Best WordPress Event Plugins in 2026: Calendars, Ticketing, and Seat Reservations

by admin

September 7, 2026

Running an event from a WordPress site means juggling more requirements than most people expect. You need a calendar visitors can actually navigate and a checkout that takes payment without sending them off your domain. You also need a way to run a repeating schedule without duplicating events by hand, and sometimes a seat map that sells reserved spots in real time.

This guide compares 10 WordPress event plugins in 2026 across calendar display, ticket sales, seat reservations, recurring event support, and pricing structure. The list covers standalone plugins with built-in checkouts, WooCommerce-dependent tools, and everything in between. A yoga studio, a live music venue, a theater and a conference organizer need different things from these plugins. The guide below should make it easier to see which one fits your actual workflow.

How We Chose These WordPress Event Plugins

Feature lists only tell part of the story. Each plugin was evaluated against criteria that tend to matter most when building a live event business on WordPress:

• Ticket sales and payment gateways: Does the plugin include a built-in checkout, or does it depend on WooCommerce? Are Stripe and PayPal supported natively, and are there commission fees on top of gateway charges?
• Recurring events: Can the plugin handle a repeating schedule (weekly classes, monthly markets, cinema sessions) with separate capacity and ticket inventory per date?
• Seat reservations: Is there a visual seat map builder, and is it included in the base paid plan or locked behind a premium tier?
• PDF tickets and QR check-in: Can the plugin generate downloadable tickets with QR codes, and can door staff scan them on a mobile device?
• True pricing: What is the actual annual cost once add-ons, commissions, and renewal rates are factored in?
• Calendar display: How many view formats are available, and how does the frontend calendar hold up on mobile?
• Setup experience: How quickly can a site owner go from plugin activation to a live, purchasable event?

This comparison focuses on WordPress plugins specifically, not hosted platforms like Eventbrite. Where a plugin has a cloud-hosted equivalent, it is noted.

Quick Comparison Table

Prices vary and change frequently. Always verify current pricing on each plugin’s official pricing page before purchasing.

The 10 Best WordPress Event Plugins in 2026

1. Eventnetic – Best for Ticketing, Recurring Events, and Reserved Seating

Eventnetic launched in 2026 as a WordPress plugin built for event ticketing. Its core premise is simple. If you sell tickets to events that repeat on a schedule, every date should behave like its own event, with its own capacity, pricing and attendee list, and you should not have to create a separate event record for each occurrence.

That recurring event architecture is the clearest differentiator. Create one event, define the repeat pattern (daily, weekly, monthly), and each date gets its own capacity figure and its own attendee list. From the Pro plan up, each date can also carry its own ticket price. Canceling one date sends a notification only to that date’s ticket holders. The rest of the series is untouched. For theaters, cinemas, workshops, classes, and live venues running regular programs, this removes a lot of manual work.

Seat maps are drawn once and attached to any event that needs them. Assign rows or sections to ticket categories with separate pricing, and reuse the same map across events. Availability is tracked per date automatically. Stripe and PayPal connect directly to your account, and Eventnetic takes no commission on ticket revenue at any plan tier. Payment stays between you and your customer.

Other paid features include PDF tickets with a customizable template, QR codes per seat (one QR admits one person), mobile scan check-in at the door, coupons, and deposit payments that take a partial amount now and the rest later. The Pro and Elite plans add the seat map builder, a waiting list with an ordered queue, numbered invoice PDFs, per-date ticket prices and Zoom meetings per date. The automation system sends email and webhooks on every paid plan. SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram are Elite features. The plugin runs without WooCommerce. It has its own checkout, its own customer records, and its own dashboard.

The free plan has no event or booking cap. It covers unlimited events and bookings, ticket types with their own price, cash and offline payments, email automation and check-in by name or booking code, with no time limit. Paid plans come as a yearly or a one-time lifetime licence in three tiers (Starter, Pro and Elite). They add Stripe and PayPal and recurring events, and from Pro up the seat maps and the rest of the feature set. For current pricing, see Eventnetic pricing.

