Choosing Your Event Tool: All-in-One Event Calendar vs Event Tickets Plus

Posted by Josh Blackburn, in Event Plugins

In the world of event management, having a reliable and efficient solution to handle ticket sales and event organization is crucial for success. Two popular options when it comes to WordPress plugins for event management are All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus. Both plugins offer a variety of features designed to help users create, promote, and manage events, but they cater to different needs and preferences.

All-in-One Event Calendar is a feature-rich plugin that focuses mainly on managing and displaying events in a visually appealing and organized manner. It allows users to import and export event data, create custom event categories and tags, and more. On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus is a powerful solution for selling tickets and managing event registrations. It works seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, offering users a simple way to sell tickets and collect RSVPs for their events.

Key Takeaways

• All-in-One Event Calendar focuses on event organization and display, while Event Tickets Plus handles ticket sales and registrations.
• Event Tickets Plus integrates with popular e-commerce platforms for a seamless ticketing experience.
• Consider your event management needs before choosing between All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus, as each plugin offers different features and capabilities.

All-in-One Event Calendar

The All-in-One Event Calendar is a popular events calendar plugin trusted by more than 150,000 event creators worldwide. It’s developed by Timely and includes a robust set of features to help you create and manage events on your WordPress website.

Calendar Features

The All-in-One Event Calendar offers various advanced functionalities for managing and displaying events using different calendar formats. Some of the noteworthy features include:

• Recurring Events: Easily create and manage events that occur regularly, such as weekly or monthly.
• Google Calendar Integration: Sync your events with Google Calendar, allowing users to view and add your events to their own personal calendars.
• List View: Display your events in a user-friendly, organized list format.
• Import/Export: Import events from other calendar sources (e.g., iCal, Google Calendar) or export your events for use in other applications.

Ease of Use

All-in-One Event Calendar is designed to be both user-friendly for site administrators and visually appealing for site visitors. It has an intuitive interface for adding and managing events, along with a customizable front-end display. The plugin also includes several pre-built themes and the ability to tweak the calendar’s appearance to match your site’s design.

Payment Gateway

Although the core All-in-One Event Calendar plugin does not offer a built-in payment gateway, it can be extended with add-ons to support ticket sales, premium memberships, and accepting payments. For example, the All-in-One Event Pay add-on allows you to sell tickets and accept credit card payments for your events through a secure payment gateway.

Integration with E-Commerce Plugins

While not directly integrated with e-commerce plugins, All-in-One Event Calendar can work alongside popular e-commerce solutions like WooCommerce through the use of compatible add-ons. By leveraging these add-ons, you can ensure seamless integration between your events calendar and your site’s e-commerce platform, allowing you to sell event tickets, products, and services within the same website environment.

Event Tickets Plus

Creating and Managing Tickets

Event Tickets Plus is a powerful ticketing solution for your WordPress website. It allows you to easily create, manage, and sell tickets for events on your site. With this plugin, you can create tickets for your events with customizable pricing and capacity. Additionally, you can collect RSVPs and track attendees, making the entire process seamless and hassle-free. One great attribute of Event Tickets Plus is its compatibility with The Events Calendar, a popular calendar plugin for WordPress, allowing you to manage both events and tickets within the same interface.

E-commerce Integration

Event Tickets Plus offers seamless integration with popular e-commerce platforms, such as WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. This enables you to leverage their extensive features and payment gateways to sell tickets on your WordPress site efficiently. By integrating with these e-commerce plugins, you can offer your customers a familiar and secure checkout experience, while you enjoy the benefits of advanced sales reporting and order management.

Custom Registration Fields

In order to collect additional information from your attendees, Event Tickets Plus allows you to create custom registration fields. This feature is particularly helpful for events where attendee details, such as shirt size or meal preferences, are needed for your event logistics. By customizing the registration form, you efficiently collect the necessary information required to create a personalized attendee experience.

Attendees Management

Organizing events can be complex, but Event Tickets Plus makes it simple by providing stellar attendees management functionality. With this plugin, you can easily view and export a list of your event attendees, which is essential for organizing check-ins and tracking attendance. Additionally, you can communicate with registered attendees using the built-in email capabilities, keeping them updated on event details and any last-minute changes.

By using Event Tickets Plus on your WordPress site, you can confidently organize, manage, and monetize your events with a professional, easy-to-use ticketing system. Whether you’re integrating with WooCommerce or using the plugin’s built-in payment gateways, this powerful and clear solution will make your event management both efficient and enjoyable.

Comparison of Key Features

Payment Options

All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus offer multiple payment options for ticket sales. All-in-One Event Calendar provides built-in payment options, while Event Tickets Plus relies on e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads for handling payments. PayPal is supported by both, offering a widely used and secure method for processing transactions.

