The Events Calendar alternative scorecard Event Schedule vs The Events Calendar
Event pages, ticketing and calendar sync without installing or updating a WordPress plugin.
7/22
lines where Event Schedule has the edge.
The other 15 are a match or go to The Events 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 The Events Calendar, in 22 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 | The Events Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Fees 2 of 4 to Event Schedule | ||
| Free plan | Included forever | Included core plugin |
| Paid plan price (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | $5/mo (7-day free trial) | From $259/yr (Essentials) |
| Platform fees (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | 0% | 2% on the free Event Tickets plugin, 0% on Pro and Elite |
| Payment processing | Stripe/PayPal/Payfast/Razorpay (processor rates apply) | Stripe/PayPal/Square, WooCommerce on Pro |
| Events & Ticketing 2 of 8 to Event Schedule | ||
| Ticketing | Included free RSVP, paid on Pro | Included Event Tickets plugin |
| QR check-ins (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Included Pro tier |
| Ticket waitlist | Included Pro | Included Event Tickets Plus |
| Recurring events (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Included paid tiers |
| Online events | Included Free | Included |
| Free event RSVP | Included Free | Included |
| Promo/discount codes | Included Pro | Included coupons, paid tiers |
| Reserved seating | Included Enterprise | Included Elite tier |
| Integrations 2 of 2 to Event Schedule | ||
| Calendar sync, both ways (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Calendar export and one-way imports |
| Newsletters (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Included Elite tier |
| Customization 0 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| Custom domains | Included Enterprise | Runs on your own WordPress domain |
| Custom fields | Included Pro | Included Pro tier |
| Built-in analytics | Included Free | Attendee reports |
| Unique Features 1 of 2 to Event Schedule | ||
| Hosted service (Event Schedule has the edge on this line) | Included Free | Not offered you run the WordPress site |
| Embeddable calendar | Included Free | Included month view embed |
| Platform 0 of 3 to Event Schedule | ||
| REST API | Included Pro | Included free core plugin |
| Open source | Included | Included GPLv2 or later |
| Selfhosting | Included | Included on WordPress |
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.
7 of the 22 lines above carry a diamond. Here are the 6 advantages over The Events Calendar that most often decide it, in plain language rather than table cells.
No WordPress Required
Event Schedule is a hosted service with a free plan, so there is no WordPress site, plugin stack or update cycle to keep running. Self-hosting stays available if you want it.
$5/mo vs $259/yr
Event Schedule Pro is $5/mo with a 7-day free trial. The Events Calendar paid tiers are $259, $399 and $599 a year, renewed annually.
Zero Platform Fees
Event Schedule takes no platform fee on any plan, and paid tickets are on Pro. The free Event Tickets plugin takes a 2% application fee on each sale.
Two-Way Calendar Sync
Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync both ways, free. The Events Calendar exports to calendar apps and imports feeds in one direction.
Built-in Newsletters
Email the people who follow your schedule on every plan. On The Events Calendar, email campaigns are part of the Elite tier.
AI Event Parsing
Paste event details or upload a flyer and the parser fills in the name, date, time and venue for you to check, on every plan.
Both columns
Read both sides before you sign.
About The Events Calendar
The Events Calendar is a WordPress plugin, now sold by Liquid Web, that adds an event calendar to your own WordPress site. The core plugin is free and GPL-licensed on wordpress.org, and paid tiers add recurring events, check-in, seating maps and email campaigns.
The Events Calendar's strengths
- A free, GPL-licensed core plugin with several calendar views and a WordPress REST API
- Runs inside your own WordPress site and theme
- A wide range of add-ons, from event imports to seating maps and email campaigns
Why choose Event Schedule?
Three things decide it against The Events Calendar: 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
- Free registration with no monthly ceiling, and a ticket scanned at the door on every plan
- Refunds from the Sales page on Pro, in full or in part, that send the money back through Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay
- 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 on every plan, a ticket with a price on it is Pro, and refunds go back through the same account.
Free forever. Upgrade when you're ready.
Free registration for as many people as you like. When you start charging, zero platform fees on every plan - the only deduction is your payment processor's own.
Everything you need to publish a schedule and fill the room, for as long as you like.
- Unlimited events, sub-schedules and recurring dates
- Two-way Google, Outlook and CalDAV sync
- Unlimited free registration and RSVPs, scanned at the door
No expiry, and no card asked for.
Start charging, and the rest of the selling kit arrives with it.
- Sell paid tickets, with 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 The Events Calendar.
Do I need a WordPress site to use Event Schedule?
No. Your schedule gets its own page and an embeddable calendar, so it works with WordPress or any other website builder. On a WordPress site, the calendar goes on a page with one iframe tag.
How does Event Schedule pricing compare to The Events Calendar?
The core plugin is free, and the paid tiers are $259, $399 and $599 a year. Event Schedule has a free plan, and Pro is $5/mo with zero platform fees on ticket sales.
Is Event Schedule open source like The Events Calendar?
Yes, both are. The Events Calendar is GPL-licensed and runs inside WordPress. Event Schedule is a standalone app you can selfhost on PHP and MySQL, and a selfhosted install resolves to Enterprise.
Can I move my events off WordPress?
Yes. Paste your event listings or upload flyers and the AI parser fills in the details for you to check, fifty a day on the free and Pro plans. Then embed the new calendar on your WordPress page, or link to your schedule instead.
Free forever, 0% platform fees
That is the card. Now sign it.
Final tally: 7 of 22 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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