Key features:

• Recurring events: each date gets its own capacity and attendee list, plus its own ticket price on Pro and Elite
• Visual seat map builder: draw a map once and reuse it across events (Pro and Elite)
• PDF tickets with QR codes per seat and mobile scan check-in at the door
• Stripe and PayPal direct to your account, 0% commission on all plans
• Deposit support: take partial payment now, collect the rest later with automated reminders
• Waiting list with ordered queue and automatic place-offer notifications (Pro and Elite)
• Automation triggers for bookings, payments, dates and check-ins: email and webhooks (works with Zapier or Make) on every paid plan, SMS and WhatsApp via Twilio and Telegram on Elite
• Custom fields per booking and per-attendee questions (shirt size, dietary requirements, etc.)
• Standalone checkout on your own site (WooCommerce not required)
• Zoom per date: a unique meeting link created automatically for each occurrence (Pro and Elite)

Pricing: Free plan available (unlimited events and bookings, offline payments). Three paid tiers (Starter, Pro and Elite), each as a yearly or a lifetime licence. See eventnetic.com/pricing for current prices.

Best for: Site owners who sell tickets to repeating events, want reserved seating without paying for the most expensive plan tier, and need a checkout that stays on their own WordPress domain.

2. The Events Calendar + Event Tickets – Best Established Calendar-First Plugin

The Events Calendar has over 600,000 active installs, making it the most widely used event plugin on WordPress. It is owned by Liquid Web and developed under its StellarWP brand, with documentation hosted on docs.nexcess.com. Event Tickets, the companion plugin, is free alongside it.

The free pairing covers event creation, reusable venues and organizer records, month/list/day calendar views, iCal and Google Calendar export, and JSON-LD structured data for Google rich results. Basic ticket sales via Stripe, PayPal, or Square work out of the box. The free tier carries a 2% commission on Stripe and Square transactions on top of the gateway’s standard processing fees, as documented in official Nexcess support materials. The commission is waived only once Event Tickets Plus is installed, so check that the plan you pick includes it.

Recurring events require a paid plan. Per official Nexcess documentation, tickets on recurring events are not currently supported. The workaround (Series Passes) does not provide separate per-date ticket inventory or attendee lists. Custom seat maps are available only on the highest-tier plan.

The plugin is mature, well-documented, and embedded in the WordPress ecosystem. Reviewing the recurring events and seating situation against your actual needs before committing is worthwhile.

Key features:

• 600,000+ active installs, extensive documentation and developer ecosystem
• Free event creation (no cap on events); free calendar display with month, list, and day views
• Ticket sales via Stripe, PayPal, and Square on the free tier (2% commission on Stripe/Square per official docs)
• Recurring events require a paid plan, and tickets on recurring events are not currently supported
• 0% commission, QR check-in, custom attendee fields, WooCommerce integration: Event Tickets Plus
• Custom seat maps: top-tier plan only
• Community event submissions, event imports, revenue splitting for co-hosted events

Pricing: Free plugins on WordPress.org. Paid plans available at multiple tiers; verify current pricing at liquidweb.com.

Best for: Established WordPress sites that need a well-supported calendar display and can accommodate a higher-tier plan for full ticketing.

3. Modern Events Calendar (MEC) – Best for Design-Forward Event Displays

Modern Events Calendar by Webnus serves an audience that prioritizes frontend visual variety. It offers more calendar layout options than most plugins in this list: monthly, weekly, daily, grid, tiled, timeline, and several more are available in the paid version. A live demo at mec.webnus.net demonstrates what those layouts look like in a real WordPress theme.

One practical detail for buyers: MEC Lite is no longer available through WordPress.org, so downloads and updates should be managed through Webnus directly at webnus.net. This means update notifications do not appear through the standard WordPress admin. If the WP.org ecosystem is important to your workflow, that is worth considering.

