkout,
with a countdown and automatic release when a hold expires. - Confirmed bookings and ticket emails follow successful payment through
the organizer’s connected account.
SeatLayer manages inventory, payment totals and bookings centrally, without
duplicating ticket inventory in your WordPress database.
Gutenberg block and seating chart shortcode
Add the SeatLayer seating chart block in the WordPress editor, or use:
[seatlayer_chart event="your-event" height="720" max_selection="6"]
Set the event, height, maximum seat selection, locale and currency.
The block supports wide/full alignment where your theme provides it. Currency
is a display fallback; the event’s configured prices remain authoritative.
Enter an event key or use an optional server-side secret key for an event
dropdown. Scripts and styles load only on pages containing a chart.
See the WordPress seat map setup guide
for block settings and shortcode options.
Accept payments through your own payment gateway
Hosted checkout: buyers continue from seat selection to SeatLayer’s hosted
event page and pay through your own connected payment gateway.
Checkout from your WordPress page: enable Let buyers pay without leaving
this site under Settings SeatLayer. In-page gateways collect payment on
the page itself; a redirecting gateway opens its own secure checkout and returns
the buyer to the WordPress page. Add your site’s address once in SeatLayer so
the buyer returns to your page. Hosted checkout remains the fallback.
Supported gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Tap, Mercado Pago, Xendit and
Flutterwave. Ticket money goes straight to your own account.
Manage venue layouts, events, ticket prices, offers, orders, refunds and ticket
delivery in the SeatLayer dashboard. Buyers get a
QR code and printable PDF ticket for every seat, and you can check tickets in at
the door from a phone browser.
Pricing
The plugin is free. Selling is self-serve with no approval step: you need a free
SeatLayer account, a published seating chart, an event and a connected payment
gateway. SeatLayer charges $0.50 per confirmed ticket, and your first 25 tickets
are free. There is no subscription and no percentage of the ticket price; your
payment gateway charges its own processing fee. See
pricing.
External services
This plugin connects to SeatLayer’s hosted seating and ticketing service. It
requires a SeatLayer account. These services are contacted during use:
SeatLayer CDN (cdn.seatlayer.io)
Loads the seating-chart renderer only on pages containing a chart, from
https://cdn.seatlayer.io/seatlayer-js@0.92.5/seatlayer.js.
The browser sends its normal IP address, user agent and referrer; the plugin
adds no visitor data to that script request.
SeatLayer API (api.seatlayer.io)
On chart load, fetches the layout and live availability. During selection and
checkout, creates seat holds and payment sessions. Requests include the event
key and selected inventory; payment also needs the buyer’s email and optional
name. Payment starts with the hold ID, and SeatLayer computes the amount from
its records. Optional in-page checkout sends the page URL so a card buyer returns to
it; SeatLayer only uses it if it matches a site address you added.
If an administrator saves a secret key, the WordPress server uses it to list
events in the block editor. That key is not sent to visitors.
SeatLayer hosted buyer page (app.seatlayer.io)
For hosted checkout, redirects the buyer to
https://app.seatlayer.io/e/EVENT?hold=HOLD_ID after seat selection.
The URL carries the event key and hold ID, not an amount or buyer details.
The organizer’s payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Tap, Mercado Pago, Xendit or Flutterwave)
After seat selection, processes payment through the organizer’s connected
account. SeatLayer sends the amount, currency and buyer email needed for
payment. Card details go directly to the payment provider and never pass
through this plugin or your WordPress database.
Stripe Privacy Policy ·
PayPal Privacy Statement ·
Razorpay Privacy Policy ·
Tap Privacy Policy ·
Mercado Pago Privacy Policy ·
Xendit Privacy Policy ·
Flutterwave Privacy Policy ·
SeatLayer Terms of Service ·
SeatLayer Privacy Policy
Screenshots
Blocks
This plugin provides 1 block.
- SeatLayer seating chart
Installation
- Install and activate SeatLayer Seating Charts.
- Sign up free at SeatLayer, create and publish a venue chart, then create your event.
- Connect your payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Tap, Mercado Pago, Xendit or Flutterwave) under Payments in the SeatLayer dashboard.
- Add the SeatLayer seating chart block or
[seatlayer_chart]shortcode to a WordPress page and enter your event key. - Check the seating chart and checkout flow, then publish your event page.
A secret key under Settings SeatLayer is optional. It enables the editor’s event dropdown; the public chart works with the event key alone.
