Evnts vs Meetup
Evnts vs Meetup: your group, without the subscription.
Meetup is where people browse for groups by topic, and organizers pay from $29.99 a month to run one. Evnts is free with no ads: a community page people follow by text, events they answer from a link without an account, and tickets or dues paid into your own Stripe account.
Free · works on any phone · no app for guests
Choose Meetup if you need strangers to discover your group, or your members already talk to each other there.
Where Meetup winsChoose Evnts if you already have your people and want to run their events for free, with no ads, no accounts and no cut on tickets or dues.
Make your inviteIs there a free Meetup alternative for organizers?
| Evnts | Meetup | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for the organizer | Free | Standard from $29.99 a month ($174.99 a year), up to 3 groups; Pro from $55 per group a month. A free Starter plan for first-time organizers allows 2 events a month with up to 10 attendees each |
| Ads | None | Shown to members; removed with Meetup+ or an organizer subscription |
| Members need an account | No; a name and mobile number, confirmed with a code | Yes, a free Meetup account to join a group or attend an event |
| Paid events | Ticket types and promo codes, paid into your own Stripe account; no Evnts fee | Event fees on paid plans, collected through PayPal; members pay Meetup a service fee on top ($1.62 on a $10 ticket) |
| Membership dues | Monthly or annual memberships, up to five tiers with perks, paid into your own Stripe account | Member dues through Stripe; they're mandatory for every member and unpaid members are removed |
| Reminders | An automatic text the day before | Typically 7 days, 1 day and a few hours before, by email and push |
| Check-in | A pass with a QR code and door code; works with no signal, from any phone | Scan members' QR codes in the Meetup app, from 1 hour before to 24 hours after |
| Finding new members | Your own community page that people follow by text | Meetup's network, where people browse groups by topic |
Facts about Meetup checked in October 2026 from their own site; see sources below. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
What does a ticket cost in fees?
Members pay Meetup a service fee on top of the ticket price; organizers don't pay it, but they pay a monthly subscription (from $29.99) and the payment processor's fee, and the free Starter plan can't charge for events. On Evnts the host pays Stripe's card fee and nothing else.
| Ticket price | Meetup | Evnts |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.62 (member) + organizer subscription | $0 (Stripe's card fee only) |
| $20 | Not published (member pays) + organizer subscription | $0 (Stripe's card fee only) |
| $50 | Not published (member pays) + organizer subscription | $0 (Stripe's card fee only) |
Meetup publishes one example ($1.62 on a $10 ticket) and says the fee depends on the ticket price. Figures from Meetup's help centre, checked October 2026.
When Meetup is the better pick
- You want strangers to find your group: people browse Meetup by topic and city.
- Your members already live there, with group discussions, messages and member profiles.
- You run online events, or (on Pro) a network of many groups with sponsors, Mailchimp and an API.
Where Evnts shines
- Free for personal events, with no ads and no limit on guests.
- Guests need nothing: no app, no account. They answer from the link in about 15 seconds.
- Paid tickets go straight to your own Stripe account, with no Evnts fee.
- Describe the event in one sentence and get a finished invite with a painted cover.
- A reminder text the day before, and your updates by text, WhatsApp or email.
- A QR pass for every guest, checked at the door from any phone, even with no signal.
- Reserved seats picked on a phone, held while guests pay.
Switching from Meetup
- Start a community on evnts.rsvp with your group's name, a line about it and a cover; your page is evnts.rsvp/c/your-name.
- Describe your next event in one sentence, and switch on Show on the community page.
- If you charge dues, switch on Sell membership with a Monthly and/or Annual price; paste members who already paid (with their paid-until date) into Member lists, or upload a CSV.
- Post your community page link in your Meetup group so members can follow it by text.
- For paid events, connect Stripe and add ticket types, promo codes or members-only prices.
Your own audience
A community page people follow by text.
List your events on evnts.rsvp/c/your-name. Followers get a text when you post a new one, at most four a month.
About 15 seconds
Guests answer from the link. No ads, no app.
Going, Maybe or Can't, their name and their number, plus-ones by name. Everyone gets a reminder the day before, and you see a live headcount.
Questions
Does Evnts cost anything for a group organizer?
No. Events, RSVPs, reminders and your community page are free, with no ads. If you sell tickets or memberships, Evnts takes no cut: Stripe's standard card fee comes out of your payout, and guests can add an optional tip to Evnts at checkout, which you can switch off.
Can I bring my Meetup members over?
You can paste your members into Member lists (name and number, one per line) or upload a CSV, then sell them members-only tickets. Nobody on a list is messaged, so share your community page link with the group and they follow it themselves with their number.
Will new people find my group on Evnts?
Evnts has no directory to browse. People find you through the links you share and your community page; guests who RSVP to one of your events can follow it with one tap.
Try it on your next party.
It's free and takes about a minute. Compare Evnts with other tools.
Make your inviteSources (Meetup, checked October 2026)
- Meetup: organizer subscription prices
- Meetup: can I organize a group for free? (Starter limits)
- Meetup: why Meetup charges a service fee for ticketed events
- Meetup: setting event fees (PayPal, transaction fees)
- Meetup: advertisements on Meetup
- Meetup: what notifications Meetup sends (reminders)
Meetup is a trademark of its owner. Evnts is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meetup.