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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Scheduling & Automation

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Scheduling & Automation

All 15 Free only Premium only 5

Choosing a WordPress plugin for scheduling & automation comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin Best overall 95/100
  2. 2. WPvivid 93/100
  3. 3. Advanced Database Cleaner 90/100
  4. 4. Appointment Booking Plugin 89/100
  5. 5. OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 89/100
  6. 6. Simply Schedule Appointments 89/100
  7. 7. The Events Calendar 88/100
  8. 8. WP Crontrol 88/100
  9. 9. JetBackup 88/100
  10. 10. Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, D... 88/100
  11. 11. Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar 87/100
  12. 12. SimplyBook.me 87/100
  13. 13. Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System 86/100
  14. 14. MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 86/100
  15. 15. Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 86/100
2 WPvivid
Free by wpvividplugins

WPvivid

All-in-one WordPress backup, migration and staging plugin — schedule automatic backups, restore in one click, and migrate or clone sites safely.

4.9★
from 1,536 ratings
900k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
93

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Advanced Database Cleaner
Free by Younes JFR.

Advanced Database Cleaner

Clean database by deleting orphaned data such as 'revisions', 'expired transients', optimize database and more...

4.9★
from 1,950 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
90

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 Appointment Booking Plugin
Free by LatePoint

Appointment Booking Plugin

Appointment booking plugin for WordPress. Let clients self-schedule 24/7, accept payments at booking, and reduce no-shows, all from your WordPress sit …

4.9★
from 99 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
89

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
6 Simply Schedule Appointments
Free by NSquared

Simply Schedule Appointments

Unlimited appointments, booking calendars, and notifications. Powerful appointment booking plugin and booking system. Start scheduling for free today!

5★
from 155 ratings
50k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
89

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 The Events Calendar
Free by Nexcess

The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar: #1 calendar plugin for WordPress. Create/manage events (virtual too!) on your site with the free plugin.

4.2★
from 2,452 ratings
600k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 WP Crontrol
Free by John Blackbourn

WP Crontrol

Take control of the cron events on your WordPress website or WooCommerce store with WP Crontrol.

4.5★
from 165 ratings
300k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 JetBackup
Free by JetBackup

JetBackup

Backup, restore, and migrate WordPress sites fast. Supports TAR, remote backups, multi schedules, and full multisite compatibility.

4.5★
from 1,054 ratings
200k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 SimplyBook.me
Free by Really Simple Plugins

SimplyBook.me

Simply add a booking calendar to your site to schedule bookings, reservations, appointments and to collect payments.

4.5★
from 17 ratings
30k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
87

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org