Hopin Alternative for In-Person Events in 2026

Hopin had a remarkable rise during the pandemic years, becoming one of the most well-funded event technology companies in the world almost overnight. Its virtual event platform filled a genuine need when in-person gatherings were impossible.

Since then, the company has undergone significant strategic shifts. Hopin sold its events business to RingCentral and has pivoted its remaining focus considerably. For event organisers and attendees primarily interested in in-person networking and live event experiences, Hopin's current offering is a less obvious fit than it once appeared.

This article looks at what alternatives exist for in-person event networking, with a focus on what actually matters when people are physically in the same space.

Hopin's Evolution

It's worth being accurate about where Hopin stands. After explosive growth in 2020–2021, Hopin made a series of pivots:

• It acquired StreamYard and other streaming-focused tools
• It sold its Events product to RingCentral (which became RingCentral Events)
• The remaining Hopin brand has shifted focus toward streaming and content distribution

For anyone who evaluated Hopin as an in-person or hybrid event platform, the landscape has changed. If you were using Hopin for in-person networking features specifically, you're likely already looking for alternatives.

What In-Person Event Networking Actually Needs

The challenge with in-person event networking is that it's fundamentally different from virtual networking. In a virtual event, everyone is already on a screen — technology mediates every interaction. In person, the phone is one layer of context among many: the room, the noise, the crowd, the energy.

Good in-person event networking tools should:

• Work without heavy onboarding — attendees shouldn't need a 10-minute setup before they can use the app
• Respect physical context — the tool should enhance the real-world experience, not replace it
• Enable organic discovery — not just scheduled meetings, but spontaneous encounters
• Protect privacy — people at a live event haven't necessarily consented to being visible to everyone with the app
• Not require organiser setup to function — the tool should work even at events where there's no dedicated tech team

FirstMove for In-Person Event Networking

FirstMove is built specifically for the in-person context. It's a free consumer app (iOS and Android) designed to make live events more connective — for attendees first, with additional analytics tools for organisers.

Core capabilities:

• VibeZones: Proximity-based zones at events where opt-in attendees can discover each other — no broadcasting your location to everyone, just to people who've also chosen to participate
• Mutual Handshake: Connections require mutual interest — both parties indicate they're open to connecting before any contact is made
• Ephemeral Profiles: Event-specific profiles that expire after the event ends — your data doesn't accumulate in a permanent networking database
• Ice-breaker prompts: Conversation starters that reduce the social friction of approaching new people at live events

For organisers, FirstMove Business offers venue analytics: attendance patterns, engagement heatmaps, and insights into how people interact across the event space.

Comparison: What to Look for in a Hopin Alternative

Feature | Hopin (Events, pre-pivot) | FirstMove

Primary focus | Virtual/hybrid events | In-person live events

In-person networking | Limited | Core feature

Attendee experience | Complex, structured | Simple, organic

Profile persistence | Persistent account | Ephemeral per-event

Privacy model | Standard | Privacy-first

Organiser setup | Required | Optional

Streaming/broadcast | Yes (via StreamYard) | Not the focus

Free for attendees | Limited | Yes, always

UK-focused | No | Yes (global with UK focus)

Other Alternatives Worth Considering

Depending on your specific needs, there are other tools worth evaluating for in-person events:

• Whova: Strong for structured conferences with agendas and session management
• Brella: AI matchmaking for B2B conferences with scheduled meetings
• Grip: Trade show and exhibition networking with lead capture
• Eventbrite: Event discovery and ticketing (not primarily a networking tool)

None of these were built with the social, festival, or community event context as their primary use case. FirstMove occupies a distinct position: consumer-first, privacy-first, and optimised for the organic energy of real-world gatherings.

The In-Person Opportunity in 2026

Live events have returned strongly post-pandemic. Festivals, conferences, community gatherings, and professional socials are all growing again. But the tooling hasn't always kept pace — many of the apps built during the virtual era don't translate well to rooms full of people who want to meet each other naturally.

The opportunity in 2026 is for tools that make the in-person experience itself better: that help people find each other in a crowd, start conversations with less friction, and leave an event having made genuine connections — without sacrificing privacy or requiring a technology degree to use.

That's the problem FirstMove is designed to solve.

Try FirstMove

Download FirstMove free on iOS and Android, or explore the business analytics platform for event organisers.

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