Sched alternative scorecard
Event Schedule vs Sched
A more affordable, full-featured alternative to Sched with zero platform fees.
27/40
lines where Event Schedule has the edge.
The other 13 are a match or go to Sched.
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 Sched, in 40 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 | Sched |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Fees 3 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| Free plan (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included forever | Small events only (under 50 attendees) |
| Paid plan price (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | $5/mo (7-day free trial) | From $50/mo |
| Platform fees (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | 0% | Ticketing add-on required |
| Payment processing | Stripe/PayPal/Payfast (processor rates apply) | Stripe (separate) |
| Events & Ticketing 6 of 13 to Event Schedule | ||
| Ticketing (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Included paid add-on |
| Unlimited ticket sales | Included Pro | Included |
| QR check-ins | Included Free | Included Boost+ |
| Ticket waitlist (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Check-in dashboard | Included Pro | Included |
| 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 | Not offered |
| Online events | Included Free | Included |
| Free event RSVP (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Included small events |
| Event polls (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Feedback surveys only |
| Promo/discount codes | Included Pro | Included |
| Post-event feedback | Included Pro | Included |
| Integrations 3 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| Calendar sync, both ways (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Export/subscribe only |
| CalDAV sync (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered |
| Newsletters (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Event email only |
| Customization 2 of 5 to Event Schedule | ||
| Custom domains (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Enterprise | Not offered |
| Remove branding (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Pro | Not offered |
| Custom fields | Included Pro | Included |
| Custom CSS | Included Pro | Included |
| Built-in analytics | Included Free | Included |
| Unique Features 10 of 11 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 |
| 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 |
| Team collaboration | Included Enterprise | Included |
| 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 | Included Pro | Included |
| 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 |
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 40 lines above carry a diamond. Here are the 6 advantages over Sched that most often decide it, in plain language rather than table cells.
Pro at $5/mo
$5/mo vs $50+/mo starting price. Get more features for a fraction of the cost.
Two-Way Calendar Sync
Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync included free. Sched only offers one-way iCal export.
AI Event Parsing
Paste event details in any format and AI extracts everything automatically. Populate your conference agenda in seconds instead of entering sessions one by one.
Built-in Newsletters
Keep your audience engaged with built-in newsletters. Sched only has event email notifications.
Recurring Events
Create automated recurring events on any schedule. Sched does not support recurring events.
Open Source
Fully open source with selfhosting option. Selfhost for complete control, unlike Sched's closed-source hosted-only model.
Both columns
Read both sides before you sign.
About Sched
Sched is a conference and event scheduling platform popular for managing multi-track agendas, speaker profiles, and personalized attendee schedules. It targets conferences, trade shows, and multi-day events.
Sched's strengths
- Multi-track conference agenda management with personalized attendee schedules
- Comprehensive speaker and sponsor profile management
- Session-level attendance tracking and feedback collection
Why choose Event Schedule?
Three things decide it against Sched: the money is yours, the code is public, and the calendar keeps itself in step with the one you already use.
What you get
- Zero platform fees on ticket sales, at every plan level, into your own Stripe or PayPal account
- Selling starts on the free plan, at 25 paid tickets a month, each one scanned at the door
- Refunds from the Sales page, in full or in part, that send the money back through Stripe or PayPal
- One checkout for tickets to several of your events, and an interest list that emails people when tickets go on sale
- Passes, gift cards and installment payments on Pro, and allocated seating for venues on Enterprise
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync, free, so the public listing and your own diary cannot disagree
- Open source under the Attribution Assurance License, and selfhostable, which resolves to Enterprise
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 Sched.
Is it easy to switch from Sched to Event Schedule?
Yes. Create a free schedule and add your conference sessions or events. AI import lets you paste event details to populate your schedule quickly. No migration needed.
How does Event Schedule pricing compare to Sched?
Sched charges per-event or annual pricing that scales with attendee count. Event Schedule Pro is a flat $5/mo with unlimited events and zero platform fees on ticket sales.
Can Event Schedule handle conference agendas like Sched?
Yes. Event Schedule supports multi-day events, sub-schedules for organizing tracks or sessions, and embeddable calendar widgets. Attendees can browse your full conference agenda from a single schedule page.
Can attendees buy one pass for several sessions?
Yes, on Pro. A pass admits to several events: a festival pass covers each event once, a visit pass gives a set number of visits, a membership is unlimited until it expires, and a season pass covers a recurring event, with every use tracked on the Subscriptions tab. On every plan, buyers can also put tickets for several sessions in one cart and pay once.
Free forever, 0% platform fees
That is the card. Now sign it.
Final tally: 27 of 40 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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