Luma vs Meetup

If you want flexible ticketing without a monthly subscription, choose Luma. If you need group-focused community management with built-in member directories, Meetup is built for that.

Quick Feature Comparison

Pricing

Luma: Free to create events. Paid tickets incur a 5% platform fee plus Stripe processing (2.9% + 30¢). With Luma Plus ($59/mo annually or $69/mo monthly), the platform fee drops to 0%.

Meetup: $44.99/month subscription for organizers (or $299.99/year). Ticketing features launched in October 2023 are included at no extra cost, but payment processing fees apply. The platform also displays ads to guests.

Pricing updated June 6, 2024. See Meetup’s pricing page for current rates.

A Note on Meetup’s History

Founded in 2002, Meetup operated for over 20 years before adding paid ticketing in October 2023. The platform has changed hands multiple times:

• 2017: WeWork acquired Meetup for $156 million
• 2020: Sold to AlleyCorp for a fraction of the purchase price after WeWork’s financial troubles
• 2024: Acquired by Bending Spoons, a PE-backed company known for acquiring software companies and making them profitable through price increases and cost cuts. They previously acquired Evernote (doubled prices to $129-169/year), laid off most staff, and have acquired StreamYard, Splice, and others

If you’re choosing a platform for the long term, these ownership changes and the recent addition of ticketing are worth weighing.

Where Luma Shines

1. No subscription required: Free to start — you only pay when selling tickets, saving $540/year compared to Meetup’s required subscription
2. Purpose-built for ticketing: Luma was designed for ticket sales from day one; Meetup added ticketing in 2023
3. Curate a paid guest list: Require approval works with paid tickets — guests’ cards are held when they apply and only charged if you approve them. Paid waitlists work the same way, so you can fill sold-out spots without chasing payments.
4. Paid memberships: Sell monthly, yearly, or one-time memberships that give members access to your events — recurring revenue, with Luma handling the billing.
5. No ads, and your own guest data: Guests see your event, not advertisements, and you can access attendee emails and phone numbers

Why You Might Choose Meetup

• Group-centric model: Built specifically for community groups with member management
• Group messaging: Built-in communication tools for your community
• Existing groups: If you already have an established Meetup group with active members
• Topic-based discovery: Users can find groups by interests (hiking, book clubs, etc.)

Migrating from Meetup to Luma

Note: Meetup protects member emails by default. You may need to:

• Add a custom registration question asking for email addresses
• Include your Luma event links in Meetup event descriptions
• Gradually transition members by promoting your Luma calendar

Steps to migrate:

1. Create your first event on Luma—it takes under 2 minutes
2. Add your Luma event link to your Meetup event descriptions
3. Consider asking for emails as a custom question on Meetup RSVPs
4. Share your Luma calendar link so members can follow future events directly

FAQs

Can I run free events on Luma? Yes. Free events have no platform fees.

Can members see all our upcoming events? Yes, create a Luma calendar to showcase all your events in one place.

Do I own my attendee data on Luma? Yes. You have access to attendee emails and phone numbers, so you can contact your community directly.

What People Are Saying

“@LumaHQ is the only event manager out there that actually works”

— @StewartalsopIII (comparing to Meetup’s $44/month charge)