KeepsYa™ vs Event Espresso
Event Espresso’s free tier still takes 1–3%.
KeepsYa’s free engine takes nothing.
Run the whole booking engine free on your own WordPress site, keep every dollar and every record, and only ever pay your own payment processor.
The bottom line
Event Espresso is the closest peer, also a self-hosted WordPress plugin where you own your data. The differences: Event Espresso’s free “Decaf” tier charges a 1–3% transaction fee and paid licenses run $129–$399/year, and it is built as general event registration. KeepsYa’s free engine charges no transaction fee, Pro is a flat $149/year, and it is purpose-built for camps, classes and youth sports, with family accounts, rosters, per-day check-in, offline money, punch cards and prepaid packages. Pick Event Espresso for general ticketing with a big add-on catalog; pick KeepsYa for recurring, family-based programs.
Last updated June 16, 2026. Event Espresso pricing per its published information; KeepsYa pricing per keepsya.com.
KeepsYa Free vs KeepsYa Pro vs Event Espresso
What you get the moment you install the free plugin, what Pro adds, and how Event Espresso compares.
| Feature | KeepsYa Free | KeepsYa Pro | Event Espresso |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-registration / per-ticket fee | $0 | $0 | Decaf (free): 1–3% per transaction; paid: 0% |
| Payment processing | Your own gateway (e.g. Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) | Same | Your own gateway |
| Platform fee | $0 | $149 / year, flat | Free (Decaf) / $129 / $399 per year |
| Where it runs | Your own WordPress site | Your site | Your own WordPress site |
| Who owns the data | You (your database) | You | You (your database) |
| Offline payments (cash / Zelle / Venmo / check) | ✓ Built in | ✓ | ✓ (invoice/offline) |
| Family / multi-child registration | ✓ | ✓ | Group registration; not family-first |
| Saved players & customer accounts | ✓ | ✓ | Attendee accounts (add-on) |
| Rosters, QR/tap check-in, no-show tracking | ✓ | ✓ + No-show Follow-up | Check-in via add-on |
| Recurring sessions & per-day camp capacity | ✓ | ✓ | Recurring (add-on); not camp per-day |
| Waitlists & deposits | ✓ | ✓ | Waitlist + deposits (add-ons) |
| Coupons / promo codes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (promo codes) |
| Punch cards & prepaid packages | Redeem ✓ | Sell ✓ | ✗ |
| Account credit & family-to-family transfers | Redeem ✓ | Admin ✓ | ✗ |
| Real-money affiliate program | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ (3rd-party) |
| Built for | Camps, classes, youth sports | + stored value & affiliate | General event registration |
The money math
Event Espresso
Event Espresso’s free Decaf tier charges 1–3% per transaction, on a $150 registration that is $1.50–$4.50 each (about $750–$2,250 over 500), or pay $129–$399/year to remove it.
KeepsYa
KeepsYa’s free engine charges no transaction fee at all, and Pro is a flat $99/year, less than Event Espresso Core.
Illustrative; your numbers depend on price and volume. Event Espresso pricing shown per its published information as of June 16, 2026.
Where KeepsYa wins
Zero per-registration fees
The free engine never charges per sign-up, and Pro is a flat $149/year. Your cost does not grow with your success.
You own the data
Registrations, attendees and payments live in your own WordPress database and export to CSV anytime. KeepsYa never writes to The Events Calendar’s data, so it can’t break your site.
Offline money is first-class
Cash, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and check are built in free, with mark-paid on the roster, the way real camps and clubs actually collect.
Built for families and rosters
Multi-child sign-up, saved players, recurring sessions, per-day camp capacity, and QR/tap check-in with no-show tracking.
Sell revenue in advance
Pro adds punch cards, prepaid packages, account credit and family-to-family transfers, one sale can cover a whole season.
Nothing you sold ever stops working
Money a family already holds always redeems, even if a Pro license lapses. The license gates updates and support, never function.
Where Event Espresso fits better
Big add-on catalog
Event Espresso has 30+ à-la-carte add-ons for niche event needs, useful if you want to assemble exactly one feature set.
General-purpose ticketing
For conferences, single public events and general ticketing not centered on families or recurring rosters.
Long track record
A mature, well-known general WordPress event plugin with a large community.
Our 30-day, no-questions-asked guarantee
Try KeepsYa Pro and love it, or get a full refund, automatically. If Pro is not right for your program, just log in and cancel within 30 days of your purchase and we will refund your charge automatically. No emails, no hoops, no questions. And if you ever get stuck before then, a real person replies within one business day.
More than an affiliate program: a growth flywheel
KeepsYa Pro turns your own families into your marketing engine and rewards them for it. Affiliate commissions, family referrals and the stored-value ledger are not three features, they are one self-perpetuating loop:
A family shares their link
Every family gets a personal referral link, and partners get an affiliate link, straight from your KeepsYa site.
A friend signs up
The new registration is tracked automatically and attributed to the referrer, first-touch, no codes to chase.
The family earns spendable credit
They receive real, owner-funded account credit (or a cash commission), held in your stored-value ledger and payable after the service is delivered.
They come back and spend it
That credit pulls the family into next season, and their friend now has a link of their own.
The result: your customers promote you, get rewarded, and keep coming back, while you keep every dollar and own all the data. One referral can pay for a whole year of Pro. See how the Pro flywheel works →
Event Espresso vs KeepsYa: frequently asked questions
Is KeepsYa cheaper than Event Espresso?
Usually. KeepsYa’s free engine has no transaction fee, while Event Espresso’s free tier charges 1–3%. KeepsYa Pro ($99/year) is less than Event Espresso Core ($129/year). (As of June 16, 2026.)
Both are self-hosted WordPress plugins, so what is the real difference?
Focus. Event Espresso is general event registration; KeepsYa is purpose-built for camps, classes and youth sports, with family accounts, saved players, per-day camp check-in, offline money, punch cards, prepaid packages and a real-money affiliate program built in rather than bolted on.
Does KeepsYa charge a transaction fee on the free version?
No. The free KeepsYa engine charges no per-transaction or per-registration fee; you only pay your own payment processor.
Do I own my data with KeepsYa?
Yes, the same as Event Espresso: everything lives in your own WordPress database and exports to CSV. KeepsYa additionally never writes to The Events Calendar’s tables, so a TEC update can’t break it.
Does KeepsYa need a pile of paid add-ons?
No. Rosters, check-in, family accounts, waitlists, deposits, coupons and offline payments are in the free plugin; one flat Pro license ($149/year) adds the selling tools.
Can KeepsYa take cash, Zelle or Venmo?
Yes, offline payments are built into the free plugin with mark-paid; card payments come via the KeepsYa Payments add-on.
Does KeepsYa do camps and recurring classes?
Yes: recurring sessions, per-day capacity for multi-day camps, waitlists, deposits and roster check-in with no-show tracking.
What happens to prepaid balances if Pro lapses?
They keep working. Anything a family already paid for always redeems; the license gates updates and support, never function.
Keep the fees. Keep the data. Keep your families.
Install KeepsYa free and take your first registration today. Upgrade to Pro only when you’re ready to sell punch cards, packages and more.
Trademark & affiliation notice. KeepsYa™ and John Kirker Inc. are not affiliated with, associated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Event Espresso, and we do not endorse Event Espresso. Event Espresso and its logo are trademarks of their respective owner, used here solely for identification and good-faith comparison. Figures reflect publicly available information as of June 16, 2026 and may change; verify current pricing and features with Event Espresso.