Definitions
Categories describe the admission or seats being offered. Price tiers describe choices within a category, such as Adult or Student. Together they let you offer different prices without treating every price as a separate seating area.
Categories
For general admission, a category groups admission tickets and has a capacity. For example, General Admission could have a capacity of 100 tickets, with Adult and Student price tiers drawing from that category's availability.
For reserved seating, categories group seats on the map for pricing. For example, Main Floor seats could offer Adult and Student tiers, while Balcony seats have their own prices. Adding a tier does not add seats to the map.
Price tiers
A tier is a pricing choice within a category. An Adult tier might cost $24 and a Student tier $18. Customers select the tier that applies to them. Explain any eligibility conditions in the event's information.
Each configured ticket tier also has a pricing type. Fixed uses the listed amount; Variable minimum lets the customer choose an amount at or above the listed minimum, within the limits shown. See Fixed and Variable Minimum Pricing for examples and setup steps.
Shared labels versus configured prices
Settings → Pricing Catalog holds the organization's shared Pricing Categories and Price Tiers names. These labels keep naming consistent across your catalog. A label such as Adult is not itself a price: you configure the amount and pricing type in the event's Seating & Pricing editor.
The same Adult label can therefore be used for a $24 ticket at one event and a $30 ticket at another. Renaming the shared label changes its name wherever it is used, rather than changing either amount.
The same name can appear in both the category and tier lists. Check which kind of label you are selecting or editing. See Renaming or Archiving when maintaining those shared names.