Eventnetic vs The Events Calendar: Which Is Better in 2026?
20 Sep 2026 · Eventnetic Admin
Eventnetic and The Events Calendar (paired with its companion plugin, Event Tickets) both let a WordPress site sell tickets to dated events, but they come from very different starting points. The Events Calendar has been on WordPress.org since 2009 and is now owned by Nexcess (a Liquid Web brand). Eventnetic is a 2026 launch built specifically around per-date recurring tickets, reserved seating, and a checkout that never leaves your own site.
This comparison is for anyone who already runs, or is about to run, a WordPress site that sells tickets: a theater, a workshop host, a conference organizer, a yoga studio, or a venue owner. It walks through free-plan limits, paid pricing, commission, recurring events, seating, QR check-in, integrations, customization, and support, then closes with direct "choose this if" guidance and FAQs.
The short answer
Eventnetic is the stronger choice if your priority is paying zero ticket commission at every tier, selling tickets against recurring dates without a workaround, or adding reserved seating without jumping to the most expensive plan. The Events Calendar is the stronger choice if you want the most widely installed, longest-running WordPress event plugin, more calendar display options, or a community events / multi-organizer submission model. Both plugins are legitimate options; which one wins depends on which of those trade-offs matters more for your event site. See the category breakdown below for the evidence behind that.
Eventnetic vs The Events Calendar: quick comparison table
| Eventnetic | The Events Calendar + Event Tickets | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✅ Unlimited events and unlimited bookings, cash/ |
✅ Unlimited events, tickets, and RSVPs; Stripe/ |
| Cheapest paid plan | $99/ |
$259/ |
| Plan that drops commission to 0% | Already 0%, including the free plan; no upgrade needed | $399/ |
| Lifetime option | ✅ From $199 once | ❌ Not offered |
| Recurring events | ✅ Any paid plan, from $99/ |
✅ Paid (Essentials and up), but ⚠️ tickets cannot be attached to a recurring event per official documentation |
| Reserved seat maps | ✅ Any paid plan, from $99/ |
✅ $599/ |
| QR code check-in | ✅ Any paid plan, from $99/ |
✅ $399/ |
| Deposits (partial payment) | ✅ Paid | ⚠️ Not listed in reviewed official pages |
| Invoices (numbered PDFs) | ✅ Paid | ⚠️ Not listed in reviewed official pages |
| Checkout location | On-site, stays on your own WordPress site at every tier | On-site checkout page built with the [tec_ shortcode; Pro/ |
| Calendar display views | 1 (event list) | Up to 7 at paid tiers (month, list, day, week, summary, photo, map) |
| Community event submissions | ❌ Not available | ✅ Essentials and up |
| WooCommerce | Optional payment method only | ⚠️ Optional Pro/ |
| Notification channels | Email, Telegram, WhatsApp, SMS (all via your own accounts) | Email only, plus the Event Tickets App for check-in |
| Active installs | New 2026 product, not yet listed on WordPress.org | 600,000+ (The Events Calendar), 90,000+ (Event Tickets) |
| Average rating | Not yet established | 4.2/ |
Free version limits
Eventnetic's free plan has no time limit and, as of the current pricing page, no cap on the number of active events or bookings. Ticket sales on the free plan are limited to cash and offline payments; Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce checkout require upgrading to any paid plan, starting at Starter for $99/yr. There is no commission on any Eventnetic plan, including free.
The Events Calendar's free plugin also has no event cap, and its Event Tickets companion plugin lets you sell tickets on the free tier through Tickets Commerce (its own built-in checkout, no WooCommerce required) using PayPal, Stripe, or Square. The catch is a 2% commission fee on Stripe and Square transactions, on top of the processor's own fees, confirmed directly in Nexcess's documentation: "There will be a 2% commission fee collected when using Stripe with Event Tickets (on top of Stripe's fees)." PayPal is not mentioned as carrying that fee. Recurring events, extra calendar views, community submissions, and event imports are locked behind a paid plan.
If your main question is simply "what do I get for free," see our roundup of the best free event ticketing plugins for WordPress, which looks at where the paid wall sits across seven tools, not just these two.
No clear winner. Eventnetic's free tier has no usage cap but restricts online payments to cash/offline; The Events Calendar's free tier processes real card payments but charges a 2% commission on two of its three gateways. Which one is "better" for free depends on whether you plan to take online card payments before upgrading.
