Meetup vs Eventbrite: an honest comparison
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. Here’s how they compare on what organizers actually need.
Checked October 2026 · By the Hiive team
The short answer
At a glance
Yes Partly No? Not confirmed from official sources
Where each one wins
Meetup wins on
- A group page that keeps members between events, with RSVPs, waitlists and messaging.
- Discovery tuned to recurring interest groups rather than single events.
- Free for members to join, with predictable organizer subscription costs.
Eventbrite wins on
- Purpose-built ticketing with a check-in app, reports and order management.
- No subscription to list free events; fees apply only to paid tickets.
- Email marketing (Eventbrite Pro) and paid promotion through Eventbrite Ads.
Pricing compared
Meetup
- Starter: free — one group, up to 2 in-person events a month and 10 attendees, no online events, and no event fees.
- Standard: from US$29.99 a month (or $99.99 for 6 months, $174.99 a year).
- Pro: from US$55 per group per month, for organizations running many groups.
- Attendees pay Meetup a service fee on ticketed events. Event fees are collected through PayPal and member dues through Stripe.
Meetup is a global platform and is used in India. Meetup says plan prices may vary by location, so Indian pricing can differ from the US prices below.
Eventbrite
- Free events: no fee.
- Paid tickets: a service fee of 3.7% + US$1.79 per ticket, plus payment processing of 2.9% per order.
- Eventbrite Pro (email marketing): from US$15 a month.
- Eventbrite Ads are charged separately. Fees vary by country.
Eventbrite is a global platform and organizers in India can list free events. India and INR are not on the supported payout list for Eventbrite Payment Processing, so check how you would collect ticket revenue before planning paid events.
Who should use which
Meetup is for
- Hobby and professional groups that meet regularly and grow through discovery.
- Organizers running free events who can work within the Starter limits, or who value discovery enough to pay for Standard.
- Organizations running many chapters that can justify Meetup Pro.
Eventbrite is for
- Organizers of conferences, concerts, workshops and other standalone ticketed events.
- Organizers outside India who want marketplace reach and self-serve setup.
- Free events that need registration, reminders and check-in.
Need something neither does?
If you run recurring events in India — gigs, workshops, classes, games — you may need both a community and paid tickets — plus payouts in rupees, venue schedules and curated entry. Hiive does all of that in one workspace.
Questions
Meetup is built around groups that meet again and again; Eventbrite is built around selling tickets to individual events. Pick Meetup if you're growing a recurring community through discovery, and Eventbrite if you're selling tickets to one-off or large events and want its marketplace and check-in tools.
Meetup: Starter: free — one group, up to 2 in-person events a month and 10 attendees, no online events, and no event fees. Eventbrite: Free events: no fee. (as of October 2026 (US starting prices); check each provider for current pricing.)
Meetup: Meetup is a global platform and is used in India. Meetup says plan prices may vary by location, so Indian pricing can differ from the US prices below. Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a global platform and organizers in India can list free events. India and INR are not on the supported payout list for Eventbrite Payment Processing, so check how you would collect ticket revenue before planning paid events.
Keep comparing
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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.
- Meetup Help — organizer subscriptions
- Meetup Help — plan features
- Meetup Help — downloading attendee lists
- Meetup Help — Pro member export
- Meetup API
- Eventbrite — organizer pricing
- Eventbrite Help — ticketing fees
- Eventbrite Help — processing payments for ticket sales
- Eventbrite Help — download an attendees report
- Eventbrite API