WordPress continues to be the most used content management system available today. This is mostly due to the massive amount of plugins available to extend its features and functionality. In fact there are so many event registration plugins available on the WordPress Plugin Directory that it is almost impossible for someone new to WordPress to realistically be able to filter and research which event plugins are the best for your particular requirements. Whatever your requirements, there is most likely to be a free WordPress event registration plugin available.
The following plugins will have information and ratings about the following information so you can make a better informed decision when selecting your WordPress event registration plugin.
- Core Features
- Support
- Extendability
- Usability
- Admin Interface
- Front End Layouts / Look And Feel
Here’s shortlist of what we believe to be the top free WordPress event registration plugins that you should check out.
1. Event Registration Pro Calendar
Event Registration Pro Calendar is a FREE WordPress event registration and WordPress calendar plugin that comes with a huge amount of features at no cost. This free plugin has been around for 10+ years as a Joomla CMS extension and is now available as a WordPress version. Event Registration Pro Calendar is free for free events and can be extended using add-ons for sale of tickets. It has a beautiful interface over other WordPress options. There are many features included that other solutions charge extra for such as calendar views and custom event registration forms.
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Features 
Support
Extendability
Usability
Admin Interface
Front End Layouts
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Pros
- Lots of included features
- Low cost Add-ons
- Great Interface
- Active development
Cons
- Not many Add-ons but more coming
- Selling tickets requires add-on
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[su_button url=”https//www.eventregistrationpro.com” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#338c3a” size=”12″ radius=”5″ icon=”icon: calendar”]VISIT WEBSITE[/su_button]
Event Espresso Lite
Event Espresso is a WordPress event manager which makes it easy for you to register attendees for classes, workshops, events, trainings, conferences or concerts, all from your WordPress website. One thing to note is that the lite version of this plugin is an older, more outdated version 3. The current version is a full commercial version. Paid add-ons are available to extend the lite version as well. The design of the front end event pages are a bit dated as expected with and older version that is now given away for free.
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Features
Support
Extendability
Usability
Admin Interface
Front End Layouts
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Pros
- Includes payment option (Paypal)
- Lots of add-ons available
Cons
- Free version is old version 3
- Costly add-ons
- Premium version 4 is expensive
- Generic front end interface
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[su_button url=”//wordpress.org/plugins/event-espresso-free/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#338c3a” size=”12″ radius=”5″ icon=”icon: calendar”]VISIT WEBSITE[/su_button]
Events Manager
Events Manager is a full-featured event registration plugin for WordPress based on the principles of flexibility, reliability and powerful features! Similar to Event Registration Pro Calendar, this plugin accepts registrations out of the box for free events. For processing payment of the events you will need to purchase the PRO version. The free version does nto allow custom event registration forms, for that you will need the PRO version.
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Features
Support
Extendability
Usability
Admin Interface
Front End Layouts
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Pros
- Simple to learn
- Good amount of free features
Cons
- Front end is plain
- No Support
- No custom registration forms
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[su_button url=”//wordpress.org/plugins/events-manager/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#338c3a” size=”12″ radius=”5″ icon=”icon: calendar”]VISIT WEBSITE[/su_button]
Event Organiser
Event Organiser adds event management that integrates well with your WordPress site. Like the two previous plugins mentioned, Event Organiser has two flavors. A PRO version and a free version. This plugin offers nicer layouts than some others that we have reviewed. The designs are clean and crisp with no extra fluff. If you’re looking for something very simple and clean this plugin will work well. If you want to accept bookings for your events at all you will need to purchase thei booking add-on.
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Features
Support
Extendability
Usability
Admin Interface
Front End Layouts
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Pros
- Simple Interface
- Clean presentation
Cons
- No booking features
- No custom forms
- No custom emails
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[su_button url=”//wordpress.org/plugins/event-organiser/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#338c3a” size=”12″ radius=”5″ icon=”icon: calendar”]VISIT WEBSITE[/su_button]
The Events Calendar
The Events Calendar is a free WordPress plugin with two versions available as others in this list. Many features come with the free version such as calendar views and ical export, but if you want to register attendees and sell tickets you will have to upgrade to the PRO version. If you are looking for a simple and clean calendar plugin for no cost then this plugin might serve you well.
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Features
Support
Extendability
Usability
Admin Interface
Front End Layouts
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Pros
- Clean & Simple Design
- Easy to use
Cons
- No booking features
- No add-ons available
- Expensive PRO upgrades
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[su_button url=”//wordpress.org/plugins/the-events-calendar/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#338c3a” size=”12″ radius=”5″ icon=”icon: calendar”]VISIT WEBSITE[/su_button]
Conclusion
Our conclusion is that with more out of the box features, Event Registration Pro Calendar was the most complete solution for a free Wordress event calendar that offers free event registration booking features. With the cost effective add-ons it is highly expandable too. Unlike the other plugins that have both a free and PRO version available, With Event Registration Pro there is only one single version to maintain and no upgrade issues to worry about if you need more features later. Some of the other plugins we reviewed did not even offer registration options even for free events.
The bottom line is only you know which plugin will work perfectly for your needs and requirements.
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