Pricing and plans
Eventnetic sells three tiers, Starter, Pro, and Elite, each available as an annual subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, with every feature included in every paid tier's licence (no separate add-ons to buy). According to Eventnetic's current pricing page, Starter covers recurring dates, Stripe and PayPal, custom forms, and QR check-in. Pro adds seat maps, invoices, a waiting list, and Zoom, and Elite adds WooCommerce and SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram, alongside higher site counts. Annual plans renew at a higher rate than the first-year price:
| Plan | Sites | First year | Renews at | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Starter |
1 |
$99/ |
$199/ |
$199 once |
Pro |
5 |
$199/ |
$299/ |
$399 once |
Elite |
25 |
$299/ |
$399/ |
$599 once |
The Events Calendar sells three annual subscription tiers, with the older separate add-on model (Events Calendar Pro, Event Tickets Plus) retired for new customers:
| Plan | Price/ |
Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $259 | 2% on Stripe/ |
| Pro | $399 | 0% |
| Elite | $599 | 0% |
The Events Calendar's public pricing page does not state a number of sites per plan. There is no free lifetime-style one-time purchase option; every paid tier is a recurring annual subscription.
Winner: Eventnetic on price alone. Its cheapest paid plan ($99/yr) costs less than half of The Events Calendar's cheapest paid plan ($259/yr), and Eventnetic charges 0% commission starting on its free plan, while The Events Calendar only reaches 0% commission at $399/yr. Eventnetic also offers a one-time lifetime purchase, which The Events Calendar does not.
Payment model and commission
Eventnetic never takes a percentage of ticket revenue at any tier. Money from a paid Stripe or PayPal transaction goes directly to your own account; Eventnetic's revenue comes entirely from the licence fee. Stripe and PayPal still charge their own standard processing fees, which Eventnetic has no control over.
The Events Calendar's own checkout, Tickets Commerce, charges a 2% commission on Stripe and Square transactions on the free plan and on the Essentials plan ($259/yr). That fee only drops to 0% on the Pro plan ($399/yr) and above; the pricing page reserves "no ticket commission fees" as a Pro-tier benefit specifically. PayPal transactions are not documented as carrying this fee at any tier.
If zero commission at every plan level, including the cheapest paid one, is the deciding factor for you, our guide on how to sell event tickets on WordPress without transaction fees walks through the free plan and the Stripe setup step by step.
Winner: Eventnetic. It charges no commission at any tier, including free and its cheapest paid plan. The Events Calendar only reaches 0% commission at its second-from-top tier ($399/yr).
Ticketing and checkout experience
Eventnetic's checkout runs entirely on your own WordPress site. A customer selects ticket types (multiple types can sit in one basket, priced line by line), enters details, and pays without leaving your domain. Free-tier ticketing is cash/offline only; Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce checkout require a paid plan.
The Events Calendar's Tickets Commerce checkout is also built in and does not require WooCommerce. Official documentation describes it as an on-site checkout: the site owner creates a checkout page containing the [tec_tickets_checkout] shortcode and a success page with [tec_tickets_success], rather than a page hosted by a third party. Liquid Web's current product page states, specifically for Pro and Elite ticket sales, "No third-party checkout, no redirect to external platforms, and no commission on sales." We did not find an equivalent explicit "no redirect" statement covering the free or Essentials Tickets Commerce flow, but the documentation for that flow describes the same on-site shortcode-based checkout page rather than a separate off-site flow. Multiple ticket types per event are supported, though we were not able to verify this hands-on since no live install of The Events Calendar was completed for this research; that specific point is vendor-documented, not tested.
No clear winner on checkout location. Both plugins keep the buyer on an on-site checkout page rather than sending them to a marketplace-style storefront. We found no official source supporting a blanket claim that The Events Calendar sends buyers off-site at every tier, so this category is not called for either tool. On raw ticket-type flexibility, the evidence available does not clearly favor either tool either.
Recurring events
This is the most significant architectural difference between the two plugins. Eventnetic treats a recurring event as one event holding many dates, and each date keeps its own independent capacity, price, and attendee list. Cancelling or reopening a single date only affects that date's bookings, and tickets sell normally against any date in the series. Recurring dates require any paid Eventnetic plan, starting at Starter for $99/yr.
The Events Calendar also supports recurring event patterns (daily, weekly, monthly, or one-off dates, capped at 60 months by default) starting at the Essentials plan, but it does not support attaching standard tickets to a recurring event. Nexcess's own documentation confirms this directly: "Creating tickets for recurring events is not currently supported." The documented workaround is a Series Pass, a single subscription-style ticket that covers the whole series rather than a per-date ticket with its own inventory, price, and attendee list.
Winner: Eventnetic. For any organizer running a recurring class, workshop series, or weekly show who needs to sell a ticket to one specific date, Eventnetic's per-date architecture supports that natively. The Events Calendar's official documentation states that standard per-date ticketing for recurring events is not currently supported.
Seat reservation
Eventnetic's seat maps are drawn once per venue (rows, tables, or a stage layout) and reused automatically across every event held there, with per-date seat availability tracked for you. Seat maps are included from the Pro plan at $199/yr, or $399 once for a lifetime license.
