Best Self-hosted Alternatives to Meetup

pretix is an open-source ticketing and event registration application for conferences, festivals, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, and similar events. It provides tools for selling tickets online as well as handling on-site sales and attendee management.

Key Features

• Configurable ticket shop for pre-sales with quotas, product variations, and add-ons
• Box office and on-site check-in workflows for live events
• Multi-language support for events and storefronts
• Extensible architecture via plug-ins and a REST API for integrations
• Attendee management features such as order management, participant data collection, and invoicing

Use Cases

• Sell tickets and manage registrations for conferences and community events
• Run ticket sales for venues, museums, exhibitions, and public attractions
• Integrate ticketing into an existing software landscape via API and plug-ins

pretix is a mature, production-used platform designed for organizers who need a flexible ticket shop and reliable operations for both online and on-site event workflows. Its extensibility and multilingual capabilities make it suitable for a wide variety of event formats and scales.

Alf.io is an open source ticket reservation and event attendance management system for event organizers. It covers the full lifecycle from ticket sales and payments to check-in operations and reporting, with a strong focus on privacy and security.

Key Features

• Public ticket shop for ticket reservation and sales
• Backoffice/admin area for event setup and management
• Payment gateway integrations including Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Revolut, and bank transfer options
• Reporting capabilities across the event lifecycle
• Extension mechanism to integrate with third-party tools (for example CRM systems)
• Mobile apps (iOS and Android) for attendee check-in and sponsor/exhibitor lead capture
• High-throughput, offline-capable check-in station support (including Raspberry Pi setups with encrypted attendee lists)
• Multi-language user interface

Use Cases

• Running ticketing and check-in for conferences, trade shows, workshops, and meetups
• On-site badge scanning and lead collection for sponsors/exhibitors
• Offline check-in and badge printing workflows for high-volume events

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires PostgreSQL (10+) and a Java 17 runtime for deployment
• Some payment methods require third-party accounts and configuration with their providers

Alf.io is suited for organizations that want control over event data and ticketing costs while still offering modern payment and check-in workflows. Its modular integrations and offline-capable check-in options make it practical for both small meetups and larger events.

Gathio is an open-source event hosting platform that provides simple, shareable event pages designed for privacy and minimal friction. Pages can be created without registration and configured to self-destruct after use, enabling ephemeral event management and invite links.

Key Features

• Create single-page event sites that require no user registration
• Shareable links for attendees and simple RSVP/attendance workflows (link-based)
• Optionally self-destruct or expire event pages after a set time
• Federated, privacy-first design to minimize data collection and increase control
• Lightweight server-rendered UI using Handlebars templates for easy customization
• Deployable with container tooling; includes Docker support for straightforward self-hosting

Use Cases

• Host ad-hoc meetups or private gatherings with shareable, time-limited pages
• Provide one-off event invitations where attendee sign-up is not desired
• Create ephemeral community or social events that should expire after use

Limitations and Considerations

• Not a full-featured calendar or ticketing platform; focuses on simple event pages rather than complex event management
• Feature set and federation interoperability may vary depending on deployment and configuration

Gathio is suited for teams and communities that need lightweight, privacy-respecting event pages without the overhead of full calendar systems. It emphasizes simplicity, ephemeral sharing, and ease of deployment for self-hosting environments.

Admidio is a PHP-based membership and user management system designed for associations, clubs and other organizations. It provides a role- and group-oriented permission model, customizable member profiles, and a collection of modules for events, media and document handling.

Key Features

• Flexible roles, groups and permissions to mirror organizational structures
• Customizable user profiles with configurable profile fields and relationships
• Membership lists with export to CSV, Excel, ODF and PDF
• Event management with online event publishing and participant handling
• Media gallery for photo albums and simple e-card functionality
• Document and file repository with upload and role-based access control
• HTML email messaging to users, roles and groups
• Plugin system and theming to extend functionality

Use Cases

• Manage membership records, roles and contact data for clubs or associations
• Publish and manage events, registrations and participant lists for community groups
• Provide a central document and photo repository with controlled access for members

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires a PHP webserver (PHP 8.2 or higher) and a supported SQL database (MariaDB, MySQL or PostgreSQL)
• Upgrading can require careful handling of custom themes and plugins to avoid conflicts

Admidio is a practical, mature solution for organizations that need structured member administration with built-in modules for events, media and documents. It favors a traditional PHP webapp architecture and is extendable via plugins and themes.

Meetable is a minimal events aggregator and listing application built with Laravel. It provides discovery pages, per-event pages with rich metadata, and feeds for subscribing to event lists. The project is designed for small communities, organizations, and conference sites that need a focused event listing site.

Key Features

• Discovery view of upcoming events and an archive of past events
• Tagging system and tag-based discovery pages
• iCal feeds for every list and page so events can be subscribed to in external calendars
• Per-event pages with cover photo, date/time, location, ticket links, and markdown/HTML descriptions
• Add-to-calendar export (iCal files and calendar links) and timezone conversion support
• RSVP support for logged-in users and ability to attach photos, notes, and blog posts to events
• Multiple authentication options: passkey (single-user), GitHub OAuth, OpenID Connect, Vouch proxy, and Heroku OAuth
• Background job queue support and optional Redis for improved performance
• Configurable permissions to limit who can manage events and site content

Use Cases

• Public community event calendars for local meetups and interest groups
• Organization or team event pages and internal event discovery
• Conference and multi-track event listing with media and attendee RSVPs

Limitations and Considerations

• Feature set focuses on event listings and discovery rather than being a full CMS or ticketing system
• Production deployments require web server configuration, background workers for queues, and database setup; scaling larger event sites may need additional infrastructure
• Authentication setup for multi-user environments can require external OAuth/OpenID configuration and additional admin setup

Meetable is a compact, purpose-driven solution for publishing and discovering events. It is suitable for sites that need simple event management, calendar integration, and lightweight community features without the complexity of larger event platforms.

