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Events · head to head

Meetup vs Wild Apricot

Meetup logo

Meetup

Events

Find your people

From
$55/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wild Apricot logo

Wild Apricot

Nonprofits

Membership management for small associations and clubs

From
$60/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Meetup organizer fees tripled following Bending Spoons acquisition in 2024; Wild Apricot the website builder is dated and constrained, and organisations that care about their public site usually end up running a separate site alongside it
  • They diverge on capability: Meetup covers Groups, Wild Apricot covers Member database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meetup and Wild Apricot actually diverge.

Attributes where Meetup and Wild Apricot differ
AttributeMeetupWild Apricot
Starting price$55/month$60/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by contact count
CategoryEventsNonprofits
Founded2002Unknown

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

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 Meetup

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

Only in Wild Apricot

  • Member database
  • Automated renewals
  • Event registration
  • Website builder
  • Online payments
  • Email and newsletters

What people use each for

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

Meetup

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

Wild Apricot

  • Small associations and clubs replacing a spreadsheet and a separate websitenot Meetup
  • Volunteer-run organisations needing unlimited administrators without per-seat costnot Meetup
  • Professional bodies handling dues renewals and a member directorynot Meetup
  • Groups running paid events for members alongside membership subscriptionsnot Meetup

Where each one falls short

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

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

Wild Apricot

  • The website builder is dated and constrained, and organisations that care about their public site usually end up running a separate site alongside it
  • Pricing by contact count means lapsed members and non-member contacts push you into a higher tier unless the database is actively pruned
  • Every module is adequate rather than good, so any organisation with a serious need in one area will outgrow that part first
  • Reporting is basic, and detailed membership analysis generally means exporting to a spreadsheet
  • Migration away is painful once the website, database and event history all live inside it

Pricing, plan by plan

Meetup

$55/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Meetup review.

Wild Apricot

$60/month
  • Group$60/month
    • Up to 100 contacts
    • Member database
    • Website
  • Community$150/month
    • Up to 500 contacts
    • All Group features
    • More storage
  • Association$290/month
    • Up to 2,000 contacts
    • All Community features
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 5,000 contacts and above
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom arrangements

Which should you pick?

Choose Meetup if

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

Choose Wild Apricot if

  • You need member database.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated renewals.
Wild Apricot review

Questions people ask

Is Meetup or Wild Apricot better?
Neither clearly leads. Meetup starts at $55/month and Wild Apricot at $60/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meetup or Wild Apricot?
Meetup starts at $55/month and Wild Apricot at $60/month.
Does Meetup or Wild Apricot run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Meetup best used for?
Meetup is most often used for finding local groups and events around a shared interest, organising a recurring in-person group, running online events alongside physical ones, growing a community by drawing on meetup's existing member base. Of those, finding local groups and events around a shared interest and organising a recurring in-person group are not what Wild Apricot is typically brought in for.
What can Meetup do that Wild Apricot cannot?
Meetup covers Groups, Events, RSVP System, Messaging. Wild Apricot covers Member database, Automated renewals, Event registration, Website builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Wild Apricot: How is Wild Apricot priced?

By contact count, not by staff seat, starting at 60 USD a month for up to 100 contacts. Unlimited administrators is the practical benefit for volunteer-run organisations.

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
Wild Apricot: Do lapsed members count toward the limit?

Contacts count, which includes records beyond current paying members. Pruning the database matters, because tier boundaries are the main cause of unexpected cost increases.

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
Wild Apricot: Is the website builder any good?

It is functional and dated. Organisations that care about their public web presence commonly run a separate site and use Wild Apricot for the member-only area.

Wild Apricot: Can it handle fundraising?

Basic donation collection, yes. Organisations whose main activity is fundraising rather than membership are better served by a donor management platform.

Wild Apricot: When do organisations outgrow it?

Usually at a few thousand members, or earlier if one area — events, fundraising or the website — becomes central to the organisation rather than incidental.

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