Choosing a WordPress event plugin really comes down to how much you want the plugin to do versus how out of the way you want it to stay. Modern Events Calendar is the everything-included option, packing more than a dozen calendar views, recurring events, booking, ticketing, and virtual event support into one Pro plugin. Sugar Calendar from the Sandhills Development team (the makers of Easy Digital Downloads and AffiliateWP) takes the opposite philosophy, a deliberately minimal plugin that loads fast and stays out of your way.
Both plugins help WordPress sites publish and manage events, but they aim at very different site owners. MEC is for sites where events are a major feature (a conference, a studio schedule, a venue calendar). Sugar Calendar is for sites where events are a useful addition but should not bloat the install or slow down the admin. The right pick depends entirely on which side of that line you sit on.
This comparison walks through pricing, feature depth, performance, ticketing, integrations, and the everyday workflow details that decide which plugin earns its keep. By the end, you should know which one fits the way you actually want to run events on WordPress.
Quick Verdict
- →Pick Modern Events Calendar if you need a feature-complete event plugin with 14+ views, booking, ticketing, and virtual events bundled.
- →Pick Sugar Calendar if you want a minimal, fast event plugin that publishes events without adding admin weight or front-end bloat.
In This Comparison
Modern Events Calendar Overview
Modern Events Calendar (MEC) by Webnus is a feature-dense WordPress event plugin built to replace several smaller plugins with one install. The free version on WordPress.org includes more than a dozen calendar views (monthly, weekly, daily, list, grid, agenda, masonry, timetable, carousel, slider, tile, cover, countdown, map), recurring events, search and filter, frontend submission, and Google Calendar export. MEC Pro adds the booking and ticketing engine, payment gateways, invoices, virtual events (Zoom, Meet, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Webex), and an event builder.
MEC is the right pick for sites where the event calendar is a centerpiece, multi-day conferences, fitness studios, religious organizations, community calendars, and venues that sell tickets. Because so much functionality is bundled into the core Pro license, you rarely need to chase down separate add-ons for common needs. For a wider view of related tools, see our roundup of the best WordPress booking and appointment plugins.
Sugar Calendar Overview
Sugar Calendar is a deliberately minimal WordPress event plugin built by the Sandhills team (Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP, Restrict Content Pro). It launched with a clear philosophy: most event plugins are overweight, and a simpler tool that focuses on publishing events well is a better fit for the majority of WordPress sites. The free Lite version on WordPress.org gives you single events with start and end times, a calendar block for the editor, and clean event detail pages. The Pro version adds time zones, recurring events, ticketing (via Stripe), customizable event meta, calendar feeds, and an admin calendar view.
The plugin’s admin is unusually clean for the event category, and the front-end output uses simple, themeable markup rather than the heavier shortcode-driven structures common in older event plugins. Sugar Calendar fits sites where events are useful but not the main attraction, podcasts publishing upcoming live streams, agencies listing webinars, authors promoting book signings.
Pricing Compared
Modern Events Calendar has a free tier on WordPress.org plus MEC Pro starting at around $75 per year for one site with all features included (booking, ticketing, gateways, virtual events, event builder, all calendar views). Higher tiers cover more sites and bundle premium add-ons. Pricing is straightforward because most features ship in the Pro license itself.
Sugar Calendar has a free Lite version on WordPress.org and a Pro version priced in tiers: Personal at around $49 per year for one site (core features), Plus at around $99 (adds ticketing, calendar feeds), Professional at around $199 (more sites, recurring events, custom event meta), and All Access at higher tiers. Stripe ticketing is included on Plus and above. The pricing reflects Sandhills’ usual structure: clear feature ladders rather than a flat all-features-included Pro.
For a single site that needs ticketing and recurring events, Sugar Calendar Professional ($199/yr) lands above MEC Pro ($75/yr). For a simple events-block site, Sugar Calendar Personal is cheaper.
Features Compared
MEC’s Pro license is one of the broadest single-purchase feature sets in the WordPress event space: 14+ display layouts, recurring events, frontend submission, booking, ticketing with multiple ticket types, payment gateways for PayPal/Stripe/WooCommerce/offline, invoices, virtual events with five major platforms, weather widgets, event countdowns, organizers and venues as custom post types, and Google Maps.
Sugar Calendar Pro covers the essentials cleanly: recurring events (Professional tier), time zones, ticketing through Stripe (Plus and above), an admin calendar view, calendar feeds (iCal/ICS), customizable event meta fields, and a clean editor experience built around Gutenberg blocks. There is no built-in virtual event integration, no frontend submission form, and far fewer display layouts. The trade-off is deliberate: fewer features, simpler experience.
Performance and Simplicity
This is where Sugar Calendar is strongest. The plugin’s codebase is intentionally small, the admin loads fast, and the front-end ships minimal markup that themes can style without fighting plugin CSS. For sites where every kilobyte matters, the difference shows up in page speed scores and admin responsiveness.
MEC’s footprint is larger because the plugin includes more views, more shortcodes, and more configuration options. On a healthy host with caching, performance is not a problem, but on entry-level shared hosting a feature-complete MEC install will be noticeably heavier than Sugar Calendar Lite. The trade-off is functionality versus weight, and the right side depends on whether the calendar earns its keep.