QR Codes and Barcode Scanning

The ability to generate QR codes and barcode scanning are essential for efficient event management. Event Tickets Plus enables users to create and manage tickets with unique QR codes for easy scanning during an event. It is not clear whether All-in-One Event Calendar offers QR code generation and scanning capabilities.

Email Marketing

For effective communication and promotion, both plugins have the necessary features. All-in-One Event Calendar has built-in support for email marketing while Event Tickets Plus allows integration with popular email marketing services by leveraging the power of e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.

Support and Documentation

Regarding customer support and documentation, both plugins stand out with their offerings. All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus provide comprehensive documentation, including tutorials and troubleshooting guides. Users can also benefit from their respective support forums and in some cases, premium support options for more personalized assistance.

Pricing

Free vs Premium

All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus both offer free and premium versions. The free version of the All-in-One Event Calendar comes with essential features like creating and displaying events. In contrast, the free version of Event Tickets offers basics for selling tickets and collecting RSVPs on your website.

Users can opt for premium versions of the plugins for more advanced options and features. The premium version of the All-in-One Event Calendar provides additional calendar views, recurring events, and priority support. On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus adds extra payment options, enhanced ticket sales, and premium support.

Packages and Tiers

The pricing of the premium versions of both plugins is divided into different packages and tiers. For Event Tickets Plus, there are three tiers for premium support: 3 Sites, 10 Sites, and Multisite Unlimited. The pricing starts at $99, which includes updates and support for one year. All tiers support Paypal and Stripe integrations, but the 10 Sites and Multisite Unlimited plans offer robust eCommerce support for additional sites and multisite networks.

All-in-One Event Calendar has a more complex pricing and tier structure. It offers several pricing packages, including personal, business, and professional. Each package includes additional features, from custom event fields to front-end submission forms. For detailed pricing information, it is best to visit their official website to determine the best package based on individual needs.

Additional Add-Ons

In addition to the packages and tiers available with the base premium versions, both All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus offer optional add-ons. These add-ons cater to specific needs and provide specialized functionalities.

For All-in-One Event Calendar, various premium add-ons are available, including Extended Views, which adds more calendar view options, and Recurring Events, which allows for the creation and management of multiple occurrences of an event.

On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus has several optional premium add-ons, such as Community Events and Community Tickets, which allow users to submit and manage events and sell tickets on your site.

When choosing between All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus, it’s essential to consider the pricing of the base premium versions and additional add-ons and the specific features and functionalities needed for a given project or business.

Integration with Popular Platforms

Virtual Events Add-On

The All-in-One Event Calendar offers the capability to manage and publish virtual events. With the Virtual Events Add-On, event organizers can provide crucial event details, such as online meeting URLs and required software for attendees, ensuring a seamless user experience in a virtual setting.

Zoom Integration

Event Tickets Plus has native integration with the popular video conferencing tool, Zoom. This allows event planners to link directly to Zoom meetings from their events, creating a smooth integration for attendees and improving the overall event management process.

WooCommerce Integration

The All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus can be integrated with the popular e-commerce platform, WooCommerce. The All-in-One Event Calendar allows you to manage ticket sales through WooCommerce, while Event Tickets Plus offers advanced integration with WooCommerce, enabling it to generate attendee records and ticket emails for customers. Enable stock management for WooCommerce under Settings > Products > Inventory to optimize ticket management.

Tribe Commerce

Event Tickets Plus also incorporates Tribe Commerce, a payment gateway specifically designed for events. With Tribe Commerce, event organizers can sell tickets and collect payments through PayPal. Additionally, Tribe Commerce supports custom ticket fields to collect essential attendee information, such as T-shirt sizes or meal preferences, during registration. This feature offers increased flexibility and customization for event registration.

Ease of Setup and Customization

User Interface

All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus offer user-friendly interfaces that make creating and managing events simple. Both plugins provide a clean and intuitive dashboard, allowing you to add events, set dates, and configure settings easily. All the essential options are accessible from the admin panel, making quick adjustments a breeze.

Shortcodes and Widgets

All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus support shortcodes and widgets, providing increased flexibility when displaying events and event ticket sales on your website. Using shortcodes, you can quickly embed calendars, lists, or individual events anywhere on your site, making it convenient for visitors to find relevant information. Widgets are also available to show upcoming events or ticket sales in your site’s sidebars or other widget-enabled areas.

Example shortcodes:

• All-in-One Event Calendar: [ai1ec]
• Event Tickets Plus: [tribe_tickets]

Responsive Design

All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus support responsive design, ensuring that your events and ticket sales pages look great no matter which device your visitors use. Their design adapts to various screen sizes, from desktop computers to smartphones like Android and iOS. This adaptability and excellent usability ensure a seamless experience for your visitors, whether they access your site on their desktop or mobile devices.

