10 Best WordPress Event Calendar Plugins 2023
Welcome to our review of the best WordPress event calendar plugins for every website.
You can use event calendars to organize small or large events such as conferences, parties, family get-togethers, sports events, etc.
You may have a website devoted to events and bookings, or you can add a calendar to an existing website and schedule events and enable bookings from there.
If you’re using WordPress, you’ll be glad there are many WordPress themes for events, simplifying adding features even further.
The plugins are for adding a simple calendar to your WordPress website, event reservations, bookings, team management, exporting/importing data, etc. (Some even have a feature that allows users to submit their events.)
And you can generally insert a calendar in any page, post, or widget area.
SIMPLE.
Table Of Contents:
- The Events Calendar (Free): The best free version with an option to go pro to get more features.
- Timely (Free): Quick solution for events, schools, theatres, charities, etc.
- Events Manager (Free): Publishing and managing events made simple – and for free.
- Booknetic (Premium): Event calendar with automation and scheduling functionality.
- Booking Calendar (Free): Great plugin for any type of reservation and service scheduling.
- Amelia (Free): Extensive event calendar plugin for yogis, doctors, spas, salons, etc.
- WP Simple Booking Calendar (Free): A simple solution that won’t bloat your website.
- EventON (Premium): Keep small, large, local, global, and niche events organized.
- Calendar Anything (Premium): Great in combo with another plugin to show a calendar on your site.
- Calendarize.it (Premium): Optimized for Gutenberg and WPBakery (but also works with others).
Best WordPress Event Calendar Plugins
1. The Events Calendar (Most Popular)
The Events Calendar is a feature-rich, easy-to-use plugin that allows you to easily add events and manage organizers and venues. You can customize a few display options, such as Google Maps zoom level and currency symbols.
You can place upcoming events in a calendar grid format complete with tooltips and descriptions or a stylish list or day view.
It has a nice user interface from which you can adjust the settings so it fits your needs. Set event information such as time and date, location details, organizer details, event website, and cost details.
You can also slot events into categories and tags (handy!), all-day display events, and import data from CSV files. It includes an Ajax-enabled calendar that users can search and filter for events.
There’s also support for caching and debugging mode for developers.
The plugin has been audited by many WordPress experts for best practices and plugin compatibility.
The Events Calendar is highly popular, and many large Fortune 100 companies, major universities and government institutions use it to manage their events. (It has a whopping 800,000+ active installs!)
The plugin’s premium version adds options for recurring events, custom event legends, default content and location search. Additional calendar viewing options such as week, map, photo, venue and organizer are available.
You can also access featured venue, week, and event countdown widgets. Premium add-ons are available and help integrate with Eventbrite, Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce to sell tickets.
And users can also submit their events from the front-end.
The Events Calendar is powerful enough to adapt to your needs, starting with the free version.
But we highly recommend going with the premium version as soon as you need more features because it makes your life so much easier.
Best For:
An easy start with the free option to run events immediately. But also great for recurring events, events management, and (A LOT) more when going pro. Also a great option for online events, education, nightlife, non-profits and communities.
Features:
- Event subscription
- Recurring events
- Multiple views (day, month, list)
- Shortcodes, blocks and widgets
- Event manager
- Ajax loading
- Event status
Pros:
- Great support for any event-related services
- Import events from 3rd-party platforms
- Great functions in the free version
- Frequent updates and improvements
Cons:
- Need to upgrade to pro for Elementor integration
- Only one calendar per site
Pricing:
- Free: Month, list and day views, categories and tags, widget, search function
- Pro (starts at $99 for one site): Extra calendar views, recurring events, location search, Elementor integration
2. Timely (Free)
Timely is another of our favorite (free) event calendar WordPress plugins for quick integration.
It has multiple themes for calendar display, and you can customize each with easy configurations. The inline calendar theme editor helps you change the calendar’s appearance without coding and API.
Make it appear like it’s been on the page since the beginning.
There’s not much that you cannot control from the plugin’s settings page. You can add the event name, location, description, category, and tags.
You can also include other details such as the date and time of the event, the price and the link for visitors to purchase tickets. And you can pin event locations to a Google Map (you may also be interested in our Google Maps plugins collection).
