Meetup
Meetup is a freemium social events platform connecting individuals to local and online interest-based groups and gatherings. It serves consumers seeking community and organizers hosting events across hobby, fitness, tech, and professional categories, operating as a Bending Spoons subsidiary.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Meetup does
Meetup, founded in 2002 and headquartered in New York, operates a horizontal social events platform that connects individuals to local and online groups and gatherings organized around shared interests. The platform serves two primary user types: members who discover and attend events, and organizers (including Super Organizers) who create and manage groups spanning categories such as travel, hobbies, sports, fitness, technology, art, career networking, and education. The product surface consists of the core Meetup web platform, native iOS and Android mobile applications, and Meetup Pro, a paid organizer tier with administrative features and analytics.
The underlying technology is a marketplace built around event discovery, group management, and RSVP/attendee coordination, supporting both in-person and hybrid/online events. Distribution is digital-first and self-serve: users sign up for free, browse and filter events by location, date, category, and interest, and either join existing groups or create new ones. Marketing channels are predominantly organic — content marketing via the Meetup blog, social media, app store discovery, and word-of-mouth referrals — supplemented by partnerships with sponsors and event organizers.
Meetup operates a freemium revenue model combining free consumer membership with paid organizer subscriptions (Meetup Pro), paid event ticketing, and ancillary premium features. Since 2023, Meetup has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bending Spoons, a Milan-based technology conglomerate that went public on NASDAQ in July 2026 at an $18 billion valuation and subsequently reached a $25B+ market capitalization. Bending Spoons applies an acquisition-driven operating model emphasizing cost reduction, operational efficiency, and AI-enabled transformation across its portfolio of legacy digital brands.
Meetup firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Meetup
- Legal name
- Bending Spoons US Inc.
- Website
- https://meetup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Meetup is a freemium social events platform connecting individuals to local and online interest-based groups and gatherings. It serves consumers seeking community and organizers hosting events across hobby, fitness, tech, and professional categories, operating as a Bending Spoons subsidiary.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Meetup industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Events Platform
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Spectator Sports (71121)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Meeting & Event Program Technology (Registration, Apps, Badging) (THACAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)
Keywords
Where Meetup is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Meetup business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription/Organizer Fees: Meetup generates revenue through organizer subscriptions and paid features for group management. The platform offers free membership for basic attendance while organizers may pay for premium features to manage larger groups and events.
- Event Ticketing: Some events on the platform may have ticketing fees, though many events are free. The platform supports both free and paid events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free membership for basic users |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Meetup product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Meetup is an online social events platform that connects individuals who want to form or join local and online groups around shared interests. The platform lets users discover events, join interest-based communities, and attend meetups hosted by third-party organizers across categories such as travel, hobbies, sports, fitness, technology, career, and education. Organizers access paid group-management features including recurring event scheduling, member communication, and analytics, while attendees can use the core service for free.
Product overview
Meetup is a unified social events platform operated by Bending Spoons that enables users to discover local groups and events based on shared interests, join communities, and attend in-person or online gatherings. The platform encompasses the core Meetup product (a marketplace connecting event organizers with attendees), Meetup Pro (a professional tier for organizers), and mobile applications for iOS and Android. The platform organizes events across diverse categories including Travel and Outdoor, Social Activities, Hobbies and Passions, Sports and Fitness, Health and Wellbeing, Technology, Art and Culture, Games, Career and Business, and Science and Education.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Meetup Platform Online social events platform that enables users to discover, join, and create local and online groups and events based on shared interests across categories including travel and outdoor, social activities, hobbies and passions, sports and fitness, health and wellbeing, technology, art and culture, games, career and business, and science and education.
- Meetup Mobile App Native iOS and Android applications that let users discover nearby events, manage RSVPs, communicate with group members, and check in to events on mobile devices.
Quantifiable outcome
- Millions of members worldwide connecting through shared interests
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Meetup
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Meetup technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Meetup partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Meetup competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Luma: Direct competitor offering modern event hosting, RSVPs and discovery for curated communities and tech/professional organizers, often cited as a more modern alternative to Meetup for premium organizers.
- Bevy: Community event platform purpose-built for brands and user groups to run virtual/in-person meetups at scale; direct competitor for the Meetup Pro organizer tier.
- Eventbrite: Direct peer and fellow Bending Spoons portfolio company; Eventbrite is a ticketing and event-discovery marketplace for organizers and attendees, overlapping closely with Meetup's group-based event marketplace model.
Emerging players
- Partiful: Gen Z-focused social event RSVP and invites platform competing for the same consumer-attendee use case Meetup targets, particularly in the demographic Meetup's 2025 redesign is courting.
- Bumble (Bumble BFF / For Friends): Friend-finding mode within Bumble targeting the same adult-friendship and loneliness problem Meetup addresses, applying mobile dating-app mechanics to platonic connection.
- Patch: Hyperlocal news-and-events platform serving community calendars and small meetups, overlapping with Meetup on local event discovery outside major metros.
Broad incumbents
- Nextdoor: Hyperlocal neighborhood social platform with growing local-event features, overlapping Meetup's local, in-person community use case but scoped to residential neighborhoods.
- LinkedIn Events: LinkedIn's event feature targets the same professional/career-meetup use case Meetup serves, leveraging Microsoft's professional graph to attract organizers of tech and business meetups.
- Discord: Interest-based community and chat platform that increasingly hosts events, AMAs and meetups; competes with Meetup at the community-formation layer that precedes in-person events.
- Facebook Events (Meta): Embedded event creation, RSVP and discovery inside Meta's social graph; competes with Meetup for organizer attention at massive scale but as one feature inside a much broader consumer platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Meetup social profiles
Digital presenceMeetup financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Meetup leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Meetup funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Meetup M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Meetup
What does Meetup do?
Meetup is an online social events platform that connects individuals who want to form or join local and online groups around shared interests. The platform lets users discover events, join interest-based communities, and attend meetups hosted by third-party organizers across categories such as travel, hobbies, sports, fitness, technology, career, and education. Organizers access paid group-management features including recurring event scheduling, member communication, and analytics, while attendees can use the core service for free.
Is Meetup a public or private company?
Meetup is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Meetup founded?
Meetup was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Meetup based?
Meetup is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Meetup make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription/Organizer Fees are the primary driver. The others are event Ticketing.
Who are Meetup's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Luma, Bevy and Eventbrite. Emerging players are Partiful, Bumble (Bumble BFF / For Friends) and Patch. Broad incumbents are Nextdoor, LinkedIn Events, Discord and Facebook Events (Meta).
Does Meetup have an API?
No public API is recorded for Meetup.
What industry is Meetup in?
Meetup's product category is Social Events Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THACAFAB, Meeting & Event Program Technology (Registration, Apps, Badging), with a secondary code of BPAMACAH, Community/Group Chat Platforms. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7997.