Google Calendar alternative scorecard
Event Schedule vs Google Calendar
A purpose-built event platform vs a general scheduling tool.
38/42
lines where Event Schedule has the edge.
The other 4 are a match or go to Google Calendar.
Every line on this card is scored from the same table below. Nothing is averaged, weighted or rounded.
The card
Scored line by line.
A feature-by-feature comparison of Event Schedule and Google Calendar, in 42 lines across 6 sections. Our column names the plan behind every gated feature, because a comparison that hides the tier is not a comparison.
| Line | Event Schedule | Google Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Core Purpose 2 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| Public event pages (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Event discovery & SEO (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Personal scheduling | Not offered | Included |
| Meeting invites | Not offered | Included |
| Ticketing & Payments 12 of 12 to Event Schedule | ||
| Ticketing (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Unlimited ticket sales (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Payment processing (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Stripe/PayPal/Payfast (processor rates apply) | Not offered |
| QR check-ins (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Ticket waitlist (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Check-in dashboard (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Sale notifications (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Sales data export (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Promo/discount codes (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Post-event feedback (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Free event RSVP (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Platform fees (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | 0% | Not applicable |
| Event Features 11 of 12 to Event Schedule | ||
| AI suite (event parsing, flyer gen, style gen) (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Parsing on Free, flyer and style on Enterprise | Not offered |
| Event graphics gen (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Rich descriptions (Markdown) (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Plain text only |
| Custom fields (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Fan videos & comments (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Event polls (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Recurring events | Included Free | Included |
| Private/password-protected events (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| Availability management (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| WhatsApp event creation (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| Carpool matching (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Email scheduling (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| Sharing & Promotion 5 of 5 to Event Schedule | ||
| Shareable event pages (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Link preview images (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Newsletter integration (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Embeddable calendars (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included customizable | Included limited styling |
| Sponsor/partner logos (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Organization 2 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| Sub-schedules (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Multiple calendars |
| Team collaboration | Included Enterprise | Included |
| Built-in analytics (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Platform 6 of 6 to Event Schedule | ||
| Custom domains (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| Custom CSS (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Webhooks (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Open source (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included | Not offered |
| Selfhosting (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included | Not offered |
| Calendar sync, both ways (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not applicable |
Selfhost Event Schedule and every one of those plan chips opens: a selfhosted install resolves to Enterprise, so no line on the card is held back by a plan. Either way, ticket sales run through your own Stripe or PayPal account and Event Schedule takes 0%.
Straight answers
Three lines we do not claim.
A card you can trust has to name what is missing from it. These three are true about Event Schedule no matter which platform you are holding it against.
No marketplace
You bring the audience
Your public events can be listed on the Event Schedule browse and search pages, but a listing is not a marketplace's built-in audience. What actually fills a room is your own schedule page, an embeddable calendar, a follower QR code, newsletters, and an interest list that emails people when tickets go on sale.
Seat maps are Enterprise
Ticket types, then seats
On Free and Pro a ticket type has a name, a price and a quantity, and buyers are not choosing a specific seat. A reserved-seating house needs Enterprise, where a venue schedule draws the room once and buyers pick their seats from the map.
One team member on Free
Extra members are Enterprise
The free plan is one person per schedule. Adding team members is on Enterprise and is capped at five on the hosted platform, so do not plan on inviting a whole staff for nothing.
Everything else on this page is a line you can check for yourself. Back to the card
The margin marks
Where the marks fall our way.
38 of the 42 lines above carry a diamond. Here are the 6 advantages over Google Calendar that most often decide it, in plain language rather than table cells.
Built for Public Events
Google Calendar is for personal scheduling. Event Schedule is purpose-built for sharing events with the world - with SEO-optimized public pages.
Ticketing & Payments
Sell tickets through your own Stripe or PayPal account, with QR check-in at the door and refunds from the Sales page. Google Calendar has no payment or ticketing capabilities whatsoever.
AI Event Parsing
Paste event details in any format and our AI extracts dates, times, and descriptions automatically. Google Calendar requires tedious manual entry.
Event Graphics
Generate custom, shareable event graphics automatically. Perfect for social media promotion - something Google Calendar simply cannot do.
Professional Embeds
Embed fully customizable calendars on your website. Google Calendar embeds are rigid and difficult to style to match your brand.
Open Source
Fully open source with selfhosting option. Own your data completely, unlike Google's proprietary ecosystem.
Both columns
Read both sides before you sign.
About Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a popular personal scheduling tool used by billions worldwide. It excels at managing appointments, meetings, and personal reminders with deep Google ecosystem integration. The good news? You don't have to choose - Event Schedule syncs with Google Calendar, so you can use both together.
Google Calendar's strengths
- Free and ubiquitous with billions of existing users
- Deep Google ecosystem integration (Gmail, Meet, Drive)
- Excellent mobile apps with push notifications
Why choose Event Schedule?
Event Schedule is purpose-built for sharing events publicly with ticketing, newsletters, and custom branding - things Google Calendar was never designed for.
What you get
- Ticketing through your own Stripe or PayPal account from the free plan, with QR check-in at the door and refunds from the Sales page
- Two-way sync with Google, Outlook and CalDAV keeps both platforms in sync automatically
- Public schedule pages with embeddable widgets, and your own domain on Enterprise
- Built-in newsletters, event graphics, and AI-powered event import
- A live calendar feed people subscribe to once, and an interest list that emails them when tickets go on sale
A fresh card
How to switch in 4 steps
Nothing has to move on day one. The schedule is useful the moment it exists, and the events and the list follow at whatever pace suits you.
01
Create your schedule
Free, no card, and it has its own address the moment it exists. Nothing has to move before it is useful.
02
Bring the events across
Paste a listing or upload the flyer and the parser fills in the name, date, time, venue and description for you to check. Fifty a day on the free and Pro plans (ten during a Pro trial), a hundred on Enterprise.
03
Bring your list across
Export the addresses you already have and paste them in or upload a CSV, up to ten thousand rows, on any plan. What the newsletter allowance counts is sending to them, not holding them.
04
Connect Stripe or PayPal and sell
Your own Stripe or PayPal account, so the money settles into it rather than into ours. Zero platform fees, the first 25 paid tickets a month are on the free plan, and refunds go back through the same account.
Free forever. Upgrade when you're ready.
Zero platform fees on ticket sales, on every plan. The only deduction is your payment processor's own.
Everything you need to publish a schedule, and enough selling to find out whether you need more.
- Unlimited events, sub-schedules and recurring dates
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync
- 25 paid tickets a month, each one scanned at the door
No expiry, and no card asked for.
The ceilings come off, and the rest of the selling kit arrives with them.
- Unlimited ticket sales and the live check-in dashboard
- Promo codes, add-ons, passes and gift cards
- The REST API, webhooks, and no Event Schedule branding
7-day free trial, cancel any time.
For a room with a seating chart, a team, and a domain of its own.
- Reserved seating, drawn once and reused every date
- Your own domain, and up to five team members
- Internal and unlisted events, and 1,000 newsletter recipients
Included free on every selfhosted install.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about switching from Google Calendar.
Can I use Event Schedule alongside Google Calendar?
Yes. Event Schedule offers two-way Google Calendar sync on the free plan. Your events stay in sync between both platforms, so you can use Google Calendar as your personal view while Event Schedule powers your public schedule and ticketing.
Is Event Schedule free like Google Calendar?
Event Schedule has a free plan that includes unlimited events, two-way Google Calendar sync, newsletters and a live calendar feed your audience can subscribe to. Selling is on the free plan as well, up to 25 paid tickets a month, scanned at the door. The Pro plan at $5/mo removes that ceiling and adds the live check-in dashboard and branding removal.
Can Event Schedule handle ticketing that Google Calendar cannot?
Yes. Google Calendar has no ticketing features. Event Schedule sells tickets through your own Stripe or PayPal account on every plan, 25 paid tickets a month on the free plan, each scanned at the door, with refunds from the Sales page. Pro removes the cap and adds the live check-in dashboard, ticket waitlists, sale notifications and sales CSV export, all with zero platform fees.
Can people subscribe to all my events in their own calendar?
Yes, free. Every schedule has a live calendar feed, offered in the sign-up panel on your schedule and event pages and in the Add to Calendar menu. Their calendar app re-reads the feed, so an added or moved date shows up without anyone sending a new invite, which a one-off download cannot do. It costs them no email address.
Free forever, 0% platform fees
That is the card. Now sign it.
Final tally: 38 of 42 lines to Event Schedule.
Create your free schedule today. No credit card required, and nothing taken from your ticket sales.
Open source, and yours to selfhost whenever you want it.
Related
Keep exploring
AddEvent Alternative
Ticketing and public event pages, not just calendar buttons.
Read moreMeetup Alternative
Zero platform fees and custom domains, without a subscription.
Read moreCompare Alternatives
See how Event Schedule stacks up against other platforms.
Read morePricing
See what is included on Free, Pro, and Enterprise plans.
Read more