The calendar offers multiple viewing options: day, week, month, schedule, and posterboard view.
You can embed a calendar into a WordPress page without modifying your theme. Timely includes recurring events, event filtering by categories and tags, and events from Facebook.
Each event is optimized for SEO and links back to the original calendar. You can display upcoming events in your website’s widget area.
BUT.
The paid plans offer more functionality such as filtering by venue and organizer, Twitter auto-sharing, paid and unpaid front-end event submissions, and keyword search.
Besides categorizing, tagging, and displaying the events, Timely also supports CSV/ICS import from other websites.
You can create events on one website and then export them completely or selectively based on categories and tags. (You can also import feeds and post featured events.)
Yup, Timely does a lot of things to guarantee you the ultimate calendar solution for your WordPress website.
Best For:
Adding an event calendar to event, school, theatre, charity, DMO, and many other websites.
Features:
- Translatable dashboard in multiple languages
- Custom toolbar
- Handy filtering solution
- Convenient media library
- Easy sharing with 3rd-parties
- Simple embed
Pros:
- Very easy to setup and configure to your needs
- Better user engagement
- Optimized for conversions (more registrations)
Pricing:
- Free: One user, one events calendar, Timely label, up to 100 events
- Premium (custom pricing): Multiple users, white label, unlimited event imports, advanced customizations
Active Installations: 80,000+
3. Events Manager (Free)
Events Manager is a popular plugin to manage your events in a calendar-based format. It allows you to configure settings to match your needs and supports recurring events, all-day events and multi-day events.
It manages bookings efficiently, approving and rejecting, exporting bookings in CSV format, and more.
Advanced permission levels are available to restrict user management of events and locations.
The plugin supports Google Maps, WP multisite installs and BuddyPress. Members and guests can submit events from the front-end, which is a handy feature for communities.
You can assign locations to events, categorize them and create custom attributes like dress code. The “Add to Google Calendar” button helps to add events to the calendar easily.
Events Manager supports RSS feed and iCal support for single and multiple events. (You can import calendars from 3rd-parties.)
You can adjust template files to control how your calendars appear. Easy modifications that give you control over the appearance.
Template tags and shortcodes are available for use in your posts and pages with widgets for events, calendars, and locations.
Events Manager also integrates a practical advanced search to find events quickly.
The Pro version offers additional features like PayPal, Authorize.net and offline payments, custom booking forms, coupon codes and faster support via a private forum.
You’ll also enjoy automation for sending emails and reminders, which saves you a lot of time.
Best For:
Adding an events function with an option to publish events, add locations and manage bookings.
Features:
- Recurring events
- Custom event fields
- Zoom meetings
- Book as a guest
- Spam protection
- WooCommerce integration
Pros:
- Very resourceful free version
- Regular updates
- Easy event and location import to different platforms
Cons:
- Support can be on the slow side
Pricing:
- Free: Recurring events, multisite support, RSS feeds, Google Maps, CSV export
- Pro – 1 site ($75): Custom fields, location images, transaction history, custom booking forms
- Pro – 5 sites ($150): Multiple tickets and pricing, payment gateways, widgets, language-specific events
Active Installations: 100,000+
4. Booknetic (Premium)
If you need a one-stop solution for your online calendar and bookings, Booknetic sorts you out with everything you need.
It is entirely customizable to fit your business needs seamlessly, keeping online bookings 100% automated.
While this WordPress plugin has many features, working with it is quick and easy. (Read: you don’t need to have coding & design experience.)
Save time, set online payments, enjoy in-depth reporting, and sync Booknetic with 3rd-party software, like Zoom, Google Calendar, and more.
Plus, creating the perfect form for your clients requires the method of dragging and dropping that you’ll master on the fly.
Another awesome feature is the waiting list, which increases the hype for all your users.
Booknetic easily adapts to different industries, like law consultants, spa salons, gyms, repairing centers and other service-based businesses.
Even if you plan to use Booknetic in different languages, know that you can effortlessly translate it.
It’s also simple to expand its possibilities with 3rd-party tools, like Zapier, Automate and HubSpot, to name a few.
You should also not miss including ratings and reviews, which can boost your business by building trust.
And because the admin dashboard is where you’ll spend a lot of time, Booknetic ensures it’s organized and user-friendly, so you always know how your business is doing.
