The Comedy Festival Guide: What Each One Is Like, and How to Do It

A comedy festival can mean almost anything: a city of 3,000 shows where anyone can perform, a week of arena headliners, or a cosy sketch convention where your favourite cast reunites for one night. Knowing which kind you're going to changes everything: what you'll see, what it costs, and, if you're a comedian, whether you should go at all.

This guide describes the major festivals in depth for both fans and performers. For a simple month-by-month calendar and tips on finding shows in your own city, see our alt comedy events guide.

Two kinds of festival

The single most important distinction is how shows get in.

• Open-access festivals (the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Brighton Fringe) let anyone register a show, provided they find a venue and pay the fees. They are huge, uneven and full of discoveries. Performers usually carry the financial risk.
• Curated festivals (Just for Laughs, SF Sketchfest, Moontower, the New York Comedy Festival, Netflix Is a Joke Fest) are programmed by organisers who book the acts. Lineups are more reliable and more famous, and performers are usually paid.

For alternative comedy, the open-access festivals matter most. They're where unusual, experimental hours get made without anyone's permission.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland, August)

The Fringe runs for roughly three and a half weeks every August and is the largest arts festival in the world. In 2025 it issued about 2.6 million tickets across roughly 3,900 shows, and comedy was its largest genre.

What it's like for fans

The whole city becomes a venue: lecture halls, church basements, pub cellars, shipping containers and purpose-built tents. You can see five shows a day, from established names in big rooms to a performer in a cupboard trying something nobody has tried before. The big venue operators (the Pleasance, Assembly, Gilded Balloon and Underbelly) run many of the best-known comedy rooms, and the Stand Comedy Club programmes a strong comedy lineup. The free fringe organisations (PBH's Free Fringe and the Laughing Horse Free Festival) put on hundreds of shows where you pay what you want on the way out.

What it's like for performers

Edinburgh is where British (and increasingly international) comedians write, test and premiere a full hour. The Edinburgh Comedy Awards are the most watched prizes in the industry, and a strong run can lead to tours, TV and agents. It's also expensive: registration, venue deals, accommodation and publicity usually come out of the performer's pocket, and many lose money. Our guide to writing a Fringe hour covers the creative side; Fleabag is the most famous example of a Fringe show that became something much bigger.

Just for Laughs (Montreal, July)

Founded in 1983, Just for Laughs is the comedy industry's main marketplace. Alongside big headline shows and galas, it has industry events and showcases such as New Faces, where managers, agents and TV executives scout up-and-coming comedians. The festival has French and English programming and a fringe-style offshoot, Zoofest.

Its parent company sought creditor protection in 2024, and a reduced festival ran that year under new ownership. The festival has since returned to full size; the 2026 edition ran in July. For fans, it's a chance to see big names and next-big-names in one city. For performers, it's mostly by invitation, and being selected for a showcase can change a career.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Australia, March–April)

One of the world's three biggest comedy festivals, Melbourne runs for about four weeks around the Melbourne Town Hall and venues across the city. It's open access, like Edinburgh, but more comedy-focused and more relaxed. Many British and Irish comics use it to warm up or extend an Edinburgh hour, and Australian and New Zealand comedians premiere work there. Its awards and its Comedy Zone showcase of newer acts carry real weight.

The festival season around it is worth knowing about: the Adelaide Fringe (February–March) comes just before, the Sydney Comedy Festival (April–May) overlaps or follows, and the New Zealand International Comedy Festival runs in May. Many international acts tour all of them.

SF Sketchfest (San Francisco, January–February)

SF Sketchfest is the American festival most loved by alt comedy fans. It mixes sketch, stand-up, improv, live podcasts and, above all, special events: tribute nights, cast reunions and table reads. The 2026 edition, its 23rd, had over 200 shows including a Kids in the Hall anniversary event. It's a fan festival more than an industry one, and its curation reflects decades of taste in alternative and sketch comedy. See our guides to The Kids in the Hall and the greatest sketch shows.

The American festival circuit

SXSW Comedy (Austin, March)

Comedy is one strand of the South by Southwest conference and festival, with stand-up, improv and live podcasts. Access depends on badges and individual tickets, and many shows serve as industry showcases.

