shouldiuse.io

Comparison

LinkedIn vs Meetup

LinkedIn and Meetup both land on Depends.

Meetup

meetup.com

Depends
Confidence: Medium

Great as a free attendee hunting local interest groups; nothing else matches its density.

Read the full report

LinkedIn versus Meetup
CompareLinkedInMeetup
VerdictDependsDepends
Best forJob seekersFinding local hobby and interest groups
Who it's not forBudget buyers . Premium value is widely pannedOne-off or ticketed event hosts . use Eventbrite
PrivacyMature security program (disclosure, trust center, encryption) but recurring breach and leak headlines from 2012 to 2026.⁹2020 high-risk flaws enabled group takeovers and payment redirection (44M members exposed, since patched); one 2024 privilege-escalation CVE exists.
Support qualityNo usable support evidence in sources1.9/5 ratings; complaint-heavy feedback
Public sentimentSentiment is love-hate: users credit LinkedIn for landing jobs but pan Premium pricing and the feed.³Reviews are polarized: attendees still find real community, while recent organizer complaints about aggressive price hikes dominate.12
Biggest gotchaPremium renews around $30/month; many reviewers say the value doesn't hold up.²Organizer prices tripled with under a month's notice in 2024; expect more hikes14

Pick LinkedIn when

  • Job seekers
  • Recruiters and B2B sales teams
  • Personal branding and networking
  • B2B marketers

When LinkedIn is not a fit

  • Budget buyers . Premium value is widely panned
  • Privacy-sensitive users given repeated leak headlines
  • Anyone who wants networking without an engagement feed
  • Teams treating it as a CRM . use a real CRM or spreadsheet

Pick Meetup when

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

When Meetup is not a fit

  • 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

Sources

  1. LinkedIn Products | Read 6716 Reviews on G2g2.com
    review
  2. Is LinkedIn Premium Worth $30/Month? What G2 users Thinklearn.g2.com
    review
  3. The cost of LinkedIn Premium is ridiculous (r/recruitinghell)reddit.com
    review
  4. What is LinkedIn actually for at this point? (r/NoStupidQuestions)reddit.com
    review
  5. LinkedIn Faces Growing Complaints From Recruiters Over Rising Prices . The Informationtheinformation.com
    news
  6. LinkedIn sells 10 paid products (Expandi)expandi.io
    review
  7. Career Plans and Pricing | LinkedIn Premiumpremium.linkedin.com
    official
  8. LinkedIn Securitysecurity.linkedin.com
    official
  9. Have I Been Pwned: LinkedIn Data Breachhaveibeenpwned.com
    security
  10. LinkedIn Account Attack Alert Issued For 1.2 Billion Users . Forbesforbes.com
    security
  11. 2012 LinkedIn hack . Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    security
  12. Meetup Reviews . Rated 1.9/5, 498 reviewssmartcustomer.com
    review
  13. Meetup Reviews | Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  14. Meetup triples subscription price with less than a month's noticenews.ycombinator.com
    news
  15. Meetup.com just increased the price X6 (From 40 to 300)reddit.com
    review
  16. Organizer Subscription prices overview . Meetup Helphelp.meetup.com
    official