Atria is an open-source event management and professional networking platform designed for hybrid and virtual events. It combines session scheduling, sponsor management, and attendee discovery with real-time chat to help organizers foster meaningful connections.

Key Features

• Multi-day event and session management with drag-and-drop speaker organization
• Real-time communication (session chat, backstage, direct messages) powered by Socket.IO
• Professional networking tools: icebreakers, attendee discovery by role/interests, privacy controls
• Multi-tenant architecture with granular role-based permissions and organization-level isolation
• Sponsor management with multi-tier support and automated image optimization (WebP conversion)
• Developer-friendly API surface with OpenAPI docs and a RESTful design
• Docker-first deployment and Redis-backed clustering for Socket.IO scaling
• Support for S3-compatible object storage for uploads and PostgreSQL for data persistence

Use Cases

• Hosting enterprise conferences or multi-day summits with sponsor tiers and analytics
• Running community or creator events that emphasize attendee networking and moderated chat
• Supporting hybrid workshops, fundraisers, or educational events with virtual attendance and live session chat

Limitations and Considerations

• Licensed under AGPL-3.0: modifications run on a server must be made available according to the license, which may be incompatible with some proprietary workflows
• Several planned features are on the public roadmap (custom event theming, advanced analytics, ticketing integrations, AI-enhanced tools) and may not be available yet
• Project status notes partial backend test coverage (~47% reported) and active development; production operators should review current CI/test status before large deployments

Atria is suitable for teams that want a transparent, extensible platform for events and networking. It can be self-hosted for full control or used via the project’s managed offering for a hosted experience.

Karrot is an open-source web platform designed to help grassroots initiatives and local groups coordinate face-to-face activities, manage membership and share resources. It focuses on transparent, democratic and participatory group management while providing maps, activity scheduling and contextual chat.

Key Features

• Independent groups: each group has its own settings, logo, membership rules and governance mechanisms.
• Activity scheduling with slots: create time-and-place activities (meetings, pickups, events) with sign-up slots and attendance tracking.
• Offers and local sharing: create offers for items or services and discuss interest in per-offer chats.
• Contextual messaging and notifications: group-wide messages, private messages and activity/place-specific chats; configurable notifications.
• Trust-based role system and membership review: peer-assigned trust levels, application workflow, voting and membership review tools.
• Maps and lists: map-based discovery of groups, places and participants alongside chronological lists of upcoming activities.
• Audit trail and transparency: history logs of actions for accountability and moderation.
• Extensible plugin system: frontend and backend plugin APIs for custom features and integrations; frontend uses a Vite-based build and i18n support.
• Deployment options: published Docker images, Docker Compose guides and a recommended coop cloud/ansible deployment workflow.

Use Cases

• Food-rescue and community food-sharing groups scheduling regular store pickups and coordinating volunteers.
• Local mutual-aid or neighborhood groups organizing events, tasks and resource-sharing with clear membership processes.
• Small community organizations that need lightweight, transparent tools for activity sign-ups, offers and discussion.

Karrot provides a focused toolset for local, volunteer-driven coordination with an emphasis on transparency and community governance. Its plugin architecture and published deployment guides make it adaptable for different group needs while remaining technology-agnostic and community-driven.

Gancio is a shared agenda designed for local communities to publish and discover events without centering personal profiles or engagement mechanics. It focuses on small, autonomous nodes and broad interoperability so events can be followed and reused across the web.

Key Features

• Shared public event listing with a content-first approach (no personal timelines)
• Privacy-oriented publishing model, including anonymous event submission by default
• Multiple export formats for syndication and reuse, including RSS feeds and iCalendar (ICS)
• Embeddable event lists or single events for external websites
• Federation support via ActivityPub to share events across instances
• Structured data support (microdata/microformats) for better interoperability

Use Cases

• Community groups running a local events calendar for a city or neighborhood
• Activist or mutual-aid networks needing low-profile event publishing and sharing
• Organizations embedding a unified event feed across multiple sites and channels

Limitations and Considerations

• Gancio 2.0 is an in-progress rewrite and was announced as alpha with incompatibilities; upgrading production instances may require caution

Gancio is a strong fit for communities that want a calendar that prioritizes shared information over user identities and growth mechanics. Its federation and export options make it easy to distribute events beyond the web UI while keeping control in local hands.

Mobilizon is an ActivityPub-enabled platform for creating and sharing events and groups across a federated network. It lets communities organize gatherings, manage participation, and publish event information in a social-network-like interface.

Key Features

• Create and manage events with rich details (time, location, description) and event pages
• Group features for organizing communities and recurring activities
• Participation management: RSVP/attendance, visibility controls, and event updates
• Federation via ActivityPub to follow and interact across compatible servers
• Multi-identity support (profiles) to separate public and private participation

Use Cases

• Local communities publishing events without depending on centralized platforms
• Organizations managing meetups, workshops, and recurring group activities
• Federated event discovery and cross-instance following for public calendars

Mobilizon provides a privacy-conscious alternative for community event publishing, combining event management with federation to reach audiences beyond a single server while keeping control in the hands of administrators and communities.