Is Meetup or Zkipster better?

Neither clearly leads. Meetup starts at $55/month and Zkipster at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Meetup or Zkipster?

Meetup starts at $55/month and Zkipster at $299/month.

Does Meetup or Zkipster run on more platforms?

Meetup runs on Web, iOS, Android. Zkipster runs on Web, Ios, Android.

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 Zkipster is typically brought in for.

What can Meetup do that Zkipster cannot?

Meetup covers Groups, Events, RSVP System, Messaging. Zkipster covers Guest list management, Digital check-in, Seating charts, Real-time analytics. Both handle Ios support, Android support, Web support.

Events · head to head

Meetup vs Zkipster

Meetup

Events

Find your people

From: $55/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Zkipster

Events

Guest management for luxury events

From: $299/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Meetup organizer fees tripled following Bending Spoons acquisition in 2024; Zkipster the pricing page names three tiers but publishes no rate for any of them
They diverge on capability: Meetup covers Groups, Zkipster covers Guest list management.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Meetup and Zkipster actually diverge.

Attributes where Meetup and Zkipster differ
Attribute	Meetup	Zkipster
Starting price	$55/month	$299/month
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Founded	2002	2012

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 Meetup

Groups
Events
RSVP System
Messaging
Event Photos
Recommendations
Google Calendar
Zoom

Only in Zkipster

Guest list management
Digital check-in
Seating charts
Real-time analytics
VIP tagging
Salesforce
Mailchimp
Google Sheets

Both cover

Ios support
Android support
Web support

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 Zkipster
Organising a recurring in-person groupnot Zkipster
Running online events alongside physical onesnot Zkipster
Growing a community by drawing on Meetup's existing member basenot Zkipster

Zkipster

Guest list management and check in at invitation only eventsnot Meetup
Seating plans and name badges for galas and dinnersnot Meetup
Sending event invitations and RSVPs by email, SMS or WhatsAppnot 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

Zkipster

The pricing page names three tiers but publishes no rate for any of them
Essentials is capped at 60 events per year or 10 per month and Professional at 80 per year or 20 per month
Guests are capped at 10,000 per event on Essentials and Professional
Event communications, floor plans, seating and name badges require the Professional plan
SMS, WhatsApp and Wallet Pass require Professional or higher
API access requires an annual Professional plan or an Enterprise add on
Advanced security and compliance tools and priority support are Enterprise only
zkipster Audience is banded by contact volume, so cost rises with the contact list rather than with features

Pricing, plan by plan

Meetup

$55/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Meetup review.

Zkipster

$299/month

Starter$299/month
- Guest list management
- Check-in app
- Basic analytics
Professional$599/month
- Seating management
- Custom branding
- Advanced reporting
Enterprise$1199/month
- Multi-event
- API access
- Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Meetup if

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

Meetup review

Choose Zkipster if

You need guest list management.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want digital check-in.

Zkipster review

Questions people ask

Is Meetup or Zkipster better?: Neither clearly leads. Meetup starts at $55/month and Zkipster at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Meetup or Zkipster?: Meetup starts at $55/month and Zkipster at $299/month.
Does Meetup or Zkipster run on more platforms?: Meetup runs on Web, iOS, Android. Zkipster runs on Web, Ios, Android.
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 Zkipster is typically brought in for.
What can Meetup do that Zkipster cannot?: Meetup covers Groups, Events, RSVP System, Messaging. Zkipster covers Guest list management, Digital check-in, Seating charts, Real-time analytics. Both handle Ios support, Android support, Web support.

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

Zkipster: How does zkipster billing work?

Monthly Events plans are billed every month on a rolling basis until manually canceled. Annual plans cost upfront for 12 months and offer up to 50% savings versus monthly billing.

Source

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

Zkipster: What payment methods does zkipster accept?

zkipster accepts all major credit cards. Wire and bank transfer are available for certain plans. SMS and add-ons require credit card payment.

Source

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

Zkipster: Are there overage fees?

Events plans include annual allowances (60-100 events per year). Additional events incur charges in the next billing period. Audience has per-contact overage pricing.

Source

Zkipster: What happens if I cancel my subscription?

Accounts remain active through the current billing period after cancellation. Account owners can still access and download data even after the subscription lapses.

Source

Meetup vs Zkipster

Meetup

Zkipster

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Meetup

Only in Zkipster

Both cover

What people use each for

Meetup

Zkipster

Where each one falls short

Meetup

Zkipster

Pricing, plan by plan

Meetup

Zkipster

Which should you pick?

Choose Meetup if

Choose Zkipster if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Meetup

More on Zkipster

Keep looking

Other head to heads