Moontower Comedy Festival (Austin, April)

Run by the Austin Theatre Alliance, which operates the Paramount Theatre, Moontower mixes theatre headliners with a dense club-show programme for badge holders. It's a favourite for fans who want both famous names and dozens of up-and-comers in a walkable downtown. The 2026 festival was its fourteenth.

Netflix Is a Joke Fest (Los Angeles, May)

The streamer's festival has so far run every other year (2022, 2024 and 2026), with hundreds of shows across Los Angeles venues from the Hollywood Bowl to small clubs. It leans mainstream and arena-sized, though its programming includes alternative names and live podcasts.

New York Comedy Festival (November)

A curated festival of mostly headline shows across New York venues, from Carnegie Hall and the Beacon Theatre to smaller rooms. The 2026 edition runs in November.

Improv and sketch festivals

Improv and sketch have their own circuit, where teams submit to perform. Austin's Out of Bounds Comedy Festival returned in 2025 after a long hiatus, and iO in Chicago runs iO Fest. These are where improv and sketch performers go to see one another's work; see our improv guide.

The UK and Ireland beyond Edinburgh

• Leicester Comedy Festival (February): a large, long-running festival across the city, with many work-in-progress shows.
• Glasgow International Comedy Festival (March): Scotland's other big festival.
• Brighton Fringe (May–June): an open-access arts fringe with plenty of comedy.
• Machynlleth Comedy Festival (Wales, spring): a small, beloved festival where comics try new material in a market town, with a reputation for alternative and experimental work.
• Kilkenny Cat Laughs (Ireland, early summer): a long-running festival that has hosted many international stars.

Festival programmes change. Smaller festivals in particular can pause or end, so check each festival's official site for the current year.

For performers: applying, costs and strategy

Choosing a festival

Decide what you want: to develop an hour (Edinburgh, Melbourne, Adelaide), to be seen by industry (Just for Laughs and showcases), to play for a fan audience (Sketchfest, Moontower) or to meet your peers (improv and sketch festivals). The best festival for a first-timer is usually not the most famous one.

How to get in

• Open access: register with the festival, secure a venue (through a venue operator, the free fringe, or hiring a room) and pay registration and listing fees. Deadlines fall months before the festival.
• Curated: apply through the festival's submission process where one exists, often with a video link, or get booked through an agent or showcase.

Budgeting

For an open-access festival, the main costs are registration, venue (a hire fee, a guarantee or a box office split), accommodation and travel, posters and flyers, and optionally a publicist. Free fringe shows avoid venue hire but earn only from donations. Sharing a show with one or two other comics cuts costs and risk for a first attempt. Treat any profit as a bonus; plan for the run to be an investment.

For fans: planning a festival trip

• Pick by the experience you want. Discovery and volume: Edinburgh or Melbourne. Fan events and reunions: SF Sketchfest. Big names and a party: Moontower, Netflix Is a Joke, Just for Laughs.
• Buy headliners early and leave space for spontaneity. The best show of your trip is often one you didn't plan.
• Use badges and passes where offered. They usually cover club shows and give priority on headliners.
• See newer acts. Festivals are where future headliners are cheap and close. Our list of emerging comedians to watch is a good place to start.

Whichever festival you choose, go with an open mind. Festivals are where comedy is at its most concentrated and experimental, and a good one can change your idea of what comedy can be.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest comedy festival in the world?

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world, and comedy is its biggest genre. In 2025 it issued about 2.6 million tickets across roughly 3,900 shows of all kinds. Just for Laughs in Montreal is often described as the biggest comedy-only festival and the main industry showcase.

How do comedians get into comedy festivals?

Open-access festivals such as the Edinburgh, Adelaide and Melbourne festivals let performers register a show and find a venue, usually paying fees. Curated festivals such as Just for Laughs, SF Sketchfest and Moontower book acts directly or through applications and showcases.

Is it worth doing the Edinburgh Fringe as a comedian?

It can be, but most performers should budget to lose money. People go to develop an hour, get reviews and be seen by industry. Free fringe venues and shared shows reduce the risk for first-timers.

When are the major comedy festivals?

Typically: SF Sketchfest in January–February, Adelaide Fringe in February–March, SXSW comedy in March, Melbourne in March–April, Moontower in April, Netflix Is a Joke Fest in May in the years it runs, Just for Laughs in July, Edinburgh in August and the New York Comedy Festival in November. Check official sites for each year's dates.