The Best WordPress Event Management Plugins for Event Businesses
Last Updated July 27th, 2023
Building event websites for clients is a staple for WordPress developers. People want websites dedicated to their conferences, meetups, and more all of the time. It’s also common for a client to want to add event-specific features to their existing website. Maybe they want to show upcoming events at their space or feature events that their business will be present at. Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t have any built-in features for handling events so we have to rely on plugins. We have put together a list of some of the most commonly used WordPress event management plugins in this post. We hope, by the end, that you’ll be able to find one or more options to fit your client project’s needs.
Popular WordPress Event Management Plugins
Our list of WordPress event management plugins features entirely free options available at WordPress.org. You can download and upload these plugins manually to your WordPress installation. Or, if you want an easier way, install and activate them from the Plugins screen of the WordPress admin.
We have done our best to summarize each of these plugins’ features and capabilities. Of course, we said they were all free and that’s true. But many offer premium versions and add-ons as well for extra features. In those cases, we have also given brief overviews of what the paid versions offer so you can get a complete picture of what each of these event plugins can do.
So let’s get started and review some of the most popular WordPress event plugins out there today.
Timely All-in-One Events Calendar
Timely All-in-One Events Calendar is a WordPress event management plugin that allows you to create, organize, manage, share, and overall handle your events. This plugin is built to work on any device and any language website. The design is beautiful and responsive for different devices. The dashboard is available in several languages like English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Dutch.
Your calendar may be displayed by week, month, or as an agenda view. Different views may be set up depending on the device being used. There are several themes for you to choose from. You can customize the colors and fonts to your preference. Events may be filtered by different categories.
Event creation is easy with the ability to create single events, multiple events, all-day events, never-ending events, and recurring events. These events can be duplicated and time zones can be set for each.
A media library is available to facilitate file uploads. There are social share buttons for your audience to share your events straight from the calendar. On top of everything, the calendar and events are SEO optimized and Event Schema ready.
Plugin Details
This product was initially published by its developer in September of 2011. It is currently on version 3.0.1 and last experienced a revision on April 10th, 2024. The newest edition functions on WordPress 6.5.5 and requires at least PHP 7.2 to function on your server. This plugin is presently working on over 50,000 WordPress websites. It has had over 3,856,020 downloads. There have been 10 assistance requests with a 70% response rate. Timely All-in-One Events Calendar has ok support from its creator. Reviews for Timely All-in-One Events Calendar are very positive. Many of the end-users who left a review found Timely All-in-One Events Calendar to be excellent.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There have been 4 recorded security or vulnerability issues with Timely All-in-One Events Calendar. All of those security problems have been fixed. Here are the details:
Date | Description | Fixed? |
---|---|---|
5/4/19 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 2.5.38. | Yes |
11/14/13 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 1.10. | Yes |
3/7/13 | SQL Injection This was a critical concern issue that was fixed in version 1.10. | Yes |
4/11/12 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 1.6. | Yes |
Timely All-in-One Events Calendar offers a paid Enterprise plan where the price depends on which extra features and add-ons you’d like to include on your calendar.
With these advanced features, you can do things like set a custom number of events calendars, domains, admin users, event submitters, and events. There are advanced event publishing features and even more ways you can customize the aesthetics of your calendar to suit your site. It comes with event promotion features, event aggregation features, and community events features. You can add ticketing and registration and review your events with analytics and operation features.
The paid version comes with enterprise support and services to help you whenever you encounter problems and need assistance.
WP Events Manager
WP Events Manager is a free WordPress event management plugin that provides you with the important features needed when creating and handling an event website. With this plugin, you can manage all and any events you create as well as sell tickets. Your events may be set up with features like how many tickets are available, the ticket price, the event’s start and end date, where it is located, an image, and a category.
There is a shortcode that helps you embed events into other posts or pages within your site. You can manage users and who may join which event, which currency is used, and allow notifications to be sent when users register for events or accounts. Payment options can be configured with PayPal integration.
Plugin Details
This product was initially released by its creator in March of 2017. It is now on version 2.2.0 and last saw an update on August 30th, 2024. The newest release runs on WordPress 6.6.2 and requires at least PHP 7.4 to run on your server. This plugin is actively working on over 30,000 WordPress sites. It has had over 558,710 downloads. There have not been many support requests from users. Users assess this plugin as average.
Event Monster
Event Monster allows you to create and manage events, all the while doing bookings, handling tickets, and dealing with sponsors. The plugin is fully responsive for all types of devices and the interface is user-friendly. It is easy to create multiple events within minutes.
You can set the event title, description, start and end date, start and end time, and where the event is located. Customize and improve the aesthetics as well by adding a logo or banner image and editing the title size and style. Include a countdown timer, show the event location on a map, and accept registration for the event. You may style the registration form and share your event on social media with social share icons.
If you wish to further design your event displays, you can use your own CSS. You can view all attendees with full details and download this list as a CSV file. You may also enable email notifications about your event with a custom message that can be sent to your visitors upon registration.