Enjoy.
Best For:
Businesses that need automation and scheduling with an abundance of features.
Features:
- Integrated ratings and reviews
- Multi-bookings
- Insightful reporting
- Custom(izable) forms
- Email and SMS notifications
- Supports RTL languages
- Manage appointments via Zoom
Pros:
- Great design quality
- Top-notch flexibility
- Endless feature availability
- Superb customer support
Cons:
- No free version (or free trial)
Pricing:
- Regular license ($79): Single end project that can’t charge users
- Extended license ($489): Single end project that can charge users
5. Booking Calendar (Free)
You can use the Booking Calendar plugin whenever you want to add an online booking option on your website, regardless of the industry.
This could include accommodations, equipment rentals, event/patient scheduling, or other services needing reservations.
It adds a calendar at the front-end, where users can check availability and fill out a simple form to submit their bookings.
They can make reservations for any event. You’ll receive a notification when a booking is requested, and you can then accept or decline it.
It’s possible to search and sort the bookings and prevent double bookings (avoid inconvenience).
Booking Calendar allows you to schedule bookings, but you cannot add any input fields to the booking form (available in pro).
You can configure and insert a booking shortcode into any post or page from the booking button in the edit toolbar.
It also offers widget support, so you can quickly integrate it into different areas of your website.
You can see all the daily, weekly, or monthly bookings in the calendar overview mode, which keeps you organized. (It also supports list view if you’re more comfortable with it.)
The plugin cuts down on spam with CAPTCHA support.
You can import your Google Calendar events into your booking admin panel and it also supports Airbnb, Booking, TripAdvisor, and other platforms.
You also have the option to customize the calendar by editing the CSS style with your creative touches.
Plus, set up the parameters you need so the Booking Calendar can then do all the hard work for you.
Booking Calendar Pro allows you to edit bookings, add notes, and export bookings. Some plans also integrate a payment gateway for selling bookings and more.
Best For:
Accommodation businesses, equipment rentals, service scheduling and anyone that needs (free or paid) reservations.
Features:
- Add booking notes
- Unlimited calendars
- Multiple view modes
- Online payments
- Email template customization
- Gutenberg block
Pros:
- Great experience for beginners
- Customizable design
- Mobile-ready front- and back-end
- Easy integration with any WP theme
Cons:
- No free trial/money-back guarantee
Pricing:
- Free: Booking timeslots, email notifications, double booking prevention, 3rd-party sync
- Personal ($79): Advanced configurations, edit bookings, add notes, Google Calendar events
- Business Small ($149): Everything in Personal, start/end times, payment gateways, email templates
- Business Medium ($249): Everything in Small, season filters, payments and cost settings, custom form fields
- Business Large ($349): Everything in Medium, multiple bookings, booking capacity, coupons
- MultiUser ($649): Everything in Large, auto decline, search availability, independent configurations
Note: It also has premium plans for two and five sites. Plus, they are quite generous with discounts, so you can upgrade to pro much cheaper.
6. Amelia (Free)
Small businesses, agencies and individuals are welcome to use the powerful and practical Amelia.
This WordPress calendar plugin helps you save time and energy when making appointments and bookings.
Offer your potential clients an easier way of booking your services or setting up an appointment.
But you’ll experience the same simple process when configuring the calendar to fit your needs.
Regardless of your industry, Amelia easily caters to it, ensuring everyone gets the most out of the tool.
You can fully set things up for your business in just a few minutes and have Amelia actively work on your website already.
Flexible appointments, a nifty calendar view, a working schedule, email notification and other whatnot are some features you get with Amelia.
Amelia does a lot of work for you, so you can cut costs and focus on growing your business.
It takes care of users picking the right service, date and agent/employee. Plus, online payments, SMS reminders, rescheduled appointments and integration with 3rd-party services.
Amelia also guarantees constant updates (for life!) that guarantee the plugin works smoothly.
Besides, the team is also no stranger to adding new features and improvements, so it’ll only get bigger and better.
Keep your business organized and grow it to new heights using Amelia.
Best For:
Anyone that offers services, like yogis, gyms, doctors, car repairs, spa salons and photographers, to name a few.
