Softwr

Events · head to head

ACTIVE Network vs Meetup

ACTIVE Network logo

ACTIVE Network

Events

Registration and payment software for parks departments, races and camps, owned by Global Payments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Meetup logo

Meetup

Events

Find your people

From
$55/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ACTIVE Network revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.; Meetup organizer fees tripled following Bending Spoons acquisition in 2024
  • They diverge on capability: ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, Meetup covers Groups.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ACTIVE Network and Meetup actually diverge.

Attributes where ACTIVE Network and Meetup differ
AttributeACTIVE NetworkMeetup
Starting priceOn request$55/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
FoundedUnknown2002

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Events).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ACTIVE Network

  • ACTIVENet
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance
  • Camp and Class Manager
  • Participant-paid fees
  • Facility and league scheduling
  • ACTIVE.com listing

Only in Meetup

  • Groups
  • Events
  • RSVP System
  • Messaging
  • Event Photos
  • Recommendations
  • Google Calendar
  • Zoom

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ACTIVE Network

  • A city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residentsnot Meetup
  • A race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendornot Meetup
  • A YMCA needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one systemnot Meetup
  • An agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing feesnot Meetup

Meetup

  • Finding local groups and events around a shared interestnot ACTIVE Network
  • Organising a recurring in-person groupnot ACTIVE Network
  • Running online events alongside physical onesnot ACTIVE Network
  • Growing a community by drawing on Meetup's existing member basenot ACTIVE Network

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ACTIVE Network

  • Revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.
  • Passing the processing fee to participants is normal practice, which makes the cost invisible on the agency budget and visible to residents as a service charge at checkout.
  • The ACTIVENet codebase is long-lived and parts of the administrative interface remain dated, with upgrade cycles driven by the parent rather than by agency requests.
  • Support responsiveness is a persistent complaint among municipal customers, and escalation paths are slower than in a standalone software vendor.
  • Because Global Payments owns the merchant relationship, moving off ACTIVE means changing processor as well as software, which usually requires a procurement process rather than a simple switch.

Meetup

  • Organizer fees tripled following Bending Spoons acquisition in 2024
  • Increased paywalling of core community features
  • Platform is buggy with many unfixed issues
  • Customer support no longer available with AI responses only
  • Issues with billing accuracy and unauthorized recurring charges
  • Poor technical support responsiveness to organizer complaints

Pricing, plan by plan

ACTIVE Network

On request
  • ACTIVENet$undefined/year
    • Registration, facility and membership modules
    • Revenue derived primarily from registration processing fees
    • Fee can be absorbed by the agency or passed to the participant
  • Camp and Class Manager$undefined/year
    • Flat rate or per registration fee model
    • Rates quoted per account, not published
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance$undefined/year
    • Race registration priced on a per registration fee
    • ACTIVE.com listing included

Meetup

$55/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Meetup review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ACTIVE Network if

  • You need activenet.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want activeworks endurance.
ACTIVE Network review

Choose Meetup if

  • You need groups.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want events.
Meetup review

Questions people ask

Is ACTIVE Network or Meetup better?
Neither clearly leads. ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Meetup at $55/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ACTIVE Network or Meetup?
ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Meetup at $55/month.
Does ACTIVE Network or Meetup run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is ACTIVE Network best used for?
ACTIVE Network is most often used for a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents, a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor, a ymca needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one system, an agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing fees. Of those, a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents and a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor are not what Meetup is typically brought in for.
What can ACTIVE Network do that Meetup cannot?
ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, ACTIVEWorks Endurance, Camp and Class Manager, Participant-paid fees. Meetup covers Groups, Events, RSVP System, Messaging.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ACTIVE Network: Who owns ACTIVE Network?

Global Payments, which acquired it in 2017 for around 1.2 billion US dollars. It sits in the merchant solutions business.

Meetup: What is Meetup Pro pricing?

Meetup Pro starts at $55 per group per month, or $47 per group per month for six-month commitments. Enterprise plans are available at custom pricing. A one-week free trial is offered.

Source
ACTIVE Network: How does ACTIVE make money?

Primarily from registration processing fees, charged as a percentage plus a fixed amount per registration.

Meetup: What features does Meetup Pro include?

Meetup Pro includes event scheduling, group management, member engagement tools, community-building features, and integrations with platforms like Zoom and Mailchimp.

Source
ACTIVE Network: Can we absorb the fee instead of charging residents?

Yes, the agency chooses. Most pass it to the participant, which is why registrants see a service fee.

Meetup: Does Meetup charge organizers fees?

Yes, Meetup charges organizers fees for hosting groups and events. Organizer fees have increased significantly following the Bending Spoons acquisition in 2024.

Source
ACTIVE Network: Is pricing published?

No. Both licence and processing rates are quoted per account.

Share

Related pages

More on ACTIVE Network

More on Meetup

Keep looking

Other head to heads