EventON vs The Events Calendar
Updated 11 Oct 2026. 20 features compared side by side.
Stylish events calendar sold as a $60 one-time licence with a free Lite edition, extended through paid add-ons for tickets, RSVP, seats and more.
Widely used WordPress events calendar with venues, organisers and month/list/day views, plus paid tiers for recurring events, ticketing and seating.
Choose EventON if…
- Design-focused sites that want an attractive calendar for a low one-time price and will add specific features through add-ons
Choose The Events Calendar if…
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 94/100)
- You prefer the more widely used option
EventON and The Events Calendar include the same 20 of the 20 features we track, so the choice comes down to pricing, approach and ecosystem.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
EventON The Events CalendarCreating events6/66/6
Lite supports daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and custom repeats.
Recurring events and series come with Events Calendar Pro in every paid plan.
Locations and organisers with archive pages in Lite; multiple organisers per event need Full.
Venues and organisers are saved once and reused across events.
Lite supports virtual events with attendance modes; Full adds Zoom OAuth and post-event content.
Pro features add virtual/hybrid events with Zoom, Meet, Webex, Teams and YouTube/Facebook Live.
Event categories and tags are included in Lite.
Free plugin includes event categories and tags.
Action User add-on ($80/yr) adds front-end submissions with permission controls.
Community Submissions with moderation are included in all paid plans.
ICS Importer ($50/yr) and CSV Event Importer ($40/yr) add-ons; Lite only exports CSV/ICS.
Free CSV importer; Event Aggregator (paid plans) imports Google Calendar, iCal, Meetup and Eventbrite.
Calendar & display5/55/5
Lite has month, schedule, tile and live-now views; Full and add-ons add grid, weekly, daily, yearly.
Free month, list and day views; paid plans add week, photo, map and summary views.
Location Google Maps with directions in Lite; Events Map add-on ($60/yr) shows all events on a map.
Google Maps embeds for venues are free; a map view comes with the paid plans.
Lite has event search, sorting and filters; Full adds advanced search and Filters Plus add-on.
Free keyword/date search; Filter Bar in paid plans adds advanced front-end filters.
Shortcode generator works in the block editor; Elementor widget listed among integrations.
Events are built with block-editor event blocks; Pro adds shortcodes and Elementor widgets.
Lite outputs Event schema and JSON-LD markup.
Outputs JSON-LD event structured data in the free plugin.
Tickets & attendees6/66/6
Event Tickets add-on ($120/yr) sells tickets; Lite only offers a basic PayPal option.
Free Event Tickets plugin sells tickets via Tickets Commerce (2% fee without a Plus licence).
RSVP Events add-on ($100/yr) collects names, emails and spaces.
RSVPs are collected with the free Event Tickets companion plugin.
Event Tickets add-on sells tickets through the WooCommerce checkout.
WooCommerce ticket sales come with Event Tickets Plus in the Pro plan.
Seats add-on ($150/yr) provides interactive seating charts.
Interactive Seating builder and VIP seat types are Elite-only.
QR Code ($30/yr) and Check-ins ($30/yr) add-ons handle ticket scanning.
Ticket QR codes and the check-in app are included from the Pro plan.
Attendee lists and check-in come with the Tickets or RSVP add-ons.
Free Event Tickets includes attendee and sales reports; Pro plan adds fuller attendee management.
Engagement & integrations3/33/3
Lite adds Google Calendar and iCal links to events.
Visitors can export events to Google Calendar or download iCal files.
Ticket/RSVP confirmation emails come with those add-ons; Reminders add-on is $40/yr.
Free Event Tickets sends customisable confirmation emails; Promoter campaigns are Elite-only.
Webhooks (EventON 4.2+) send triggers to Zapier and similar; Subscriber add-on syncs Mailchimp.
Events Calendar Pro connects to Zapier and Microsoft Power Automate.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
EventON Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| EventON Lite | Free per year, Unlimited |
| EventON Full | $60 lifetime, 1 site |
| Ticketing Bundle | $530 per year, 1 site |
| Calendar Views Bundle | $195 per year, 1 site |
The Events Calendar Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Essentials | $259 per year, Not stated |
| Pro | $399 per year, Not stated |
| Elite | $599 per year, Not stated |
Downloads trend
EventON
3,941 downloads last week
The Events Calendar
322,086 downloads last week
Verdict
The Events Calendar scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 94/100). Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
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FAQ
Which is better, EventON or The Events Calendar?
The Events Calendar scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 94/100). Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
They are level: both include 20 of the 20 events & calendars features we track.
Is EventON free?
EventON has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $60 lifetime.
Is The Events Calendar free?
The Events Calendar has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $259/yr.
Feature data last changed 11 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to EventON or The Events Calendar. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.