Features:
- SMS notifications
- WooCommerce integration
- Custom booking form fields
- Event calendar view
- Practical dashboard and reporting
- Coupons
- Customer and employee panels
Pros:
- No installation and use learning curve
- Great support
- Modern and mobile-ready design
- A LOT of features (which can also be a con)
Cons:
- Too many features can be a bit overwhelming
Pricing:
- Free: Embeddable booking form, compatible with page builders, CSV import
- Basic ($64/year): 1 domain/year, unlimited appointments, multiple locations
- Pro ($90/year): 3 domains/year, customizable design, package of services
- Developer ($175/year): Unlimited domains/year, WhatsApp integration
7. WP Simple Booking Calendar (Free)
WP Simple Booking Calendar is a good choice for booking hotels, car rentals, and appointments.
You can insert the calendar into your website using a widget or shortcode. Easy.
The feature list for the free plugin is rather limited, and to fully experience the benefits, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium version. (See pricing below.)
WP Simple Booking Calendar Pro adds unlimited booking calendars and a legend to display right next to your calendar. (You can create a custom calendar legend specific to your needs.)
You can display multiple months in multi-page format, change the first day of the week or the start of the month or year, and display the week’s number.
Specific users can be assigned to specific calendars and tooltips can be used to show information.
The plugin allows you to highlight the current day and sync your calendars to calendars on other websites that use iCal feeds. (It syncs with Airbnb, Google Calendar, Booking, HomeAway, and others.)
It’s also possible to block specific dates and export data in CSV or Excel format. You can enable users to book multiple appointment slots, too.
We also found that the plugin is very lightweight, so it won’t slow down your website with unnecessary bloat.
Another practical feature if you have a ton of editing to do is the multiple-selection of date range and status – editing with just one click.
And the search widget is also extra handy because it has just enough elements to find available spots quickly.
You’re ready for anything with Simple Booking Calendar, but we recommend the pro version.
Best For:
Everyone who doesn’t want a bloated calendar but still needs the features for basic service availability. (More advanced features in the pro plan(s).)
Features:
- Custom start weekday
- CSV calendar events export
- Bulk date editor
- Translatable
- Showcase multiple months
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Lightweight base and easy-to-use interface
- Works with iCalendar feeds (quick import)
Cons:
- Fairly limited free version
Pricing:
- Free: 1 calendar, availability display, responsive layout, backup and restore
- Personal ($/year): 1 website, all premium features
- Business ($/year): 5 websites, all premium features
- Developer ($/year): Unlimited websites, all premium features
8. EventON (Premium)
EventON is minimalist in design and allows you to create and insert events into posts and pages using shortcodes. You can also display events in widgets.
EventON supports recurring events, featured images, custom fields and Google Maps.
The plugin is packed with 200+ features and is highly customizable. Events can be color-coded, and you can highlight any event as a featured event and hide or delete past events.
The interactive shortcode generator also helps to customize your calendar. An event excerpt can be displayed in fade mode with full details in the background.
It’s also possible to categorize events and have one calendar to display all events in any category alone. The calendar is Ajax-enabled and ensures smooth month-to-month transitions.
EventON includes Font Awesome icons and social share buttons for the calendar.
The calendar can display as a slidedown, in a lightbox, single event page, or normal mode. You can style the look of your calendar in the appearance editor to match it with your website.
Visitors can filter and sort events and enjoy a quick search.
Users can download events in ICS format and add them to an iCal feed or a Google Calendar.
EventON is a feature-packed plugin with much functionality for great customization.
A more advanced feature is the live virtual event with Zoom or Jitsi. It supports a live progress bar, local user time, “live now” animation and after-event content.
Bring it on with EventON!
Best For:
Everyone who’s hosting events. Small, large, local, global, niche, it doesn’t matter, EventON equips you with everything to display events on your website.
Features:
- SEO schema support
- Event location image
- “Learn more” button
- RTL language support
- Gutenberg compatible
- Paypal payments
- Custom CSS styles
Pros:
- Universal time and date
- Multiple event settings
- Shows featured event on top of the others
Cons:
- No free trial (but you can see the live demo)
Pricing:
- Regular license ($25): Single end project that can’t charge users
- Extended license ($250): Single end project that can charge users
9. Calendar Anything (Premium)
Calendar Anything is an engaging WordPress calendar plugin that can show any custom post type in a calendar.