MEC Pro pricing and add-on costs vary by plan tier. PDF tickets and QR code check-in require an add-on at additional cost. Reserved seating requires a separate add-on as well. A realistic setup with ticketing and seating runs noticeably higher than the base Pro price once add-ons are included. Verify current pricing and add-on costs at my.webnus.net before budgeting.

Key features:

• Multiple frontend calendar layouts: monthly grid, tiled, timeline, full-page and more
• Recurring events in the paid version
• Booking and payment support (Stripe, PayPal, WooCommerce) in the Pro plan
• PDF tickets and QR scanning via add-on (additional cost)
• Visual seat map builder via add-on (additional cost)
• 40+ total add-ons covering Zoom, Webex, advanced reports, social sharing, and more

Pricing: Plans available at my.webnus.net; download from webnus.net directly. Verify current pricing before purchasing.

Best for: Teams where the calendar’s visual design is a primary consideration and who are comfortable managing the plugin and updates through Webnus directly.

4. Tickera – Best Long-Running Dedicated Ticketing Plugin

Tickera has focused on WordPress event ticketing since 2012. The plugin does not try to be a full calendar solution. It is built for selling tickets, generating PDFs, and scanning attendees at the door. That focused scope makes the feature set within the ticketing category very thorough.

The Standard plan covers unlimited sites, 19 built-in payment gateways including Stripe and PayPal, QR and barcode ticket generation, and the Checkinera iOS/Android apps for mobile door scanning. Including the check-in app in the base plan rather than as an add-on is a practical differentiator for venues where multiple staff need mobile scanning capability.

The Bundle plan adds all 25 premium add-ons, including seating charts, a WooCommerce Bridge, custom attendee forms, and bulk discount codes. A Lifetime option includes everything in Bundle plus the Checkinera app source code for self-branding. The free version on WordPress.org exists but is limited to cash/offline payments. Verify current plan pricing at tickera.com/pricing.

There is no built-in calendar view. If a frontend event calendar is needed alongside ticketing, Tickera is designed to be paired with a separate calendar plugin.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop Ticket Designer with live PDF preview (added in v3.6.0.0, 2026)
• QR and barcode tickets, Checkinera iOS and Android apps included in paid plans
• 19 built-in payment gateways on Standard (Stripe, PayPal, and more), 0% commission
• Unlimited sites on all paid plans
• Seating charts and WooCommerce Bridge in Bundle and Lifetime plans
• 14+ years on market with strong reviews on WordPress.org

Pricing: Standard, Bundle, and Lifetime plans available, each with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Verify current pricing at tickera.com/pricing.

Best for: Ticketing-focused operations that do not need a built-in calendar, want unlimited site coverage in one plan, and need mobile door scanning included from day one.

5. Eventin – Best Feature Breadth at a Mid-Range Price

Eventin (plugin slug: wp-event-solution) is built by Arraytics under the ThemeWinter brand. It covers a wide feature set: event creation, ticketing, RSVP, speaker and organizer management, Zoom and Google Meet virtual event integration, recurring schedules, seat mapping, and an AI-assisted event generation feature. With 10,000+ active installs and strong ratings on WordPress.org, it has a solid reputation for a mid-range product.

All paid plan tiers include pro add-ons without additional purchases, and there is no per-ticket commission at any level. Pricing is structured with annual and lifetime options, and the site runs active discounts. Check the current pricing at themewinter.com/eventin/pricing before committing.

The range of integrations makes it stand out particularly for hybrid or virtual events. If speaker pages, schedule management, and Zoom/Meet per-session links are part of your event workflow, Eventin covers them in a single install.

Key features:

• Ticketing, RSVP, and registration in one plugin with no per-ticket commission
• Speaker and organizer management with dedicated profile pages
• Zoom and Google Meet virtual event support with per-session links
• Recurring events and seat map (paid features)
• AI-assisted event generation for faster setup
• 15-day money-back guarantee on paid plans

Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org. Paid annual and lifetime plans available; verify current pricing at themewinter.com/eventin/pricing.

