Meetup is great for recurring community groups. If you want to connect with people at specific events rather than join groups, here are the alternatives.

Meetup has been helping people find community since 2002. It pioneered the idea of using the internet to bring strangers with shared interests together in real life. For millions of people, Meetup groups — whether for hiking, board games, language exchange, or professional networking — have been genuinely valuable. If you're after a quick city-by-city look at substitutes, our Meetup alternatives for local events guide is the shorter companion to this piece.

But Meetup's model has its limitations, and the platform has evolved in ways that don't suit every use case. If you're looking for alternatives — whether for discovery, in-the-moment connection, or something more privacy-conscious — there are meaningful options worth understanding.

What Meetup does well

Meetup's strength is recurring community groups. If you want to find people who share a specific interest and meet regularly, the model works well: browse groups by interest and location, RSVP to upcoming events, build a community around a regular activity, and organise and promote events to group members.

For community builders who want to run a regular event series — a monthly book club, a weekly run club, a bi-weekly tech meetup — Meetup provides infrastructure and a built-in audience.

Where Meetup's model falls short

Meetup's group-based model has some limitations that have become more pronounced over time.

For attendees: the experience is about joining groups, not about connecting with individuals at a specific event. There's limited in-event functionality — once you're at the event, the app isn't much help for meeting people. The subscription model (which has changed several times) adds friction for both attendees and organisers. And privacy-conscious users may be uncomfortable with the persistent social profile model.

For organisers: limited analytics beyond RSVP counts, not designed for one-off events or festivals, and less suited to events with paid admission or complex ticketing needs.

For in-the-moment connection: Meetup doesn't have a "who's here right now and open to meeting people?" feature. The experience is built around pre-event discovery, not at-event networking.

The alternatives landscape

FirstMove

FirstMove addresses the in-event connection gap that Meetup doesn't focus on. Rather than helping you find events or join groups in advance, FirstMove helps you connect with people who are physically present at the same event as you.

VibeZones show you nearby attendees who've opted in to connecting. Mutual Handshake ensures both parties are interested before any connection is made. Ephemeral Profiles keep your digital footprint minimal — no permanent profile accumulation. Ice-breakers make starting conversations easier.

FirstMove works at any live event — festivals, parties, professional meetups, cultural events — without requiring the event to be organised through the platform.

Eventbrite

Eventbrite is a ticketing and event discovery platform. It's not a social networking tool, but it does help people find events near them. If your core need is discovering local events rather than connecting with people at them, Eventbrite is worth exploring — though the networking component is minimal. We unpack this gap in our piece on Eventbrite networking alternatives.

Facebook Events

Facebook Events remains a widely-used way to discover and organise local events, particularly in the UK. For community events with a Facebook-native audience, it's a practical option. Privacy concerns with Facebook are well-documented, and the in-event experience is limited.

Peatix

Peatix is an event ticketing platform popular in some markets that also includes community features. It has more of an Asia-Pacific focus but has UK presence.

Feature comparison

Feature | Meetup | FirstMove

Event discovery | Strong, group-based | Not the focus

In-event networking | Limited | Core feature

Connection model | Group membership | Proximity + mutual opt-in

Profile type | Persistent social profile | Ephemeral per-event

Privacy model | Standard | Privacy-first

Recurring community support | Strong | Not the focus

One-off events | Limited | Works for any event

Free to use | Partial (subscription model) | Free

Organiser analytics | Basic RSVP data | Venue flow + engagement (Business)

UK market | Yes | Yes (UK-focused)

Choosing based on your actual need

The most important question is: what are you actually trying to do?

Use Meetup if you want to find a recurring community around a specific interest, you're an organiser building a regular event series with a consistent audience, and discovery of groups before you commit to attending is the key feature. For a direct comparison, see Meetup vs FirstMove.

Use FirstMove if you're already at an event and want to meet the people around you, you're going to a festival, social event, or one-off gathering and want connection opportunities, you want to meet people organically without joining a group or building a persistent profile, and privacy matters — you don't want your event attendance permanently logged.

Use Eventbrite if you primarily need to discover and book tickets for local events, or you're an organiser who needs ticketing infrastructure.

The gap that most of these apps don't fill well is: I'm here, at this event, right now — how do I meet interesting people without being weird about it? That's the specific problem FirstMove is built to solve. Our wider list of event networking app alternatives for 2025 covers the rest of the landscape.

Try FirstMove

Download FirstMove free on iOS and Android. No group to join, no subscription needed.

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Meetup Alternatives Worth Trying in 2026 (UK Guide)