Plugin Details
This piece of software was first released by its owner in November of 2016. It is actively on version 1.4.3 and last saw a change on November 8th, 2024. The newest release functions on WordPress 6.6.2. This plugin is presently operating on over 1,000 WordPress sites. It has had over 63,480 downloads. There have not been many assistance requests from users. Reviews for this plugin are very positive. Many of the customers who left an evaluation found this plugin to be useful.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There have been 3 recorded security or vulnerability issues with Event Monster. All of those security problems have been fixed. Here are the details:
Date | Description | Fixed? |
---|---|---|
10/31/22 | Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 1.2.0. | Yes |
10/27/22 | Cross-Site Request Forgery This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 1.1.20. | Yes |
5/23/19 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 1.0.6. | Yes |
Event Monster Premium is the paid version of the plugin and comes with even more features to further customize and enhance its capabilities. You may manage, modify, update, and delete all events easily. Add event artists and speakers with all their details. It comes as well with an event gallery, and customization settings for it like a lightbox, hover effects, and different layouts.
You may sort events between paid and free and fix ticket settings. Add sponsors and display their details like logos and website links. There are coupons that you can customize and give your visitors to apply to their purchases. Finally, Event Monster Premium lets you see and download all payment details and transactions.
Sugar Calendar
Sugar Calendar is a popular plugin that lets you manage events on your WordPress site. It is an easy and lightweight plugin that comes with all the major features needed for event management. It does all of this without being overly complicated.
Individual events can be assigned to a single specific calendar. These may be filtered inside widgets and shortcodes. The events can be assigned a starting and end time and a starting and end date. There are options for supporting all-day or specific-duration events. Additionally, you can customize the date and time format however you choose by selecting a common format and going from there.
There are free and optional add-ons you can use for integration with Google Forms, the WordPress Ninja Forms plugin, and Gravity Forms. With the WP All Import add-on, you can even bulk import events into Sugar Calendar.
Plugin Details
This plugin was first released by its developer in October of 2012. It is presently on version 3.3.0 and last saw a change on October 3rd, 2024. The latest release works on WordPress 6.6.2 and requires at least PHP 7.4 to operate on your server. This plugin is presently working on over 2,000 WordPress websites. It has had over 110,290 downloads. There have been 4 assistance requests with a 100% response rate. Sugar Calendar – Simple Event Management is well supported by its creator. Reviews for Sugar Calendar – Simple Event Management are very positive. Many of the customers who left a piece of feedback found this plugin to be wonderful.
Sugar Calendar Premium is the paid version of the plugin. It comes in several plans based on the renewal rate, your needs, and how many sites you can use it on. All plans include core features such as priority support and the ability to create recurring and repeating events. Only some plans allow you to include Pro add-ons, while others only support the free add-ons
The Pro add-ons include event ticketing so you can sell tickets to your events no matter if it is virtual or in person. It includes order and ticket management, digital copies of the tickets, copies of all attendees, and integration with Stripe for payment. Frontend event submissions provide forms that can be included for your community to add their own events to the calendar. You may include the option to subscribe to event feeds from Google Calendar, iCal, Gnome calendar, and all other similar applications. Event URLs can be created as well so you can redirect to events from other sites or open them in a new tab.
MDJM Event Management
MDJM Event Management is the final WordPress plugin on our list. It serves as a solution for businesses dependent on events that need help automating the process. The plugin allows you to see through and manage events from every stage, starting from the beginning and all the way to the finish line.
There are no event or employee restrictions and you can record all transactions made through the plugin. There is detailed reporting for you to analyze and granular permissions for employee roles. The plugin can auto-calculate your travel costs to events and event packages may be created with simplistic price assignments. There is a front-end portal for your clients to manage their own events and client playlists with guest access
If needed, there is digital contract signing, automated emails, and a way to track to see if an email has been opened or not. You may automate daily and weekly tasks, track your marketing strategies, and create an unlimited amount of email and contract templates.
Plugin Details
This plugin was originally published by its developer in October of 2014. It is actively on version 1.7.5.2 and last underwent an update on October 29th, 2024. The latest edition runs on WordPress 6.6.2 and requires at least PHP 7.4 to operate on your server. This plugin is actively functioning on over 80 WordPress sites. It has had over 19,290 downloads. There have not been many assistance requests from users. Reviews for MDJM Event Management are very positive. Many of the end-users who left an evaluation found MDJM Event Management to be great.
MDJM Event Management does not have a premium version but it does have two extensions available that you may purchase to further enhance the plugin.
The Stripe Payment add-on gives your visitors a gateway for paying for any services on your site. This is recommended for and handles payments like deposits, balances, and custom amounts.
The Dynamic Contact Forms add-on allows visitors to fill out a form that creates an event for you to review and respond to.
For a discount, you can purchase a beginner bundle that includes both paid extensions at a lower rate.
Find the Best WordPress Event Management Plugin
That’s the end of our look at some of the most used WordPress event management plugins. Each of these plugins has its own set of unique features, interfaces, and display styles. So we recommend giving a few of them a test run to find the best fit for you. In the end, we think you’ll find at least one event plugin that will be ideal for your current website project.
Oh, and as always, we recommend you try before you buy any premium extension or plugin. The easiest way to do this is to thoroughly review the free plugin first and make sure it’s well-coded, supported, and has an easy-to-use interface. Bugs, complicated UIs, and slow responses on support forums for a free plugin are always bad signs for the paid version.
Looking for More Ways to Improve WordPress?
Are you working on an event website for a client using WordPress? You might want to check out our White Label WordPress plugin before you go.
White Label was built to help WordPress developers and agencies customize and rebrand the admin experience for their clients. Design a new login page, create a new admin color scheme, replace logos, rename or remove menus, and change default WordPress settings.
Our plugin has dozens of features. Check out the complete list to discover all of the ways White Label can make WordPress less confusing for clients and easier for you to support.