CraftForms vs The Events Calendar
The Events Calendar (now Liquid Web / Nexcess, formerly StellarWP) is the most widely used WordPress event management plugin, with 600,000+ active installs. It's purpose-built for publishing, promoting, and selling tickets to events. CraftForms approaches event use cases from a different angle — as a form builder with booking, inventory, and payment infrastructure built in. The overlap is real but narrow, and understanding where each tool starts and stops matters before choosing one.
- Compared with
- The Events Calendar 6.18.3, Event Tickets 5.30.3
- Features checked
- 48
- Checked on
- Summary
- Where each one leads
| Feature | CraftForms | The Events Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Platform & Builder | ||
| Free version available | Yes | Yes |
| Built natively on Gutenberg blocks | Yes | partial |
| Elementor native widget | Yes | Yespaid plans |
| Bricks native element | Yes | No |
| Embed on external sites | Yes | No |
| Event Management | ||
| Event listing / calendar views | list + month | Yes |
| Recurring events | No | Yespaid |
| Venue & organizer management | No | Yes |
| Virtual event support | No | Yespaid |
| Tickets & Registration | ||
| RSVP functionality | Yes | Yes |
| Event ticket sales | Yes | Yes |
| Ticket tiers / types | Yes | Yes |
| Per-event ticket inventory / capacity | Yes | Yes |
| Assigned seating / seat maps | No | YesElite plan |
| Custom form fields on registration | Yes | limited |
| Registration form in the visitor's language | Yesbuilt-in | tickets not WPML-ready |
| Conditional logic on form fields | Yes | No |
| File uploads | Yes | No |
| QR-coded tickets / check-in | Yes | YesPro plan |
| PDF ticket / document generation | Yes | YesPro plan |
| Booking & Scheduling | ||
| Booking datepicker (hotel-style range) | Yes | No |
| Fixed time slot booking | Yes | No |
| Booking calendar view | Yes | Yes |
| Per-slot inventory tracking | Yes | No |
| Seasonal rates / date-based pricing | Yes | No |
| iCal export (attendee calendar sync) | Yes | Yes |
| iCal inbound sync (Airbnb, Booking.com) | Yes | No |
| Two-way calendar sync with several sites | Yes | No |
| Commerce & Payments | ||
| Stripe payments | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal payments | Yes | Yes |
| Square / Mollie payments | Yes | Square only |
| Price calculations / formulas | Yes | No |
| Server-side price validation | Yes | No |
| Built-in orders system | Yes | Yes(Tickets Commerce) |
| Order analytics / reporting | Yes | via WooCommerce |
| WooCommerce integration | Yes | Yes |
| Stock management | Yes | ticket capacity |
| Email & Delivery | ||
| Email template designer | Yes | No |
| Email delivery log | Yes | No |
| SMTP per-form configuration | Yes | via plugin |
| Spam protection — no CAPTCHA | Yes | No |
| Developer & Integrations | ||
| Submission database / admin panel | Yes | via WooCommerce |
| Webhook submit action | Yes | No |
| Register user submit action | Yes | No |
| Create post submit action | Yes | No |
| REST API / headless submissions | Yes | partial |
| AI Features | ||
| AI: Integrated form generation (chat) | Soon | No |
| AI: Prompt guidance in docs | Yes | No |
Soon on the CraftForms roadmap. Competitor details as published on the date above; tell us if something has changed.
Where CraftForms leads
- Full form builder — complete control over registration fields, conditional logic, file uploads, swatches, and calculated pricing
- Booking datepicker with real inventory — hotel-style date ranges, time slots, calendar view, seasonal rates, and per-date/slot inventory
- iCal inbound sync — imports Airbnb, Booking.com, Google Calendar feeds to block unavailable dates automatically
- Price calculations and server-side validation — formula engine with server-enforced totals; fixed ticket prices only in TEC
- Built-in QR-coded tickets and PDF documents — generated natively and free; TEC includes them from its $399/yr Pro plan
- Standalone orders system with analytics — full status lifecycle, refunds and reporting; no ticketing commission (Event Tickets adds 2% until the Pro plan)
- Full email infrastructure — template designer, delivery log, SMTP per form
- Invisible spam protection — behavioral scoring, no CAPTCHA
- Embed on external sites — JavaScript embed (no iframe) with full form capabilities outside WordPress
- Lifetime deal — €129.99 one-time (unlimited sites); The Events Calendar is annual-only, from $259/yr (Essentials)
- Calendar sync with several sites — Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and Google Calendar each get their own export link, with double-booking checks; TEC's paid Event Aggregator only imports
- Registration forms, emails and PDF tickets in the visitor's language, free; Event Tickets isn't supported by WPML
Where The Events Calendar has an edge
- Event listing and calendar views — month, day, list, and photo views for event discovery (CraftForms 2.2 has a list of upcoming dates and a calendar of free places, no week or photo views)
- Recurring events — events that repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or on custom schedules
- Venue and organizer management — dedicated post types with Google Maps integration
- Virtual event support — included in paid plans
- Community event submission — included in paid plans
- Ecosystem — 600,000+ installs and a full event suite (views, check-in app, email marketing)
- Assigned seating — seat-map builder with hold timers (Elite plan)