The best Luma alternatives in 2026
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. If it’s stopped fitting how you run, here are 5 alternatives worth a look — what each is best at, what it costs, and when staying on Luma 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.
- Meetup — interest groups that meet regularly and want to be found by strangers.
- Eventbrite — one-off and recurring ticketed events that want marketplace reach.
- Townscript — indian organizers selling tickets to standalone or multi-date events.
- Heylo — run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app.
Why people look for a Luma alternative
- Indian organizers can't collect ticket revenue through Luma today.
- Venues and recurring organizers need venue schedules and booking analytics that Luma doesn't offer.
- Organizers want chat they can start from any device, not only the iOS app.
- Luma's audience leans toward tech and startup events, which may not be where your members are.
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 Luma, in detailPick it over Luma if
- You run paid sessions in India and want payouts in rupees.
- You run paid events in India — gigs, workshops, classes, games — or a venue.
- You want members, join requests and chat in one community space.
- You want to see where bookings drop off in the checkout funnel.
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
Meetup
Best for: Interest groups that meet regularly and want to be found by strangers
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.
Good at
- A large, established discovery network — people search Meetup specifically to find groups.
- Group-first structure: members, RSVPs, waitlists and attendance live under one group page.
- Works for almost any interest, from tech talks to hiking to language exchange.
Watch out for
- Organizers pay a subscription before they can charge for events; the free Starter tier caps events and attendees.
- Member email export and the API are limited to Meetup Pro.
- No venue or court scheduling, and no activity tracking.
Pricing: Starter: free — one group, up to 2 in-person events a month and 10 attendees, no online events, and no event fees.
03
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.
04
Townscript
Best for: Indian organizers selling tickets to standalone or multi-date events
Townscript is a self-serve event ticketing and registration platform from Pune, India. Organizers create an event, sell tickets with custom registration forms and discounts, and track sales in reports.
Good at
- Made in India, with ticketing that suits Indian organizers.
- Free events cost nothing and there's no setup fee.
- Custom registration forms, discounts and multi-date events are built in.
Watch out for
- Built around events: no community, member groups or chat.
- No venue or court scheduling, and no activity tracking.
- No public API documentation; integrations run through Zoho Flow.
Pricing: Free events: no charge, and no setup fee.
05
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.
Compared side by side
Yes Partly No? Not confirmed from official sources
Leaving Luma? Take your people with you
Hosts can download a CSV of an event's guests, all or filtered, and a CSV of the people on a calendar. The guest file includes contact details, ticket, check-in status, payment details and answers to your questions.
How to export guests from LumaQuestions
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. Meetup is best for interest groups that meet regularly and want to be found by strangers. Eventbrite is best for one-off and recurring ticketed events that want marketplace reach. Townscript is best for indian organizers selling tickets to standalone or multi-date events.
Indian organizers can't collect ticket revenue through Luma today. Venues and recurring organizers need venue schedules and booking analytics that Luma doesn't offer. Organizers want chat they can start from any device, not only the iOS app. Luma's audience leans toward tech and startup events, which may not be where your members are.
Stay on Luma if: your events are free and you want the cleanest possible registration page; you run tech, startup or professional events where luma is already familiar; your organization can take payments through a supported stripe account outside india; you want a calendar that people subscribe to across many cities.
For event organizers and communities in India, Hiive offers paid tickets with payouts in rupees, member communities with chat, venue schedules and booking analytics. Townscript is an Indian option for standalone ticketed events, and Meetup suits interest groups that want discovery.
Try Hiive with your real events. Free for the first couple of months.
Create your Hiive, or tell us how you run things today and we'll map the right setup and a useful pilot.
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.