Ticketing and Booking
MEC Pro ships a full booking and ticketing engine: multiple ticket types per event, variable pricing, attendee details, discount coupons, invoice generation, attendee export, payment gateways for PayPal/Stripe/WooCommerce/offline, and a guest list manager. The flow handles small classes and large conferences alike.
Sugar Calendar Plus and above include Stripe-based ticketing with a clean checkout, attendee management, and CSV export. It is enough for studios, workshops, and small events, but the feature set is narrower than MEC’s: no PayPal in core, no built-in invoices, no native WooCommerce integration for ticket sales. For sites that need ticketing as a primary use case, MEC is the more capable engine. For sites that need basic Stripe tickets, Sugar Calendar handles it cleanly. For broader context, see our guide to the best WordPress booking and appointment plugins.
Developer Experience
Sugar Calendar’s codebase reads like a modern WordPress plugin built around Gutenberg, with clean filters and templates that overlap conceptually with EDD and AffiliateWP. Developers comfortable with the Sandhills stack will feel at home immediately. MEC is older and more configuration-driven; its hooks and filters are extensive, but the codebase requires more time to learn before deep customization feels natural.
Side-by-Side Table
| Feature | Modern Events Calendar | Sugar Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | Yes, full free version on WP.org | Yes, Lite version on WP.org |
| Starting Price (Pro) | $75/year (all features) | $49/year Personal, $99/year Plus, $199/year Professional |
| Calendar Views | 14+ built in | Calendar block, list, admin calendar |
| Recurring Events | Yes, free and Pro | Yes, Professional tier |
| Ticketing | Built in, Pro (multi-gateway) | Stripe-only, Plus and above |
| Virtual Events | Built in, Pro (Zoom, Meet, more) | Not built in |
| Frontend Submission | Built in, free and Pro | Not built in |
| Payment Gateways | PayPal, Stripe, WooCommerce, offline | Stripe |
| Plugin Weight | Heavier, do-everything | Lightweight by design |
| Time Zones | Yes, Pro | Yes, Pro |
| Best For | Feature-complete event sites, ticketing on day one | Lean event publishing, podcasts, agencies, authors |
Which Should You Choose
Pick Modern Events Calendar if events are central to your site, you need ticketing or virtual event integration, or you want multiple calendar layouts available without buying add-ons. Conferences, studios, religious organizations, and venues are the natural fit.
Pick Sugar Calendar if events are a useful but secondary feature, you value plugin lightness and clean admin, or you already live in the Sandhills (EDD, AffiliateWP) ecosystem and want a calendar that matches. Podcasts, agencies promoting webinars, and authors with event lists get the most value here.
Get Modern Events Calendar Pro
14+ calendar views, booking, ticketing, virtual events, and an event builder, all in one plugin.
Try MEC Pro →FAQs
Is Modern Events Calendar better than Sugar Calendar?
Better depends on what you need. MEC wins on feature depth, calendar view variety, and bundled ticketing across multiple gateways. Sugar Calendar wins on simplicity, performance, and a clean admin experience for sites where events are not the primary focus.
Does Sugar Calendar have a free version?
Yes. Sugar Calendar Lite on WordPress.org includes single events, a calendar block for the editor, and basic event detail pages. The Pro tiers add recurring events, ticketing, time zones, and more layout options.
Can Modern Events Calendar handle virtual events?
Yes. MEC Pro includes Zoom, Google Meet, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, and Webex integrations for running and selling virtual events. Sugar Calendar does not include native virtual event support.
Does Sugar Calendar support recurring events?
Yes, on the Professional tier and above. Earlier tiers handle single events well but require manual duplication for recurring patterns.
Which plugin is lighter on resources?
Sugar Calendar by design. The plugin’s codebase is deliberately small and the front-end markup minimal. MEC is heavier because it ships more views, shortcodes, and configurable options out of the box.
Does Modern Events Calendar integrate with WooCommerce?
Yes. MEC Pro supports WooCommerce as a payment gateway for ticket sales, alongside built-in PayPal and Stripe options. Sugar Calendar uses Stripe directly for ticketing without a WooCommerce dependency.
Can Sugar Calendar sell tickets?
Yes, on the Plus tier and above. Ticketing runs through Stripe with attendee management and CSV export. It is suitable for small to mid-size events but narrower than MEC’s multi-gateway ticketing engine.
Which plugin works better with Gutenberg?
Sugar Calendar is built around Gutenberg from the ground up and ships a clean calendar block. MEC also offers Gutenberg blocks alongside shortcodes and page-builder widgets for Elementor, Divi, and WPBakery, so it covers more editing environments.
Final Word
Both Modern Events Calendar and Sugar Calendar are good fits for different kinds of WordPress sites. MEC is the right choice when the calendar is a feature, when you need ticketing across multiple gateways, or when virtual events are part of the workflow. Sugar Calendar is the right choice when events are a clean addition to a site that does other things, and when performance and admin simplicity matter more than feature breadth. Match the choice to how central the calendar is. For more options across the category, see our best local business directory plugins roundup which covers tools that often live alongside event calendars.