The Events Calendar's custom seating map builder with assigned seating is available only on its top Elite plan at $599/yr.
If reserved seating for a theater, cinema, or class is your main requirement rather than a head-to-head with The Events Calendar specifically, our comparison of the best WordPress seat reservation plugins covers a wider field of tools.
Winner: Eventnetic. Both plugins offer reserved seat maps, but Eventnetic includes the feature on its cheapest paid plan for $99/yr, while The Events Calendar reserves the feature for its top Elite plan at $599/yr, roughly six times the price.
QR check-in and door management
Eventnetic's free plan includes a searchable door list by name and a live "who's inside" count. QR-based check-in, a per-seat QR code that admits one seat validated at the door with a barcode scanner or code entry, is included in every paid Eventnetic plan, starting at Starter for $99/yr.
The Events Calendar's free tier has no QR check-in. QR code check-in via the Event Tickets App becomes available starting on the Pro plan at $399/yr.
For a closer look at the check-in workflow itself, our step-by-step guide on how to add QR code tickets to a WordPress event website covers PDF ticket delivery, the scanning step, and duplicate-scan protection in more detail.
Winner: Eventnetic. Both plugins gate QR check-in behind a paid plan, but Eventnetic's cheapest paid plan costs $99/yr against The Events Calendar's $399/yr (Pro) for the same capability.
Customization
Every paid Eventnetic plan includes a PDF ticket template designer that lets you start from a preset or build a layout from scratch with your own logo and wording, plus a seat map builder for venue layouts. As with any WordPress plugin, the booking and calendar shortcodes inherit your active theme's styling.
The Events Calendar gives site owners template hooks, filters, custom template tags, and multiple stylesheets aimed at developers who want to restyle calendar and event templates. Its own documentation and free-tier listing do not confirm a PDF ticket design tool comparable to Eventnetic's, and we could not verify this hands-on in a live install.
No clear winner. The two tools optimize for different audiences here: Eventnetic gives non-developers a guided ticket-design tool, while The Events Calendar leans on a developer-facing template and hook system for restyling the calendar and event display itself. Neither claim is strong enough, on the evidence available, to call an outright winner.
Integrations
Both plugins connect to Stripe and PayPal. Beyond that shared ground, each has a distinct set of connections.
Eventnetic-only: WooCommerce as an optional payment method (Elite plan), Zoom that auto-creates a meeting per date (Pro and above), and Telegram alerts plus WhatsApp and SMS via your own Twilio account (all Elite). Any paid plan also gets Zapier via webhooks, and SMTP email delivery and reCAPTCHA v3 or Cloudflare Turnstile for spam protection are free.
The Events Calendar-only: Square as a payment gateway (free tier), Apple Pay/Google Pay as payment methods via Stripe (a premium Event Tickets Plus feature, Pro/Elite), an optional WooCommerce integration at Pro/Elite for selling tickets alongside other WooCommerce products (not a requirement for other Pro/Elite ticketing features), Google Calendar/iCal export (free), Google Maps venue display (free), the WP REST API (free), community event submissions and CSV/iCal event imports (Essentials+), automatic revenue splitting between co-hosts (Pro/Elite), and downloadable Apple Wallet ticket passes plus PDF tickets via Event Tickets Plus (Pro/Elite; the reviewed official documentation covers Apple Wallet and PassWallet on Android, not Google Wallet).
Winner: The Events Calendar on breadth of built-in payment and calendar-ecosystem integrations (Square, Apple Wallet ticket passes, Google Calendar export, event imports). Winner: Eventnetic on outbound notification channels (Telegram, WhatsApp, SMS), which The Events Calendar does not offer at any tier.
Support and documentation
The Events Calendar is backed by docs.nexcess.com, with a large library of articles covering setup, recurring events, Tickets Commerce, and settings, plus an active WordPress.org support forum built up over 17 years and 600,000+ installs.
Eventnetic is a 2026 launch; support runs through [email protected] and the eventnetic.com support page. It does not yet have a public community forum or the volume of independent documentation and third-party tutorials that a plugin with The Events Calendar's install base has built up over time.
We did not test actual support ticket response times for either vendor, so this section is based on documented channels and public track record only, not a hands-on support experience.
Winner: The Events Calendar. Its documentation library and long-established user community are larger and more mature than what a brand-new 2026 product can have built up yet. This is a track-record advantage, not a claim about either team's actual responsiveness.
Installs, reviews, and maturity
The Events Calendar has 600,000+ active installs and a 4.2/5 rating across 2,455 reviews on WordPress.org; its companion Event Tickets plugin has 90,000+ active installs and a 3.5/5 rating across 234 reviews. Both plugins date back to 2008/2009 under original creator Modern Tribe, with Liquid Web acquiring them in 2021 and folding them into Nexcess in 2026.
