Sugar Calendar Review, Pricing, Pros and Cons

Ready to take the event management game to the next level without breaking a sweat or your website? Meet Sugar Calendar, the WordPress plugin that’s as sweet as its name suggests. It’s the Goldilocks of event plugins—not too simple, not too complex, but just right.

Whether you’re a developer looking to customize the heck out of it or a busy website owner in need of a plug-and-play solution, this guide will show you why Sugar Calendar is the answer you didn’t know you were looking for.

Buckle up; we’re diving into a world where managing events is as easy as pie!

What is Sugar Calendar ?

Sugar Calendar is a WordPress plugin designed for event management. It strikes a balance between simplicity and functionality, avoiding the extremes of being either too basic or overly complex.

The plugin offers features like recurring events, translation readiness, and the ability to set start and end times for events. It also supports single and multi-day events, allows for event categorization, and even has an add-on for event ticketing through Stripe or WooCommerce.

The plugin aims to make event management in WordPress straightforward and hassle-free.

Sugar Calendar features

Ready to be wowed by a feature list longer than a red carpet? Let’s roll it out and strut through the dazzling functionalities that make Sugar Calendar the star of the WordPress event management show.

Import Existing Events

If you have event data in a CSV or XML file, Sugar Calendar offers an integration with WP All Import to make populating your calendar hassle-free.

Simple Admin Interface

Sugar Calendar offers a user-friendly admin interface that allows you to view events on a monthly, weekly, or daily calendar. You can also filter events by category and perform searches, all within a single screen.

Custom Date Formatting and Translation-Ready

The plugin provides full controls for time and date formatting, making it adaptable for global audiences. It is also fully localized and ready for translation.

Lightweight and Performance-Ready

The plugin is built with speed and performance in mind, ensuring it runs smoothly on all types of websites.

Time Zones

You can specify time zones for each event or calendar. Additionally, the plugin offers a Visitor Conversion feature that updates an event page to display in each visitor’s own time zone.

Integrate with Form Builders

Sugar Calendar integrates with Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms, allowing for easy event registration and payment gateway options.

Perfect Repeating / Recurring Events

Sugar Calendar allows you to set up daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly events with custom end dates. An Advanced Recurring add-on is available for more complex and irregular events.

Developer-Friendly

The plugin is extensible and developer-friendly, offering actions, filters, and smart coding options.

Easy Front-End Display Options

Displaying a calendar on your website is simple. You can use Gutenberg blocks or shortcodes to embed the calendar, with options for customization.

Open-Sourced & GPL

Sugar Calendar is licensed under GPLv3 and is an open-source software with a community of developers and contributors.

Event Calendar Widgets

The plugin comes with four widgets that allow you to display a large or small calendar, list event categories, sort events by various criteria, and display a list of events.

Actively Supported and Developed

The plugin is actively supported by a dedicated team and is continuously developed to include new features and fix bugs.

Sweet Add-Ons

Sugar Calendar offers a range of pro add-ons that extend its functionality, including options for selling and managing event tickets, syncing with Google Calendar, and allowing users to submit their own events.

Sync with Google Calendar and More

With the Calendar Feeds add-on, you can connect your site’s calendar to Google Calendar, iCal, and other calendar applications.

Sugar Calendar pricing

Ah, the moment of truth – how much is this sweetness going to cost you? Don’t worry, we’ve got options that’ll fit your budget better than a tailored suit. Let’s talk numbers without the sticker shock.

Personal Plan

• Price: $49.00 per year
• Features: Access to all free add-ons, plugin updates, email support
• Sites: 1 site
• Core Features: All core features included

Plus Plan

• Price: $99.00 per year
• Features: Access to all free add-ons, plugin updates, email support
• Sites: 3 sites
• Core Features: All core features included

Professional Plan

• Price: $199.00 per year
• Features: Access to all pro and free add-ons, plugin updates, email support
• Sites: Unlimited sites
• Core Features: All core features included

Ultimate Plan

• Price: $449.00 (one-time payment)
• Features: Access to all pro and free add-ons, lifetime plugin updates, lifetime email support
• Sites: Unlimited sites
• Core Features: All core features included

Note: Plugin updates and email support are provided for the duration of your current subscription.

Conclusion

Sugar Calendar stands out for its simplicity and lightweight design, focusing on delivering core event management features without unnecessary bloat.

Developed by the reputable Sandhills Development team, the plugin offers a clean codebase and extensibility, making it a favorite among developers.

It integrates seamlessly with form plugins for event registration and offers both free and premium add-ons to extend its functionality.

Whether you’re a developer looking for a reliable foundation for an event calendar system or a website owner in need of a straightforward solution, Sugar Calendar is a compelling choice.

Advantages

• User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate, making it simple to create and manage events.
• Lightweight and Fast: Optimized for performance, ensuring smooth operation on all types of websites.
• Extensible: Offers a range of free and premium add-ons, including ticketing and calendar feeds.
• Developer-Friendly: Clean code and extensibility make it easy to customize and integrate with other services.

Disadvantages

• Limited Styling Options: Lacks built-in styling features, requiring custom CSS for design changes.
• Basic Free Version: While functional, the free version may require premium add-ons for more advanced features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn’t my event showing up in Sugar Calendar ?

Oh, the agony of an invisible event! There could be several reasons for this. Maybe you’ve set the event for a future date, or perhaps it’s hiding in another calendar category. Double-check your settings and make sure you’re looking in the right place. If all else fails, reach out to the devs; they’re pretty responsive.

Can Sugar Calendar handle recurring events ?

You betcha! Sugar Calendar is like your personal Groundhog Day, but less annoying. You can set events to recur daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly. And if you’re the indecisive type, you can even set a date to end the recurrence. How’s that for flexibility?

Is Sugar Calendar translation-ready ?

Oui, Ja, Sí, and Yes! Sugar Calendar is a polyglot at heart. It’s fully localized and ready to speak your language, or at least eight languages it’s been translated into. So go ahead, make your events international!

How does Sugar Calendar integrate with other plugins ?

Like peanut butter and jelly, baby! Sugar Calendar plays well with others. You can integrate it with Gravity Forms for event registration, sync your events to Google Calendar, and even sell tickets through Stripe or WooCommerce. It’s a social butterfly in the plugin world.

Can I use Sugar Calendar for different types of events ?

Why limit yourself? Whether you’re hosting webinars, art exhibits, or even grand openings, Sugar Calendar is versatile enough to handle it all. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of event management.

Is Sugar Calendar developer-friendly ?

If you speak the language of code, Sugar Calendar is your new BFF. It’s extensible and offers a clean codebase, making it a developer’s dream. So go ahead, customize away!

What are the limitations of Sugar Calendar ?

Ah, the fine print! While it’s a robust plugin, it does have some limitations. The free version is functional but basic, and if you’re looking for built-in styling features, you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and dive into some custom CSS. But hey, nobody’s perfect!