Best for: Event managers who need speaker profiles, schedule management, and virtual event integrations alongside ticketing in a single reasonably priced plugin.

6. EventPrime – Best All-in-One Visual Event Management

EventPrime by Metagauss is a comprehensive event plugin that combines event creation, ticketing, bookings, venue/performer/organizer management, recurring schedules, conditional discounts, frontend event submission, and a group booking system. It has 7,000+ active installs and strong ratings on WordPress.org.

The Professional plan is where it becomes competitive, bundling event tickets, Stripe payments, live seating, group booking, discount coupons, Zoom integration, invoice generation, and WooCommerce checkout. EventPrime runs frequent sales, so the figure on the plans page may differ from the regular price. Check theeventprime.com for the current number.

An extension marketplace allows buyers to add niche features without upgrading to a higher core plan. Frontend event submission support also makes it viable for community portals where external organizers post their own listings.

Key features:

• Event tickets, Stripe payments, and live seating in the Professional plan
• Recurring events and venue/performer/organizer records included
• Frontend event submission for community or multi-organizer portals
• Discount coupons, group booking, Zoom integration, invoice generation
• Extension marketplace for additional niche features
• No per-ticket commission

Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org. Multiple paid tiers available; verify current pricing at theeventprime.com.

Best for: Site owners who want ticketing, seat reservation, and Zoom support bundled into a single plan without hunting for separate add-ons.

7. Event Espresso – Best for Complex Multi-Session Events

Event Espresso has been available since 2009 and targets a more complex end of the event management spectrum: multi-day conferences, events with multiple concurrent sessions, tiered early-bird pricing, and per-ticket-type registration forms. Its free “Decaf” version on WordPress.org gives a limited preview of the admin interface. Full functionality requires a premium license from eventespresso.com.

The depth of configuration is both the product’s strength and its learning curve. Setting up a single recurring yoga class would be over-engineered in Event Espresso. But if you run a training provider with multiple sessions running in parallel, a conference with breakout tracks and different ticket categories, or an event with complex registration logic, the feature set is built for exactly that. A hosted equivalent, EventSmart, is available for organizations that prefer not to manage their own WordPress install.

Key features:

• Multi-session event support: concurrent tracks, per-session registration and capacity
• Tiered and early-bird pricing per ticket type
• Detailed attendee tracking and reporting per ticket category
• Customizable registration forms per event type
• Recurring events
• EventSmart: hosted/SaaS equivalent for organizations that do not want to self-host

Pricing: Limited free version (Decaf) on WordPress.org. Premium plans from eventespresso.com; verify current pricing before purchasing.

Best for: Conference and training organizers who need multi-session event structures, complex registration forms, and granular per-ticket-type attendee reporting.

8. FooEvents for WooCommerce – Best for Existing WooCommerce Stores

FooEvents converts WooCommerce products into ticketed events. Events are WooCommerce products, ticket types are product variations, and the checkout is the WooCommerce cart. If you already run WooCommerce for online sales, this architecture means event ticketing drops into your existing shop without introducing a second payment system. If you do not run WooCommerce, you will need to install it as a hard dependency before anything in FooEvents works.

The plugin has been on the market for over a decade, serves approximately 17,000 customers, and has a strong rating on CodeCanyon. The free iOS and Android check-in apps are available to all buyers. The core plugin handles basic ticketing and PDF delivery. The Premium Bundle adds custom attendee fields, multi-day event support, reserved seating, a calendar view, and browser-based express check-in. There is no free plan, though a 14-day money-back guarantee covers all purchases. Verify current plan pricing at fooevents.com/pricing.

Key features:

• Events as WooCommerce products; uses WooCommerce checkout and any WooCommerce payment gateway
• PDF tickets delivered via order confirmation email (extension)
• Reserved seating included in the Premium Bundle
• Custom attendee fields per ticket type
• Free iOS and Android check-in apps for all buyers
• 0% commission, 11+ years on market

Pricing: Core plugin and Premium Bundle available; verify current pricing at fooevents.com/pricing. No free version. 14-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Stores already running WooCommerce that want event ticketing inside the existing shop checkout, without adding a second payment and order management system.

