Hi oceanfilm,
You are correct, the Events Calendar PRO plugin does not offer a ticketing function. But both the Eventbrite and WooCommerce Tickets add-ons work with the free version of The Events Calendar plugin. The PRO plugin isn’t necessary unless you require its features such as recurring events or the extra views, among others.
We’re sorry if you don’t like the price point, but we consider it fair given how frequently the plugins and add-ons are updated and the level of support we provide. I hope you can see the value in them.
Is there anything else we can help you with?
— Julie