Event Networking Apps Compared 2025

There are a lot of apps claiming to help you network at events. Here's an honest comparison of the main options — what each does well, and where each falls short.

The market for event networking apps has grown significantly in recent years, and the options range from genuinely useful to essentially pointless. Here's a structured comparison of the main platforms, based on the features that actually matter for real-world event networking.

The Comparison Framework

Rather than cherry-picking features, let's evaluate apps on five criteria that matter for event networking:

Event-specificity: Is it designed for live events, or a general platform being used that way?
Real-time presence: Does it show who's here right now, or a historical/general profile?
Consent mechanism: Does both parties have to opt in, or can anyone contact you unsolicited?
Privacy: What happens to your data and profile after the event?
Cost: Is it free, or does meaningful functionality require a subscription?

FirstMove

Event-specificity: Built exclusively for live events. ✓✓
Real-time presence: VibeZones use geo-presence to show current attendees. ✓✓
Consent: Mutual Handshake requires both parties to opt in. ✓✓
Privacy: Ephemeral Profiles disappear when the event ends. ✓✓
Cost: Free. ✓✓

FirstMove scores well across all five criteria. It's purpose-built for the use case, real-time by design, consent-first from the ground up, and genuinely private. The main limitation is reach — as a newer app, it's not yet ubiquitous at every event type.

Brella

Brella is a professional event networking platform designed for conferences and corporate events. It uses AI-based matching to suggest relevant connections.

Event-specificity: Good for conferences. ✓✓
Real-time presence: Moderate — profile-based rather than presence-based. ✓
Consent: Requires mutual acceptance before meetings are scheduled. ✓
Privacy: Standard data retention, no ephemeral profiles. ○
Cost: Usually included in conference registration; organisers pay. ✓

Brella is strong for professional conferences where the organiser has integrated it. It's less relevant for social or cultural events, and doesn't work if the event hasn't adopted it.

Swapcard

Swapcard is another conference-focused app with AI matching, a digital business card feature, and a content feed. It's used by large professional events.

Event-specificity: Good for large professional events. ✓✓
Real-time presence: Limited presence features. ○
Consent: Connection requests require acceptance. ✓
Privacy: Standard; profiles persist after events. ○
Cost: Free for attendees; events pay. ✓

Similar to Brella — useful if the event organiser has integrated it, but not something you'd download independently.

LinkedIn Events

LinkedIn's built-in event functionality lets you see who else is attending a listed event.

Event-specificity: A feature within a general professional network. ○
Real-time presence: No real-time presence. ✗
Consent: Standard LinkedIn messaging applies. ○
Privacy: Your LinkedIn profile is always your public face. ✗
Cost: Free. ✓

LinkedIn Events is useful for pre-event research and post-event connection, but it's not designed for in-event discovery. Your full professional history is attached to every interaction.

Lunchclub

Lunchclub is an AI-powered meeting scheduling app — not for events specifically, but for one-on-one professional meetings.

Event-specificity: Not event-specific. ✗
Real-time presence: N/A. ✗
Consent: Mutual matching. ✓
Privacy: Standard. ○
Cost: Free. ✓

Not an event networking app, but worth knowing about for professional connection generally.

Summary Table

FirstMove | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓

Brella | ✓✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ○ | ✓*

Swapcard | ✓✓ | ○ | ✓ | ○ | ✓*

LinkedIn Events | ○ | ✗ | ○ | ✗ | ✓

Lunchclub | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ○ | ✓

*Free for attendees; event organiser pays

The Bottom Line

For independently-initiated social event networking — particularly at festivals, nightlife events, and social conferences — FirstMove is the most complete solution available. For large professional conferences where the organiser has purchased a networking platform, Brella or Swapcard may already be provided.

No single app covers every scenario. For professional events, knowing about LinkedIn and Brella helps. For social and cultural events, FirstMove is the most purpose-built option.

Try FirstMove

Download FirstMove — the only event networking app built from the ground up around presence, consent, and privacy. Free on iOS and Android.

Event Networking Apps Compared: What's Actually Worth Using