The best Meetup alternatives in 2026
Meetup is a long-running platform for interest-based groups and the events they hold. Members join and RSVP free; organizers run their groups on a paid plan, with a limited free Starter tier. If it’s stopped fitting how you run, here are 6 alternatives worth a look — what each is best at, what it costs, and when staying on Meetup is the right call.
Checked October 2026 · By the Hiive team
The short answer
- Hiive — best for organizers, venues and communities in India, from gigs to run clubs, who want tickets in ₹, curated entry and venue schedules in one place.
- Luma — polished event pages and calendars for tech and startup communities.
- Heylo — run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app.
- Spond — teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members.
- WhatsApp Communities — free, familiar coordination for groups whose members already use WhatsApp.
- Eventbrite — one-off and recurring ticketed events that want marketplace reach.
Why people look for a Meetup alternative
- The organizer subscription is a fixed cost whether or not your events make money.
- Getting your own members' contact details out needs the Pro plan.
- Communities that run ticketed nights, classes or games need things Meetup doesn't do: venue schedules, check-ins, curated entry and booking analytics.
- Paid events run on PayPal and Stripe, which isn't how most Indian attendees pay.
The alternatives, one by one
01 · OUR PICK
Hiive
Hiive is an app for finding local events and the communities behind them — gigs, comedy nights, workshops, supper clubs, run clubs, games and meetups — with a business workspace for the venues, event IPs and organizers who run them. Ticketing, venue schedules, memberships, campaigns, analytics, a shop and payouts live in one place, and the same events surface to people nearby in the Hiive app.
Hiive vs Meetup, in detailPick it over Meetup if
- You run recurring events — gigs, workshops, classes, games — and charge for some of them.
- You want payouts in ₹ without wiring up PayPal or Stripe.
- You manage a venue, or coordinate events across one.
- You want to curate who joins, and see where bookings drop off.
Worth knowing
- Hiive is newer than most tools it's compared with. Its event and community coverage is deepest in Mumbai, where it launched, and is growing city by city.
- Business pricing isn't a public rate card: the software is free for the first couple of months, then a fee is agreed with each partner based on the value delivered.
02
Luma
Best for: Polished event pages and calendars for tech and startup communities
Luma (formerly lu.ma) is a platform for event pages, registration and ticketing, with calendars that work as community hubs. It is especially popular with tech and startup communities.
Good at
- Clean, fast event pages that guests find easy to register on.
- Calendars give a community a home, with subscribers and memberships.
- Approvals, tickets, coupons and check-in are built in.
Watch out for
- Paid ticketing runs only through Stripe, and Stripe accounts based in India aren't supported.
- A 5% platform fee on paid tickets on the Free plan; removing it needs Luma Plus.
- API access is a Luma Plus feature.
Pricing: Free: a 5% platform fee on paid tickets, plus Stripe fees.
03
Heylo
Best for: Run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app
Heylo is a US-based community app for clubs such as run clubs and social groups, combining events, group chat, a member directory and payments. It positions itself as an alternative to Meetup, with a free Base plan and paid tiers that lower payment fees.
Good at
- Unlimited members and events on every plan, including the free Base tier.
- Group chats, a member directory, questionnaires and icebreakers help members get to know each other.
- Clear published pricing, with payment fees that fall as you move up tiers.
Watch out for
- INR isn't a supported payment currency, so Indian groups can't collect fees in ₹.
- The free plan carries the highest payment fee (5% + $0.59), before Stripe processing.
- Email sends are capped by plan tier.
Pricing: Base: free, with a payment fee of 5% + $0.59.
04
Spond
Best for: Teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members
Spond is a free app for sports teams, clubs and groups to organise events, track attendance, chat and collect payments. Spond Club adds a web tool for larger clubs with a member register, renewals and club websites.
Good at
- Free to use, with no subscription — costs come only from payment fees.
- Solid team admin: repeating events, a season planner, RSVPs and waitlists.
- Chat, payments and fundraising in the same app as attendance.
Watch out for
- INR is not a supported payment currency, so Indian groups can't collect fees through Spond.
- No discovery marketplace — it organises an existing group rather than helping new people find you.
- No venue or court booking.
Pricing: The app is free; Spond earns from transaction fees on payments.
05
WhatsApp Communities
Best for: Free, familiar coordination for groups whose members already use WhatsApp
WhatsApp Communities bring related WhatsApp groups together under one announcement channel. Admins post updates to everyone, members chat in the groups, and Events let people RSVP and get reminders.
Good at
- Almost everyone in India already has WhatsApp, so joining takes seconds.
- An announcement group where admins post and members can reply or react.
- Events with RSVPs (including +1 guests) and reminders, launched in 2024.
Watch out for
- No ticketing or payments, so collecting fees means a separate tool or manual transfers.
- No public discovery: new members only arrive by invite link or word of mouth.
- No venue booking, attendance analytics or booking funnel.
Pricing: Free for admins and members.
06
Eventbrite
Best for: One-off and recurring ticketed events that want marketplace reach
Eventbrite is a self-serve ticketing platform with its own event discovery marketplace. Organizers publish an event, sell tickets and check guests in, and free events can be listed without a fee.
Good at
- A large discovery marketplace where people browse for things to do.
- Quick self-serve setup: an event page and tickets can go live the same day.
- Check-in app, reports and attendee exports are included.
Watch out for
- Per-ticket service and processing fees apply to every paid ticket.
- INR is not a supported payout currency for Eventbrite Payment Processing.
- Built around single events: there is no community, member group or chat.
Pricing: Free events: no fee.
Compared side by side
Yes Partly No? Not confirmed from official sources
Leaving Meetup? Take your people with you
Any organizer can download the attendee list for a single event. Exporting your group's members — including their email addresses — is a Meetup Pro feature.
How to export members and attendees from MeetupQuestions
It depends on why you're leaving. For event organizers, venues and communities in India that want ticketing with payouts in rupees, curated membership, venue schedules and booking analytics in one place, Hiive is the strongest fit. Luma is best for polished event pages and calendars for tech and startup communities. Heylo is best for run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app. Spond is best for teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members.
The organizer subscription is a fixed cost whether or not your events make money. Getting your own members' contact details out needs the Pro plan. Communities that run ticketed nights, classes or games need things Meetup doesn't do: venue schedules, check-ins, curated entry and booking analytics. Paid events run on PayPal and Stripe, which isn't how most Indian attendees pay.
Stay on Meetup if: your audience is spread across many cities or countries; your events are free and discovery is the only thing you need; you run a free, discussion-led group, like tech talks or language exchange, and only need rsvps.
For event organizers and communities in India, Hiive combines local discovery with ticketing that pays out in rupees, venue schedules and curated membership. For free, interest-led events, Luma or WhatsApp Communities can also work.
Try Hiive with your real events. Free for the first couple of months.
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See the whole platform →Sources and disclosure
Written by the Hiive team. We make a competing product, so every claim about another product here comes from its own website or help centre, checked in October 2026. Prices and features change — check the provider before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Email jai@hiive.club and we’ll fix it.