Events Manager vs The Events Calendar
Updated 11 Oct 2026. 20 features compared side by side.
Free events and bookings plugin with recurring events, locations, front-end submissions and BuddyPress support; Pro adds payments, PDF tickets and check-in.
Widely used WordPress events calendar with venues, organisers and month/list/day views, plus paid tiers for recurring events, ticketing and seating.
Choose Events Manager if…
- You want the lower entry price ($129/yr vs $259/yr)
Choose The Events Calendar if…
- You need event schema for SEO and seating charts
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 87/100)
- You prefer the more widely used option
The Events Calendar has 2 that Events Manager lacks, including Event schema for SEO and Seating charts. Both include 18 of the 20 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Events Manager The Events CalendarCreating events6/66/6
Free version handles complex recurrence patterns with exclusion dates and timeslots.
Recurring events and series come with Events Calendar Pro in every paid plan.
Reusable locations with archive pages; no separate organiser profiles are mentioned.
Venues and organisers are saved once and reused across events.
Online locations via URL are free; Zoom meetings/webinars use a separate integration add-on.
Pro features add virtual/hybrid events with Zoom, Meet, Webex, Teams and YouTube/Facebook Live.
Free event categories for organising and filtering events.
Free plugin includes event categories and tags.
Guests and members can submit events for approval, including via BuddyPress.
Community Submissions with moderation are included in all paid plans.
I/O add-on (from $49, included in Pro Plus) imports iCal, CSV, Google Calendar, Sheets and Meetup.
Free CSV importer; Event Aggregator (paid plans) imports Google Calendar, iCal, Meetup and Eventbrite.
Calendar & display4/55/5
Calendars, lists, grids and mini-calendars in several styles.
Free month, list and day views; paid plans add week, photo, map and summary views.
Google Maps for locations with radius geo searches and a filterable map view.
Google Maps embeds for venues are free; a map view comes with the paid plans.
Search pages with filters, radius search and map filters.
Free keyword/date search; Filter Bar in paid plans adds advanced front-end filters.
Gutenberg blocks for calendars, lists, locations and event details.
Events are built with block-editor event blocks; Pro adds shortcodes and Elementor widgets.
No built-in event schema listed; an old third-party add-on adds JSON-LD.
Outputs JSON-LD event structured data in the free plugin.
Tickets & attendees5/66/6
Free bookings can have priced tickets, but online payment gateways are in Pro.
Free Event Tickets plugin sells tickets via Tickets Commerce (2% fee without a Plus licence).
Free bookings work as registrations for free events; Pro adds waitlists and approval options.
RSVPs are collected with the free Event Tickets companion plugin.
Events Manager for WooCommerce is a paid add-on sold on WooCommerce.com, not in Pro Plus.
WooCommerce ticket sales come with Event Tickets Plus in the Pro plan.
Reserved seating is listed as coming soon to Pro Plus, not yet available.
Interactive Seating builder and VIP seat types are Elite-only.
Pro includes QR code check-in; the check-in mobile app comes with Pro Plus.
Ticket QR codes and the check-in app are included from the Pro plan.
Free booking and attendee management with approvals and CSV export.
Free Event Tickets includes attendee and sales reports; Pro plan adds fuller attendee management.
Engagement & integrations3/33/3
Buttons for Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, Apple Calendar and iCal.
Visitors can export events to Google Calendar or download iCal files.
Free booking emails to attendees and admins; scheduled reminders are Pro.
Free Event Tickets sends customisable confirmation emails; Promoter campaigns are Elite-only.
Pro adds webhooks (Zapier, Power Automate) and automation; free has Thrive Automator and REST API.
Events Calendar Pro connects to Zapier and Microsoft Power Automate.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Events Manager Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Pro 1 site | $129 per year, 1 site |
| Pro 5 sites | $299 per year, 5 sites |
| Pro Unlimited | $599 per year, Unlimited |
| Pro Plus 1 site | $169 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
Events Manager
45,967 downloads last week
The Events Calendar
327,300 downloads last week
Verdict
The Events Calendar scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 87/100) and includes event schema for SEO and seating charts that Events Manager does not. Paid plans start at $129/yr for Events Manager and $259/yr for The Events Calendar. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Events Manager: third-party. The Events Calendar: included. Outputs JSON-LD event structured data in the free plugin.
Events Manager: not included. The Events Calendar: paid version (Elite). Interactive Seating builder and VIP seat types are Elite-only.
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, Events Manager or The Events Calendar?
The Events Calendar scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 87/100) and includes event schema for SEO and seating charts that Events Manager does not. Paid plans start at $129/yr for Events Manager and $259/yr for The Events Calendar. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
The Events Calendar includes 20 of the 20 features we track, against 18 for Events Manager. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Events Manager free?
Events Manager has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $129/yr.
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 Events Manager 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.