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Meetup Review

Depends

Should I use Meetup?

Find Meetup events, join groups, or start your own. Make new friends and connect with like-minded people. - meetup.com

· 1 month ago

Great as a free attendee hunting local interest groups; nothing else matches its density. Organizers should think twice — sharp price hikes, 1.9/5 ratings, and cheaper alternatives like Eventbrite or Heylo may fit better.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 12 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on SmartCustomer and Reddit threads.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usable evidence in sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Member (free plan)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Organizer (Starter/Standard)Varies; user reports $40 to $300/yr after hikes
Meetup ProCustom quote

Best for

  • Finding local hobby and interest groups
  • Regular attendees joining existing groups
  • Organizers running recurring in-person communities
  • Brands managing many groups via Meetup Pro

Not for

  • One-off or ticketed event hosts — use Eventbrite
  • Budget-sensitive organizers; fees rose sharply
  • Online-only webinar and virtual event teams
  • Small casual friend circles — fees outweigh value

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Organizer prices tripled with under a month's notice in 2024; expect more hikes

medium

New fees now apply to features that used to be free

medium

Bending Spoons ownership era coincides with aggressive monetization

medium

1,200+ complaints on PissedConsumer; support contact is hard to reach

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free to join groups and RSVP; paid Meetup+ is optional
  • Members happily attend regular events like boardgame nights
  • Organizers get event feedback and ratings tools built in
  • Meetup Pro tier exists for brands running multiple groups

Cons

  • Organizer prices raised up to 6x per user reports
  • Subscription triples announced with under a month's notice
  • 1.9/5 average rating across 498 customer reviews
  • Fees added to features that were previously free
  • Longtime users say the platform is past its prime

Sources & method

- 10 sources - 2020 high-risk flaws enabled group takeovers and payment redirection (44M members exposed, since patched); one 2024 privilege-escalation CVE exists.

official x1review x4security x3news x2
  • CVE-2024-50483 — privilege escalation, Broken authentication allowing privilege escalation; disclosed 2024.
  • 2020 group takeover and payment redirection flaws, Checkmarx found high-risk bugs exposing 44M members to data loss and PayPal theft; Meetup patched them.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Sharp organizer hikes; heavy user backlash
  • Ease of use. No usable evidence in sources
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Group tools plus event ratings; Pro adds scale
  • Support quality: 2/5. 1.9/5 ratings; complaint-heavy feedback
  • Security posture: 2/5. Patched 2020 flaws; 2024 privilege-escalation CVE
  • 1.9/5 SmartCustomer rating 498 reviews
  • Yes Free tier Joining groups costs nothing
  • Up to 6x Organizer price hikes User-reported: $40 to $300/yr
  • 44M members 2020 flaw exposure Group takeover and payment risks

Pricing

Member (free plan)

$0

  • Join groups
  • RSVP to events

Organizer (Starter/Standard)

Varies; user reports $40 to $300/yr after hikes

  • Run a group
  • Schedule events
  • Event ratings

Meetup Pro

Not disclosed

  • Multiple groups for organizations
  • Group management at scale

Security

2020 high-risk flaws enabled group takeovers and payment redirection (44M members exposed, since patched); one 2024 privilege-escalation CVE exists.

  • CVE-2024-50483 — privilege escalationBroken authentication allowing privilege escalation; disclosed 2024.⁷
  • 2020 group takeover and payment redirection flawsCheckmarx found high-risk bugs exposing 44M members to data loss and PayPal theft; Meetup patched them.⁶

Alternatives

Compare Meetup with each alternative.

  • Eventbrite

    Better fit for one-off ticketed events

  • Facebook Groups

    Free home for casual communities

  • Heylo

    Cheaper alternative for group organizers

    Meetup vs Heylo
Full analysis

Based on 12 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on SmartCustomer and Reddit threads.

Free and great for finding local groups; risky for organizers after sharp price hikes and shaky support.

Methodology

Based on 12 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on SmartCustomer and Reddit threads.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Meetup Reviews — Rated 1.9/5, 498 reviewssmartcustomer.com
    review
  2. Meetup Reviews | Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  3. Meetup triples subscription price with less than a month's noticenews.ycombinator.com
    news
  4. Meetup.com just increased the price X6 (From 40 to 300)reddit.com
    review
  5. Organizer Subscription prices overview — Meetup Helphelp.meetup.com
    official
  6. Meetup Security Flaws Exposed 44 Million Members — Forbesforbes.com
    security
  7. CVE-2024-50483: Meetup Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilitysentinelone.com
    security
  8. Meetup fixes security flaws that could allow group takeovers — ZDNETzdnet.com
    security
  9. Meetup Pro Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  10. Pay to Skip? Why Meetup Risks Undermining Its Own Community — Mediummedium.com
    news

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