It is ideal for schools, restaurants, concerts, conferences, and similar websites.
For your information, Calendar Anything is compatible with any event plugin you currently use.
You get to pick between eleven fully adaptable themes out of the box. And the final layout you create will also be responsive, mobile-ready, and cross-browser compatible.
Yup, Calendar Anything works on any device and platform without a hitch.
The full feature list of Calendar Anything is vast so we will put an extra shine on only a few. (More below.)
Event filtering, tooltips, caching, Google Fonts, two event fetching modes and a custom date range are a few of the Calendar Anything traits.
Calendar Anything promises quick and easy edits and configurations to create the perfect display that blends with your website.
You can then add your created calendar to custom post types or via shortcode, and that’s it.
Now go ahead and Calendar Anything. (Do you see what I just did there?)
Best For:
Those who are already using an event plugin and would want to showcase events in a calendar anywhere on their website.
Features:
- 11 predefined calendar templates
- Multiple calendar views
- Unlimited calendars
- Styling freedom
- Built-in search function
- Event caching
Pros:
- Smooth compatibility with event plugins
- Great and friendly support
- In-depth documentation
Cons:
- You can’t test it for free (only check the live demo)
Pricing:
Regular license ($26): Single end project that can’t charge users
Extended license ($125): Single end project that can charge users
10. Calendarize.it (Premium)
Calendarize.it is fully compatible with WPBakery page builder to enjoy the drag-and-drop features to create your calendar templates.
Note: Calendarize.it is also 100% optimized for WP’s Block Builder (Gutenberg) in case you don’t use WPBakery.
No biggie.
The plugin offers many color schemes and a CSS editor that you can use to customize your calendar however you want.
There’s support for Google Maps and recurring events, which are great additions.
Display of event calendar or upcoming events in a widget is possible and done in a few clicks.
Many free add-ons are also available for functions like displaying upcoming events in an accordion format, event countdown, social sharing, member profiles, ratings, and reviews.
All this is handy for every business owner, saving time and energy.
You can add events with the click of a button and categorize them to keep things organized. (It’s also possible to use filters.)
Moreover, you can step up with many premium add-ons if you want to take things to the extreme.
You can use them to add advertising options, sell tickets, create links with attributes and include RSVP events. (Plus, even more goodies are coming with upcoming updates.)
It’s time to Calendarize.it!
Best For:
Gutenberg and WPBakery users who require great functionality to customize the calendar to their specific event needs.
Features:
- Upcoming events
- Various event views
- Timetable
- WooCommerce to sell tickets
- Countdown
- Featured image
- Ratings and reviews
Pros:
- Works with Gutenberg and WPBeginner
- You can expand and style it however you want
- Lots of free add-ons
Pricing:
Regular license ($29): Single end project that can’t charge users
Extended license ($150): Single end project that can charge users
Conclusion: Best WordPress Event Calendar Plugins
We’ve had a huge debate about the best free and premium WordPress event calendar plugins.
First thing’s first, every one on this list is reliable and full of great (and unique) functionality.
However, after reviewing it, testing it on live projects and hearing users’ opinions, The Events Calendar is our best and favorite pick.
And what’s the most exciting? You can start for free and only upgrade to pro when needed.
But you’re welcome to test other (free) plugins if you need exclusive features that TEC doesn’t include.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best events calendar for WordPress?
The best event calendar plugin for WordPress is The Events Calendar. It offers free and pro versions that allow everyone to start immediately. Small or large projects, it doesn’t matter; the plugin supports them all.
Does WordPress have a calendar feature?
No, WordPress doesn’t have a calendar feature by default. But you can easily add this functionality (for free!) by using a WordPress event calendar plugin.
How do I make a calendar of events in WordPress?
The best and easiest way of adding an events calendar to your website is with a WordPress plugin. It’s a simple method that’s available to beginner and professional users.
How do I create a WordPress event page?
An events calendar WordPress theme is your best option for creating an event page. It has all the functionality and predefined design that you need. But choose an event calendar plugin if you already run a website and want to expand it.
Was this article helpful?
YesNo