Eventnetic launched in 2026, is not yet listed on WordPress.org, and has no independently verifiable install count or review history to cite. This is simply where a new product starts; it is not a claim about product quality either way.
Winner: The Events Calendar. On sheer track record, install base, and review volume, it has a multi-year head start that a 2026 launch cannot match yet.
Choose Eventnetic if
- You want zero ticket commission at every plan, including the cheapest paid one.
- You run recurring classes, workshops, or shows and need to sell a ticket against one specific date, with its own capacity and attendee list.
- You want reserved seat maps on the cheapest paid plan ($99/yr) instead of being gated to a top tier like The Events Calendar's $599/yr Elite plan.
- You want QR check-in on the cheapest paid plan ($99/yr) instead of The Events Calendar's $399/yr Pro plan.
- You want deposits (partial payment now, rest later) or numbered PDF invoices, neither of which is listed in The Events Calendar's reviewed official feature and pricing pages.
- You want Telegram, WhatsApp, or SMS alerts built into your event workflow.
- See Eventnetic's pricing page for the current plan details before deciding.
Choose The Events Calendar if
- You want the most widely installed, longest-running option on WordPress, with a large support community and documentation library behind it.
- You want multiple calendar display views (month, week, list, day, and more) rather than a single event list.
- You want to let site visitors submit their own events (a community/marketplace model).
- You are fine paying a 2% commission on Stripe/Square until you're ready to upgrade to the $399/yr Pro plan.
- You specifically need downloadable Apple Wallet ticket passes (via Event Tickets Plus on Pro/Elite) or automatic revenue splitting between co-hosts.
- Your recurring events do not need per-date tickets (for example, a simple recurring meetup where you only need calendar visibility, not per-date sales).
If you'd rather see a broader field than just these two tools, our roundup of best The Events Calendar alternatives for ticketed events compares several options side by side.
For readers whose priority is calendar display flexibility specifically rather than ticketing depth, our best WordPress calendar plugins comparison covers more calendar-first tools.
FAQs
Does The Events Calendar charge a commission on ticket sales? Yes, on Stripe and Square transactions, at 2%, on both the free plugin and the $259/yr Essentials plan. That fee drops to 0% only on the Pro plan ($399/yr) and above. PayPal is not documented as carrying this fee.
Can I sell tickets for a recurring event with The Events Calendar? Not with a standard per-date ticket. Nexcess's documentation states that creating tickets for recurring events is not currently supported; the workaround is a Series Pass, a single ticket covering the whole series rather than one date.
How much does Eventnetic cost compared to The Events Calendar? Eventnetic's cheapest paid plan is $99/yr (or $199 as a one-time lifetime purchase). The Events Calendar's cheapest paid plan is $259/yr, with no lifetime option. Eventnetic charges 0% commission starting on its free plan; The Events Calendar only reaches 0% commission at $399/yr (Pro).
Is there a free version of Eventnetic like The Events Calendar's free plugin? Yes. Eventnetic's free plan has unlimited events and unlimited bookings with no time limit, though online payments are limited to cash/offline until you upgrade. The Events Calendar's free plugins support unlimited events and card payments via Stripe/PayPal/Square, with a 2% commission on Stripe and Square.
Does Eventnetic have QR code check-in? Yes, on any paid plan starting at $99/yr (Starter): a QR code per seat, validated at the door with a barcode scanner or code entry. The Events Calendar's QR check-in via the Event Tickets App requires its Pro plan ($399/yr).
Do I need WooCommerce to use either plugin? No for either. Eventnetic treats WooCommerce as an optional payment method only. The Events Calendar's official documentation presents WooCommerce as an optional Pro/Elite integration for selling tickets alongside other WooCommerce products, not a requirement for its other advanced ticketing features such as QR check-in or custom registration fields.
Which plugin keeps checkout on my own website?
Both do, based on the evidence we reviewed. Eventnetic's checkout stays on your own domain at every tier. The Events Calendar's Tickets Commerce checkout also uses an on-site page built with the [tec_tickets_checkout] shortcode, and Liquid Web's current Pro/Elite product page states explicitly there is no third-party checkout or redirect. We did not find an official source describing a different, off-site flow for the free or Essentials tier.
Is Eventnetic a good alternative to The Events Calendar for ticketed events? It is a reasonable option specifically if per-date recurring tickets, low-cost seat maps, or zero commission at every tier matter most to you. If calendar display variety, a large existing user community, or community event submissions matter more, The Events Calendar remains the more established choice. Our best The Events Calendar alternatives roundup covers other options as well.