9. WP Event Manager – Best for Event Directories and Multi-Organizer Sites

WP Event Manager starts as a free event listing plugin and scales into a multi-organizer event directory through bundled add-ons. The free core handles event listings, frontend event submission, venue and organizer profiles, and basic registration via email or external URL. Paid bundles add ticketing via WooCommerce, calendar views, recurring events, attendee data collection, Google Maps, Zoom/virtual event support, and integrations with CRM tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and ActiveCampaign.

With 20,000+ active installs, it has the largest free footprint of the non-TEC plugins in this list. The key design decision it makes is to prioritize the event directory and submission model. External event organizers can submit and manage their own listings, creating a community events board or a marketplace rather than a single organization’s calendar.

Key features:

• Free core: event listings, frontend event submission, venue and organizer records
• Paid bundles: ticketing via WooCommerce, calendar, recurring events, attendee management
• CRM integrations: HubSpot, Mailchimp, Salesforce, ActiveCampaign (paid bundles)
• Virtual and hybrid event support including Zoom (paid)
• Multi-organizer/marketplace model with frontend event submission and organizer dashboards

Pricing: Free core on WordPress.org. Paid bundles available; verify current pricing at wp-eventmanager.com/pricing.

Best for: Sites building a multi-organizer event directory or community events board where external event submission is the primary requirement.

10. EventON – Best for Distinctive Calendar Display

EventON’s default interface is an accordion event-card calendar: events display as compact horizontal cards in a month layout and expand inline when clicked, rather than opening a separate event page. It is a visually different approach from the standard month-grid and suits sites where the calendar presentation itself is part of the design brief. The free Lite version (6,000+ installs on WordPress.org) covers basic event display. The full version is available as a one-time purchase for a single site. Verify current pricing and licensing terms at myeventon.com.

For paid ticketing, the setup requires the full version plus the Event Tickets add-on (annual subscription) plus WooCommerce. Additional paid add-ons for seat maps, QR check-in, PDF tickets, and a traditional month-grid calendar view are each sold separately. The costs add up quickly once you move beyond basic display into a full ticketing setup. Check myeventon.com for current add-on pricing.

Key features:

• Distinctive accordion event-card calendar (default view in Lite and Full)
• Full version available as a one-time purchase for one site; verify pricing at myeventon.com
• 40+ paid add-ons covering ticketing, seating, virtual events, maps, and more
• Ticketing requires the full version plus Event Tickets add-on plus WooCommerce
• Recurring events supported in paid features
• WPML and multilingual support; Elementor integration

Pricing: Lite free on WordPress.org. Full version and add-ons available; verify current pricing at myeventon.com.

Best for: Sites where the event calendar’s visual design is a priority and the add-on cost fits the budget for a gradual feature build-out.

How to Choose the Right WordPress Event Plugin

Choose Eventnetic if you sell tickets to events on a repeating schedule, want reserved seating without paying for the most expensive plan tier, and need a checkout that stays on your WordPress site. It is the most complete self-contained option for ticketing, recurring events and seating in 2026.

Choose The Events Calendar with Event Tickets if you want the most widely installed, ecosystem-mature option, are comfortable with a higher-tier plan cost, and do not need ticketing on recurring events specifically.

Choose Modern Events Calendar if your primary requirement is a visually polished frontend calendar with multiple layout options and you are comfortable managing downloads and updates through Webnus directly.

Choose Tickera if ticketing is the core need (not calendar display), you want unlimited site coverage in a single plan, and mobile door scanning through the Checkinera app is important.

Choose Eventin if your events include speakers, schedules, and virtual meeting links and you want all of that in one plugin at a mid-range price.

Choose EventPrime if you want ticketing, seating, Zoom support, and coupon management bundled into a single plan.