FAQ-e
-
Is the plugin free?
-
Yes. The plugin is free and MIT licensed. SeatLayer charges $0.50 per confirmed
ticket, your first 25 tickets are free, and there is no subscription. -
Is this a WordPress seating chart plugin or a full ticketing plugin?
-
Both, for seated events. WordPress renders the interactive seating chart and
the seat picker, and the buyer completes checkout through your own connected
payment gateway, so ticket money arrives in your own gateway account. Venue
layouts, inventory, holds, orders and ticket delivery stay in SeatLayer, which
bills its hosted-ticket usage separately from your gateway’s fees. -
Does it work with Elementor and other page builders?
-
Yes. Use the block in the block editor, or paste the
[seatlayer_chart]
shortcode into any builder or classic editor that accepts shortcodes, including
Elementor. -
Which payment gateways can buyers use?
-
Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Tap, Mercado Pago, Xendit and Flutterwave, connected
to your own account. Need another gateway? Request it from SeatLayer. -
Do buyers get e-tickets with QR codes?
-
Yes. Each buyer gets a confirmation email with a QR code and printable PDF
ticket for every seat, and you can scan tickets at the door from a phone
browser. -
Can I sell tickets for a stadium or arena from WordPress?
-
Yes. Stadium and arena charts use the same buyer renderer as the published
large-venue benchmark, embedded on your own WordPress page. See
arena and stadium seating charts, and
evaluate your own chart, WordPress theme and target devices before opening
sales. -
Can I create the seating plan inside WordPress?
-
Create and edit venues in the seating chart designer,
then embed the published chart on WordPress. The plugin provides the buyer
picker and display settings. -
Can I use table seating or general admission?
-
Yes, within a published chart alongside reserved seats. A pure-GA event
without a chart uses a different ticketing flow. -
Can I use it for a large theatre, arena or stadium?
-
The plugin uses SeatLayer’s shared buyer renderer. Read the
large-chart renderer measurements
for what that renderer does on big venue charts. Those measure the shared
renderer; also evaluate your own chart, WordPress theme and target devices
before opening sales. -
Does this integrate with WooCommerce checkout?
-
It can run on a site that also uses WooCommerce. SeatLayer ticket purchases go
through your own connected payment gateway and do not create WooCommerce cart
line items or orders. -
Can two buyers purchase the same seat?
-
Only one active hold can own a seat; expired holds release inventory for sale.
If payment completes after a hold expires and booking fails, SeatLayer refunds
the buyer automatically and flags the order. -
Where is my optional secret key stored?
-
In your WordPress database, used server-side and never sent to visitors.
Database administrators can read it. Leave it blank and enter event keys
directly if you do not want to store it. -
Can I build a custom seat booking integration?
-
Developers who need their own buyer controls, cart or payment flow can use the
JavaScript seat map SDK and
SeatLayer seat booking API.
The plugin provides the hosted ticketing flow described above.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“SeatLayer Seating Charts” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “SeatLayer Seating Charts” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.2.6
- Listing update: self-serve setup with no approval step, all seven supported payment gateways, current pricing, and new answers on price, page builders, gateways and QR tickets.
- Documentation and release metadata only; plugin behavior is unchanged.
0.2.5
- Refreshed listing screenshots for the block editor and settings screen.
0.2.4
- Add listing screenshots of the seat map, 3D seat view, mobile seat selection, hold countdown, block editor and shortcode.
- Update the pinned buyer SDK CDN release to the verified 0.92.5.
- Reword payment, scale and FAQ copy, and add seating chart and stadium answers.
0.2.3
- Detail seating chart features, 3D seat views, WordPress controls and setup answers.
- Add relevant demo, feature and developer documentation links.
- Pin the buyer SDK CDN to the verified 0.80.3 release.
0.2.2
- Refresh the plugin listing with clearer seating chart and seat map setup guidance.
- Document the Managed Ticketing account requirement and link the WordPress integration guide.
- Clarify checkout holds, WooCommerce coexistence, and browser SDK loading.
- Documentation and release metadata only; plugin behavior is unchanged.
0.2.1
- Documentation only. Refreshes the plugin listing text and the project
README. No plugin behaviour changes.
0.2.0
- Add optional in-page checkout with hosted-checkout fallback.
- Return card buyers to the registered WordPress page after payment.
- Remove plugin settings on uninstall and translate chart error messages.
- Document external services and data sent.
0.1.0
- First release: seating chart block, shortcode and hosted payment handoff.