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Comparison · E-comm
Hi.Events vs Paymattic
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Hi.Events and Paymattic — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Hi.Events vs Paymattic: at a glance
What is Hi.Events?
Hi.Events 2.0 rc.3 adds paid Enterprise features: reserved seating and a box office.
Hi.Events v2.0.0-rc.3 adds reserved seating with a visual seat-map designer and a browser-based box office with Stripe Terminal card readers, both marked Enterprise and requiring a licence in production. It also adds a per-product purchases view, refunds on manual orders and grouped ticket emails. On 1.x, v1.11.3 refuses to run while the example JWT_SECRET that earlier versions shipped is still configured, since anyone could forge sessions with it, and v1.11.2 rebuilt on patched PHP.
What is Paymattic?
Paymattic keeps closing the gap with dedicated donation plugins, one gateway at a time.
Releases land every few weeks and read as a checklist against dedicated donation and payment plugins: Gift Aid declarations for UK charities, a fee-recovery field so donors can cover processing costs, conditional payment-method triggers for notifications, Xendit subscriptions, invoice downloads, and donor-facing subscription cancellation. The most recent release adds Stripe card updates, feed mapping, and Square verification. A GiveWP migrator shipped in the spring, importing forms, donors, donations, and subscriptions.
Hi.Events vs Paymattic: editorial side-by-side
Hi.Events
6.3E-COMM
Hi.Events 2.0 rc.3 adds paid Enterprise features: reserved seating and a box office.
◆ Current state
Hi.Events v2.0.0-rc.3 adds reserved seating with a visual seat-map designer and a browser-based box office with Stripe Terminal card readers, both marked Enterprise and requiring a licence in production. It also adds a per-product purchases view, refunds on manual orders and grouped ticket emails. On 1.x, v1.11.3 refuses to run while the example JWT_SECRET that earlier versions shipped is still configured, since anyone could forge sessions with it, and v1.11.2 rebuilt on patched PHP.
◆ Where it's heading
The 2.0 cycle has gone from structural changes (recurring occurrences, embedded checkout, an API) to venue-grade features, and now to an open-core split between free self-hosting and licensed Enterprise features. The 1.x line is in security-only mode, with users pushed toward 2.0.
◆ Prediction
Expect a 2.0.0 final soon after rc.3, with the Enterprise licence terms spelled out, and 1.x limited to security fixes.
Paymattic
2.5E-COMM
Paymattic keeps closing the gap with dedicated donation plugins, one gateway at a time.
◆ Current state
Releases land every few weeks and read as a checklist against dedicated donation and payment plugins: Gift Aid declarations for UK charities, a fee-recovery field so donors can cover processing costs, conditional payment-method triggers for notifications, Xendit subscriptions, invoice downloads, and donor-facing subscription cancellation. The most recent release adds Stripe card updates, feed mapping, and Square verification. A GiveWP migrator shipped in the spring, importing forms, donors, donations, and subscriptions.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is depth in nonprofit payments rather than breadth in commerce. Gift Aid, fee recovery, recurring-donation labels, and self-service cancellation are all fundraising-specific concerns, and the GiveWP migrator names the install base Paymattic wants. Gateway coverage keeps widening in parallel — Stripe, Square, Xendit, Authorize.net — which is what a WordPress payments plugin has to do to be the default choice regardless of region. Feed announcements are teaser-length, so scope has to be read from the titles.
◆ Prediction
Expect more country-specific compliance features in the Gift Aid mold, and continued gateway parity work rather than a change in what the plugin fundamentally does.
Alternatives to Hi.Events and Paymattic
Other E-comm products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Hi.Events or Paymattic.
Foxy
Foxy follows its legacy API lockdown with a FedEx rate-type option.
Virto Commerce
Virto Commerce opens two-factor sign-in to extensions after its Admin UI refresh.
Antavo
Antavo's feed is loyalty-industry commentary; the product rarely appears in it.
Cody
Cody rebuilds its Products module and pipes in-store sales and stock into Google Ads.
CartFlows
Cart Abandonment Recovery Pro 1.3.0 adds an activity log and an email capture popup.
See all Hi.Events alternatives → · See all Paymattic alternatives →
Recent activity from Hi.Events and Paymattic
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5d agoHi.Eventsv1.11.3: blocks the forgeable example JWT secret
- 5d agoHi.Events2.0 rc.3: reserved seating and box office (Enterprise) ⚡
- 7d agoHi.Eventsv1.11.2: rebuild on patched PHP for two CVEs
- 28d agoHi.Events2.0 rc.2: per-date tickets, tier sequencing, AI moderation
- 2mo agoHi.Events2.0 rc.1: recurring events, embedded checkout and a REST API ⚡
- 2mo agoPaymatticPaymattic 4.6.25: Stripe Card Update, Feed Mapping, Square Verification, and More
- 2mo agoHi.Events1.11.1: webhook SSRF and export injection fixes
- 3mo agoPaymatticPaymattic 4.6.23: Gift Aid Declarations, Fee Recovery Field, and More!
- 5mo agoPaymatticIntroducing Paymattic 4.6.22: Migrate from GiveWP to Paymattic, and More!
- 5mo agoPaymatticPaymattic 4.6.21: Conditional Payment Notifications, Custom Billing Labels & More
- 8mo agoPaymatticPaymattic 4.6.18: Xendit Subscription, Invoice Download, Cancel Subscriptions, Conditional Render, and more!
- 1y agoPaymatticPaymattic 4.6.13: Full Name Field, Duplicate Notification, Duplicate Integration, and More!
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Hi.Events and Paymattic?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Hi.Events is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Hi.Events better than Paymattic?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Hi.Events is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other E-comm products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Hi.Events?
Top Hi.Events alternatives in E-comm are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hi.Events alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hi-events for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Paymattic?
Top Paymattic alternatives in E-comm are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Paymattic alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/paymattic for the full list with editorial commentary on each.