Luma alternative scorecard
Event Schedule vs Luma
An open source alternative to Luma with zero platform fees, on the free plan too.
27/42
lines where Event Schedule has the edge.
The other 15 are a match or go to Luma.
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 Luma, 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 | Luma |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Fees 2 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| Free plan | Included forever | Included forever |
| Paid plan price (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | $5/mo (7-day free trial) | $59/mo |
| Platform fees (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | 0% | 5% (free plan), 0% (Plus) |
| Payment processing | Stripe/PayPal/Payfast (processor rates apply) | Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) |
| Events & Ticketing 6 of 14 to Event Schedule | ||
| Ticketing | Included Free | Included |
| Unlimited ticket sales | Included Pro | Included |
| QR check-ins | Included Free | Included |
| Ticket waitlist | Included Pro | Included |
| 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 | Included Pro | Included |
| Recurring events (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Clone only, no repeating series |
| Online events | Included Free | Included |
| Free event RSVP | Included Free | Included |
| Event polls (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Promo/discount codes | Included Pro | Included coupons |
| Post-event feedback (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Individual tickets (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Integrations 1 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| Calendar sync, both ways | Included Free | Included |
| CalDAV sync (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Newsletters | Included Free | Included |
| Customization 3 of 5 to Event Schedule | ||
| Custom domains (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Included Plus |
| Remove branding (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Included Plus |
| Custom fields | Included Pro | Included |
| Custom CSS (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Built-in analytics | Included Free | Included |
| Unique Features 12 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 |
| Sub-schedules (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Fan videos & comments (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Event boost (ads) (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Private/password-protected events (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Unlisted only, no password |
| 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 |
| Team collaboration (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | 3 admins (free), 5 (Plus) |
| Carpool matching (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Sponsor/partner logos (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 |
| Platform 3 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| REST API (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Included Plus |
| Webhooks | Included Pro | Included Plus |
| 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 |
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.
27 of the 42 lines above carry a diamond. Here are the 6 advantages over Luma that most often decide it, in plain language rather than table cells.
$5/mo vs $59/mo
Event Schedule Pro costs $5/mo with a 7-day free trial. Luma Plus costs $59/mo, billed annually, for comparable features.
0% Platform Fees
Luma charges 5% on their free plan. Event Schedule never takes a cut of your ticket sales at any tier.
AI Event Parsing
Paste event details in any format and our AI extracts all the details automatically. Perfect for quickly building your schedule when moving from another platform.
Open Source
Fully open source with no vendor lock-in. Selfhost on your own server instead of being locked into Luma's closed ecosystem.
CalDAV Sync
Sync with any CalDAV-compatible calendar app including Apple Calendar. Not available on Luma.
Event Graphics
Generate shareable event graphics automatically. Promote events on social media without needing a designer.
Both columns
Read both sides before you sign.
About Luma
Luma (lu.ma) is a modern event platform popular with tech communities and creators. It offers sleek event pages, built-in video streaming, and community features.
Luma's strengths
- Polished, modern event page design with strong visual focus
- Built-in video streaming for virtual events
- Popular in tech and startup communities with strong network effects
Why choose Event Schedule?
Event Schedule delivers comparable features to Luma at a fraction of the cost, with open source transparency and zero platform fees.
What you get
- $5/month vs Luma's $59/month for premium features
- Zero platform fees vs Luma's 5% on the free plan
- Fully open source with selfhosting option for complete data ownership
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync included free on every plan
- A live calendar feed your community subscribes to once, and an interest list that emails people when tickets go on sale
- Stripe or PayPal checkout, with refunds from the Sales page, on every plan
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 Luma.
Is it easy to switch from Luma to Event Schedule?
Yes. Create a free schedule and add your events manually or via AI import. Your audience can sign up by email for an occasional digest of the new events you create, or subscribe to the schedule's live calendar feed, which needs no email address.
How does Event Schedule pricing compare to Luma?
Luma Plus is $59/mo billed annually, and Luma's free plan takes a 5% platform fee on paid events. Event Schedule Pro is $5/mo with zero platform fees. Even the free plan includes unlimited events, two-way calendar sync, 25 paid tickets a month and newsletters, with no platform fee.
Does Event Schedule support virtual events like Luma?
Yes. Event Schedule supports online events with video links, descriptions, and ticketing. While Luma has built-in video streaming, Event Schedule integrates with any video platform you already use.
Can people be told when tickets go on sale?
Yes, free on every plan. On an event page, visitors leave an email address, with no account, and get one email when tickets go on sale, a reminder shortly before the event, and a notice if you cancel it; a change notice reaches them too when you choose to send one. Each date of a recurring event keeps its own list, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe. The event editor shows you how many people are waiting.
Free forever, 0% platform fees
That is the card. Now sign it.
Final tally: 27 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.
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