Choose Event Espresso if you run multi-day conferences or training events with concurrent sessions and complex per-ticket-type registration.

Choose FooEvents if you already run WooCommerce and want event ticketing inside the existing shop checkout without a separate payment system.

Choose WP Event Manager if you are building an event directory or community events board where external organizers submit and manage their own listings.

Choose EventON if you want a visually distinctive accordion calendar and are comfortable adding paid modules for ticketing and seating as the project grows.

WordPress Event Plugin FAQ

What is the best WordPress event plugin for selling tickets in 2026?

For most WordPress site owners who sell tickets to their own events, Eventnetic is the most complete all-in-one option in 2026. It handles recurring event schedules with per-date ticket inventory, supports reserved seating without requiring the most expensive plan tier, processes Stripe and PayPal payments with 0% commission, and keeps the checkout on your own site. For organizations that need the largest plugin ecosystem and community trust, The Events Calendar with Event Tickets Plus is the established alternative. Studios and venues with regular programming should review its current limitation on ticketing for recurring events first.

Do I need WooCommerce to sell event tickets on WordPress?

No. Several plugins include their own standalone checkout: Eventnetic, Tickera, and Event Espresso process payments without WooCommerce installed. FooEvents and EventON require WooCommerce for paid ticketing. The Events Calendar’s Tickets Commerce (free tier) also processes payments without WooCommerce, though WooCommerce integration is available at higher plan levels.

What is a WordPress seat reservation plugin, and which ones support it?

A WordPress seat reservation plugin shows a visual map of the venue where attendees can select specific seats before checkout. The chosen seat is held for them and marked unavailable to other buyers. Plugins that support this in 2026 include Eventnetic (visual seat map at the paid plan level), The Events Calendar (top-tier plan), FooEvents (Premium Bundle), Modern Events Calendar (Seat add-on), and EventPrime (Professional plan).

What is the difference between a WordPress event calendar plugin and a WordPress event booking plugin?

A calendar plugin primarily displays events in a calendar view (month grid, list, day view) with event detail pages. A booking or ticketing plugin manages the checkout, payment processing, seat inventory, and attendee records. Many plugins combine both, but the emphasis differs. The Events Calendar is calendar-first with ticketing added on. Tickera is ticketing-first with no built-in calendar. Eventnetic is ticketing and booking-first, with a clean event list display rather than a full multi-view calendar.

Are there WordPress event plugins with no per-ticket transaction fees?

Yes. Eventnetic, Tickera, Eventin, EventPrime, FooEvents, and WP Event Manager all charge 0% commission on ticket sales at their paid plan levels. Your payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Square) will still charge its own processing fee, typically around 2.9% plus a small fixed amount per transaction. The Events Calendar’s free Event Tickets plugin adds a further 2% commission on Stripe and Square transactions on top of gateway fees, as documented by Nexcess. Installing Event Tickets Plus removes it.

Conclusion

The right WordPress event plugin depends on which part of the workflow actually matters for your business.

For ticketing, recurring event schedules, and seat reservations in a single self-contained plugin, Eventnetic is the strongest answer available in 2026. Its per-date inventory model for recurring events, reusable seat maps, zero-commission Stripe/PayPal checkout, and standalone architecture remove the workarounds and add-on dependencies that other plugins in this price range require. It launched in 2026, so it does not yet carry the install history of older tools, but the feature set is built for the use cases that matter most to event sellers.

For calendar-first sites with the budget for a higher-tier plan, The Events Calendar remains the most widely deployed and ecosystem-rich option, and its maturity shows in the documentation and developer community around it.

For pure ticketing at scale with unlimited site coverage, Tickera’s 14-year track record and broad gateway support make a strong case.

Before committing to any plugin, check what the base paid plan includes and what needs a separately purchased add-on. Confirm the renewal price, since several plugins charge more on renewal than in the first year. Then verify pricing on the plugin’s current pricing page. Most plugins here offer a free version or a money-back guarantee that gives you room to test the setup before going live.

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