Event Espresso review (2026): is the free plan enough?
WordPress plugin for event calendars, registration and tickets
Black Friday: is there a Event Espresso sale?
Event Espresso report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for WordPress sites that sell event tickets
Event Espresso is a WordPress plugin for event calendars, registration and tickets, with a free Decaf edition and Core at $129 a year for one site. You install and look after it yourself, and the free edition takes a 3% fee and cannot use add-ons.
Who Event Espresso is for
- Fits if you already run a WordPress site and can look after it
- Works for organisers who want to keep card payments on their own gateway
Who Event Espresso is not for
- Not for you if you do not run WordPress, as it works only inside it
- Tight if you stay on Decaf, which takes a 3% fee and has no add-ons
- Pricey if you want the extras, since All Access is $399 a year
- Watch out: gateway fees still apply, and Core covers one live site only
Why Event Espresso gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyCore is $129 a year, about $10.75 a month, inside the category's cheaper quarter ($15), though add-ons are sold separately and All Access is $399.
- BFree plan and trialDecaf is free with unlimited events and ticket sales, but it takes a 3% fee, takes PayPal only and cannot use add-ons.
- CFeaturesCalendar, registration forms, ticket types, direct payments and check-in apps. Discount codes, waitlists and the scanning app are add-ons.
- DEase of useNo store rating on record. It needs a WordPress site you install and maintain yourself.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, through WordPress, with PayPal, Stripe, Square, Mailchimp, QuickBooks and Elementor connections.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Event Espresso's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Event Espresso? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/event-espresso#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/event-espresso.svg" alt="Event Espresso: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Event Espresso stands among event ticketing platforms
Event Espresso's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 39 of the 79 other event ticketing platforms we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 56 of 79) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $10.75 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $50 for the category: 2 of the 22 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 13 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 80 event ticketing platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got. Event Espresso’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 56 of 79, level with 20
- BFree plan and trialAbove 43 of 79, level with 24
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 79, level with 29
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 79, level with 3
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 20 of 79, level with 57
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 36 event ticketing platforms. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Event Espresso, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Event Espresso you could make: calendar. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $129 a year.
What you could make
- Calendar: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Selling tickets and checking them at the door.
- It plugs into other products, PayPal, Stripe and Square among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Event Espresso’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Event Espresso?
Event Espresso is a WordPress plugin that adds an event calendar, registration forms and ticket sales to a site you host yourself. Payments go through your own gateway account, and the vendor says it takes no per-ticket commission on paid licenses. A free edition called Decaf covers the basics, and paid licenses add support, extra features and add-ons.
Worth knowing
- It runs only inside WordPress, which you install and maintain yourself.
- The free Decaf edition charges a 3% pay-as-you-go fee and cannot use add-ons.
- Core covers one live site and sells add-ons separately; All Access bundles them for $399 per year.
- Payment processing fees from your chosen gateway still apply.
Key features
- Event calendar
- Publishes events on your WordPress site in month, week, day, agenda and list views, with category colors and filters. Calendar+ is a separate add-on.
- Registration forms
- Custom forms per event with text, radio, dropdown and multi-select questions, plus group registrations for several attendees at once.
- Ticket types and dates
- Unlimited ticket types with sale start and end dates, capacity limits, and events or tickets that span several dates.
- Direct payments
- Payments go into your own gateway account such as PayPal, Stripe or Square, with no per-ticket commission on paid licenses, per the vendor.
- Check-in apps
- A mobile app scans tickets and tracks attendance in real time. It is listed among the add-on features of the All Access plan.
- Developer hooks
- A REST API, hooks, filters and logging let developers extend the plugin; the site lists 25+ translations.
Event Espresso pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Event Espresso has a free plan, and paid plans start at $129 per year for 1 live site.
- Starts at
- $129 per year for 1 live site
- Free plan
- Decaf: free plugin with unlimited events, registrations and ticket sales, PayPal payments and community support, with a 3% pay-as-you-go fee.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Decaf | $0 | Unlimited events and ticket sales, PayPal payments, basic forms; community support, not compatible with add-ons, 3% pay-as-you-go fee. |
| Core | $129per year for 1 live site, plus staging sites | Decaf features plus custom forms, taxes, email support and no app fees; works with 30+ add-ons sold separately; 0% pay-as-you-go. |
| All Access | $399per year | Core plus every add-on (discount codes, recurring events, waitlists, mobile scanning app, gateways) and premium support. |
Read from eventespresso.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Event Espresso before you buy.
Works with
Event Espresso alternatives
- Event Espresso vs Tickera
From $99/yr
- Event Espresso vs FooEvents
From $169/yr
- Event Espresso vs pretix
Free plan · from €499/yr
- Event Espresso vs Eventbrite
Free plan · from $15/mo
Common questions
Does Event Espresso have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Event Espresso is listed for Web.
Does Event Espresso have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Event Espresso is listed for Web.
Is Event Espresso open source?
Event Espresso is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Event Espresso have an API?
Yes. Event Espresso offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.