If you manage a WordPress site, you’ve likely seen the headlines – or worse, the new invoice. The Events Calendar Pro (TEC Pro), long considered the “standard” WordPress plugin for event management, has completed its transition into the Liquid Web / StellarWP corporate machine.
For many admins, the result is a massive price hike that changes the math of running a WordPress site. What was once a community-focused tool is now a corporate asset designed to maximize recurring revenue.
The Feature Paywall: What You’re Losing
To understand why the “sticker shock” is so real, you have to look at the features businesses rely on. While the free version of The Events Calendar handles basic lists, the professional functionality is now locked behind a high-cost premium:
- Recurring Events: The ability to automate daily or monthly events (the #1 reason for the Pro upgrade).
- Advanced Views: Photo (grid) view, Map view, and Week view for a professional look.
- Shortcodes & Custom Fields: The flexibility to embed your calendar anywhere and add unique data points to your events.
Under the previous “indie” model, these tools were affordable. In 2026, the baseline for The Events Calendar Pro has jumped to as much as $399/year. For many small businesses and non-profits, that is a 300% to 400% increase for the exact same software.
The WordPress “Loyalty Tax” and Data Gravity
By owning WordPress’s most popular events plugin, along with other giants like LearnDash and GiveWP, Liquid Web has created a vertical monopoly. They know your data has “gravity” – once you have years of event history, venue details, and attendee records stored in their system, the technical friction of moving to a new platform is immense.
They are effectively betting that you would rather pay the $300 increase than deal with a messy data migration. By forcing users into the StellarWP dashboard for account management, they’ve turned your independent WordPress site into a “SaaS-lite” experience where you are a tenant in a corporate-owned garden.
The Better Alternative: UltimateWB
If you are tired of being at the mercy of corporate mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and “bait-and-switch” pricing, it’s time to look at a platform built for true digital autonomy. While WordPress users are being asked to pay $400 every single year just for a calendar, UltimateWB offers a professional-grade solution that respects your budget.
- One-Time License Fee: You can get started with a professional platform for a $249 one-time fee. You own the software and can use it for as long as you want.
- A Fraction of the Renewal Cost: If you want updates after the first year of free updates, it’s only $49/year. Compare that to the hundreds of dollars demanded by corporate WordPress plugins.
- Total Compatibility: In the WordPress world, you’re always one update away from your theme breaking your calendar or your host breaking your plugins. On UltimateWB, everything is built to work together as one cohesive unit.
- Feature-Rich from Day One: You get the advanced features you need without being “nickeled and dimed” for every extra view or custom field.
Take Your Data With You
We believe you should own your platform and your data. To help WordPress admins move toward a more sustainable solution, we’ve released a Free TEC Export Tool. This script helps you extract your events, venues, and organizers into a clean CSV format ready for import into UltimateWB.
Note: As always, create a backup of your website database before running any code to your database, just in case. This is Beta code – contact us if any testing or debugging is necessary (no charge).
<?php
/**
* TEC-to-UltimateWB Freedom Export
* Description: Exports The Events Calendar Pro data into a clean CSV for UltimateWB import.
* Usage: Upload to your WordPress root directory and visit your-site.com/export-events.php
*/
// 1. Load WordPress environment
require_once('wp-load.php');
// Check if user is admin (Security)
if (!current_user_can('manage_options')) {
die('Unauthorized access. Please log in as an administrator.');
}
// 2. Setup CSV Headers (Formatted for UltimateWB Import)
$filename = "ultimatewb_events_export_" . date('Y-m-d') . ".csv";
header('Content-Type: text/csv; charset=utf-8');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=' . $filename);
$output = fopen('php://output', 'w');
fputcsv($output, array('Event Title', 'Description', 'Start Date', 'End Date', 'Venue Name', 'Organizer Name', 'Event Category', 'Website URL'));
// 3. The Query
global $wpdb;
// Using a join to pull from standard posts and the new tec custom tables
$results = $wpdb->get_results("
SELECT
p.ID,
p.post_title,
p.post_content,
occ.start_date,
occ.end_date,
(SELECT meta_value FROM {$wpdb->postmeta} WHERE post_id = p.ID AND meta_key = '_EventVenueID' LIMIT 1) as venue_id,
(SELECT meta_value FROM {$wpdb->postmeta} WHERE post_id = p.ID AND meta_key = '_EventOrganizerID' LIMIT 1) as organizer_id
FROM {$wpdb->posts} p
INNER JOIN {$wpdb->prefix}tec_occurrences occ ON p.ID = occ.post_id
WHERE p.post_type = 'tribe_events'
AND p.post_status = 'publish'
GROUP BY p.ID
");
// 4. Loop through and clean data
foreach ($results as $event) {
// Fetch Venue and Organizer Names instead of IDs
$venue_name = $event->venue_id ? get_the_title($event->venue_id) : '';
$organizer_name = $event->organizer_id ? get_the_title($event->organizer_id) : '';
// Get Categories
$terms = wp_get_post_terms($event->ID, 'tribe_events_cat');
$category = !empty($terms) ? $terms[0]->name : 'General';
// Get Event Website
$url = get_post_meta($event->ID, '_EventURL', true);
// Write to CSV
fputcsv($output, array(
$event->post_title,
strip_tags($event->post_content),
$event->start_date,
$event->end_date,
$venue_name,
$organizer_name,
$category,
$url
));
}
fclose($output);
exit;The Bottom Line
Digital independence isn’t just about owning your domain; it’s about controlling your costs. The 2026 price hike for The WordPress Events Calendar Pro is a reminder that in a consolidated ecosystem, your business is just a line item in someone else’s quarterly report.
It’s time to reclaim your autonomy, lower your overhead, and build on a platform that empowers your features rather than limiting them.
Related: Do you really own your WordPress website?
The WordPress Backdoor Scandal: Why 30+ “Trusted” Plugins Just Turned Malicious
How to Create a Forum with a Membership Paywall: 2026 Platform Comparison
Why Relying on WordPress Plugins Can Backfire (And How to Avoid It)
Are you ready to stop paying the “WordPress Tax”? Explore UltimateWB and see how easy it is to own your platform again.
Got a techy/website question? Whether it’s about UltimateWB or another website builder, web hosting, or other aspects of websites, just send in your question in the “Ask David!” form. We will email you when the answer is posted on the UltimateWB “Ask David!” section.