The Events Calendar vs Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar

4.3(2,430)

700K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 week ago
View The Events Calendar
VS
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…

4.2(540)

70K+ active installs

Free

Updated 3 months ago
View Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, The Events Calendar has a higher user rating (4.3/5 from 2,430 reviews) and leads in active installations (700K+ vs 70K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. The Events Calendar has accumulated 80M+ total downloads while Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… has 6.0M+. The Events Calendar has a higher support resolution rate (94% vs 6%).

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.3/5The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…4.2/5
Total Reviews
2,430The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…540
Active Installs
700K+The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…70K+
Total Downloads
80M+The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…6.0M+
Support Resolution
94%The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…6%
Last Updated
1 week agoThe Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…3 months ago
First Released
2010The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…2008
Age
16 yearsThe Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…18 years
WP Requires
6.7+The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…6.1+
PHP Requires
7.4+The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…7.0+
Business Model
FreeThe Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…Free
Latest Version
6.15.18The Events Calendar
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…7.2.3.1

Rating Breakdown

The Events Calendar

4.3/5(2,430 reviews)
5
75%
4
6%
3
4%
2
3%
1
13%

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…

4.2/5(540 reviews)
5
71%
4
7%
3
4%
2
6%
1
11%

Recent Reviews

The Events Calendar Reviews

by paulwkleong

Excellent Support!

I had an issue with the event google map and TEC support logged in to fix it. Overall very happy with The Event Cal and highly recommend it.

by mbratch

Capability is meh… Description content very limited

First off, when I enabled the Event Manager it commandeered an Events page I already had content in and that all disappeared and was replaced by a calendar widget. Next off, I tried adding an event

by Floris

Excellent features, great ease of use, top-shelf support

We use TEC to publish our scheduled appearances on our website. TEC supports this perfectly, with just the right amount of features and integrations. The intuitive setup makes it child’s play to confi

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… Reviews

by devhop

Calendar month picker breaks with non-English locales (fix inside)

The plugin is very powerful and flexible, but I ran into a critical issue with the calendar month picker when using a non-English locale (e.g. French). After an AJAX reload of the calendar, the sel

by schrotie

Free, feature-rich & costomizable

Best free feature set, very customizable, works great.

by westendwebdesign

Purchasing PRO not possible

I have a FREE version of the plug-in running on an active site. So far everything works fine, but now the customer decided to show past events as well. This feature is only available in the PRO versio

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Events Calendar or Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… more popular?
The Events Calendar has 700K+ active installations while Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… has 70K+. The Events Calendar is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — The Events Calendar or Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…?
The Events Calendar has a 4.3/5 rating from 2,430 reviews, while Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… has a 4.2/5 rating from 540 reviews.
Are The Events Calendar and Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… free?
The Events Calendar is free and Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — The Events Calendar or Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings…?
As of April 2026, The Events Calendar has a 94% support resolution rate while Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… has a 6% rate.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
The Events Calendar was last updated 1 week ago and Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings… was last updated 3 months ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.