Things to Consider Before Choosing

Before deciding between All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus, you must consider various factors to select the most suitable solution for your needs. This article will discuss some critical aspects, including the type of event and audience, resources and budget constraints, and payment requirements.

Type of Event and Audience

The type of event you are organizing and the target audience plays a significant role in determining the ideal event management solution. Event Tickets Plus is a comprehensive solution that integrates with The Events Calendar plugin, offering tools for managing ticket sales and distribution specifically for WordPress users. On the other hand, All-in-One Event Calendar is a feature-rich calendar management system suitable for various event types.

Consider the complexity of your event, attendee demographics, and their ticketing preferences when choosing between these two options. A more straightforward event with a local audience may benefit from the simpler All-in-One Event Calendar, while Event Tickets Plus provides advanced options for larger-scale events with global attendees.

Resources and Budget Constraints

Event Tickets Plus and All-in-One Event Calendar offer free and premium versions, catering to different budget constraints and resource requirements. Analyze the features offered in each version to determine which one aligns with your event management needs. Event Tickets Plus offers additional functionality like custom registration fields and an app to facilitate ticketing and check-ins when you opt for the premium version. All-in-One Event Calendar also provides extensive features, with the premium version offering additional customization, advanced filtering, and ticket sales management.

Moreover, consider the cost of implementation and maintenance, including the availability of your team members to handle event queries, registrations, and support.

Payment Requirements

Another crucial factor to consider is the ability to handle online payments securely. Both event management tools support checkout and payment processing, but different payment gateways are available for each solution. Ensure you choose the one that matches your audience’s preferences and business requirements better.

Event Tickets Plus supports popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. It enables a seamless checkout process for ticket buyers while providing secure payment handling methods. It is important to note that you’ll need a PayPal account to enable PayPal as a payment option within Event Tickets Plus.

On the other hand, All-in-One Event Calendar may require additional plugins or integrations to support payment processing, depending on your chosen theme or calendar settings.

Considering these essential factors, you can make an informed decision when choosing between All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus to manage your events effectively.

Concluding Thoughts

When comparing the All-in-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus, it’s notable that both plugins cater to different aspects of event management. All-in-One Event Calendar primarily focuses on organizing and displaying events, while Event Tickets Plus aims to simplify the ticketing and RSVP process.

All-in-One Event Calendar offers features such as recurring events, filtering, and importing events from other calendars. It efficiently manages events and showcases them on your WordPress website with an attractive interface. On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, which can benefit WordPress users who manage events with ticket sales or registrations.

Users looking for a comprehensive event management solution might consider combining both plugins, as they can complement each other. For those requiring a robust event display system, All-in-One Event Calendar might be sufficient. Alternatively, if your primary concern is managing ticket sales and RSVPs, Event Tickets Plus could be the better choice.

Ultimately, the best plugin for your needs will depend on your event management process’s specific requirements and goals. By carefully assessing the features and capabilities of both plugins, you can confidently choose a solution that best aligns with your event management needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key differences between All-In-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus?

All-In-One Event Calendar is a comprehensive calendar management plugin for WordPress, focused on displaying and managing events on your website. On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus is an add-on for The Events Calendar plugin, designed to enable selling tickets and managing RSVPs for events integrated with the calendar.

How do the features of Event Tickets Plus compare to All-In-One Event Calendar?

Event Tickets Plus allows users to create and sell tickets, manage RSVPs, and set up payment gateways for transactions directly within the WordPress dashboard. All-In-One Event Calendar focuses on event management and display, offering advanced filtering, searching, and event organization options.

Which is more user-friendly: All-In-One Event Calendar or Event Tickets Plus?

Both plugins are designed to be user-friendly and easy to manage within the WordPress dashboard. However, they serve different purposes: All-In-One Event Calendar manages events and their details, while Event Tickets Plus focuses on event ticketing and RSVP functionality. As a result, the user-friendliness of each plugin may depend on the user’s specific needs.

Do both plugins offer integration with different payment gateways?

All-In-One Event Calendar does not have built-in ticket sales functionality, and, therefore, does not offer direct payment gateway integration. On the other hand, Event Tickets Plus supports popular payment gateways such as PayPal and WooCommerce, enabling users to collect payments easily and directly on their WordPress site.

Are both plugins mobile-responsive and customizable?

Yes, both All-In-One Event Calendar and Event Tickets Plus are designed to be mobile-responsive and offer customizable features. All-In-One Event Calendar provides various themes and customization options for the display of events, while Event Tickets Plus allows for custom ticket designs and other event-related features.

How do the support and documentation of the two plugins compare?

Both plugins offer dedicated support and extensive documentation to help users navigate their respective features. All-In-One Event Calendar provides resources through its support center, while The Events Calendar offers support, forums, and knowledge base articles for users of Event Tickets Plus and other related plugins.