TL;DR: While Simple Calendar (formerly Google Calendar Events) is a popular tool for basic feeds, Pie Calendar is built for the modern WordPress era. It offers faster syncing (up to every 60 seconds), zero database bloat, and the unique ability to mix Google Calendar events with your native WordPress posts or WooCommerce products.
Why Users are Switching to Pie Calendar
Simple Calendar is limited to only displaying external feeds. Pie Calendar, with our Connector Addon, was designed to be a “bridge” between your external calendars and your native WordPress content.
- Faster Syncing: Don’t wait an hour for your calendar to update. Pie Calendar can refresh your Google Calendar feed as often as every 60 seconds.
- Mix & Match Sources: Display a Google Calendar feed, a list of WooCommerce products as events, and your own custom event posts all on one single calendar.
- Performance First: Simple Calendar relies on complex settings that can lead to “heavy” pages. Pie Calendar uses “expansion logic” to keep your site’s Core Web Vitals in the green.
- Native Styling: No more “iframes” that look out of place. Pie Calendar inherits your theme’s styling automatically.
Pie Calendar vs. Simple Calendar: At a Glance
| Feature | Pie Calendar | Simple Calendar |
| Google Calendar Sync | ✅ Yes (via Connector*) | ✅ Yes |
| Add Native WP Events | ✅ Yes (Any Post/CPT) | ❌ No (ICS only) |
| eCommerce / Tickets | ✅ WooCommerce & SureCart | ❌ No |
| Performance | 🚀 Ultra-lightweight | ⚠️ Can be heavy with large feeds |
| Styling Control | ✅ Full CSS & Theme Sync | ⚠️ Limited to plugin settings |
| Sync Frequency | 🕒 Up to every 60 seconds | 🕒 Hourly (Pro version) |
| Pricing Model | Simple, All-inclusive | Paid individual add-ons for colors, views, and private calendars. |
Pro Tip: While most plugins only sync once per hour (or once per day), Pie Calendar’s Connector Addon can be set to sync every 60 seconds. This is critical for events where availability changes fast, like class registrations or flash sales.
*Connector Addon works with both free and pro version of Pie Calendar.
The “Private Calendar” Trap
One of Simple Calendar’s main selling points is “Private Calendar” support, which they charge extra for.
Don’t pay extra to show your private calendar. Pie Calendar allows you to sync your ‘Secret iCal’ address from Google for no extra cost, so you can display private events without making your entire calendar public or paying for a separate add-on.
How to Display Google Calendar in WordPress (The Easy Way)
If you are looking for the most reliable way to display a Google Calendar on your site, follow these three steps using Pie Calendar:
- Get your Secret iCal URL: In your Google Calendar settings, copy the “Secret address in iCal format.”
- Paste into Pie Calendar: Use the Connector Add-on to paste that URL into your event sources on the Pie Calendar Block.
- Style & Publish: Use the Pie Calendar block or shortcode to place the calendar anywhere. It will automatically sync the latest changes from your Google Calendar every 60 minutes, or as soon as every 1 minute, if required.
Stop Paying the “Google API Tax”
Most Google Calendar plugins force you to pay a “tax” on your time before you even see a single event. To use legacy plugins like Simple Calendar, you have to:
- Create a Google Cloud Project (and hope you don’t click the wrong billing setting).
- Enable the Calendar API manually in a complex, unfamiliar dashboard.
- Generate and Manage API Keys that can expire or break your site if misconfigured.
Pie Calendar eliminates the API Tax. Because we use a native ICS-fetch approach, there is no Google Cloud Console required. If you can copy and paste a URL, you can sync your calendar. It’s more secure, faster to set up, and won’t break when Google updates their developer terms.
