An alternative to Facebook Groups
For groups that meet in person and want their events to be seen - by members who do not all use Facebook.
The short answer
Facebook Groups costs nothing and most people already have an account. But the feed decides who sees your next event, more and more people will not join Facebook for a hobby group, and the group belongs to Meta, not to you.
MeetAgain is built around the events: a chronological list, RSVPs and reminders, and pages anyone can read without an account. A group costs €6.00 a month with every feature, members never pay, and the software is open source if you would rather host it yourself.
Where Facebook Groups is better
- Everyone is already there - most of your members need no sign-up.
- Reach: Facebook suggests your group to people who have never heard of you.
- It costs nothing.
Side by side
| Topic | Facebook Groups | MeetAgain |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, paid for with ads and attention | €6.00 a month per group, members free; free to host yourself |
| What members need | A Facebook account | An account to RSVP; public event pages can be read without one |
| Who sees your events | The feed algorithm decides | Every member sees every event in date order, plus the email reminders they choose |
| Events | Events inside the group, between the posts | Recurring series with custom rules, venues, one-click RSVPs and reminders |
| A public face | A group page inside Facebook | Group pages anyone can read, or your own website on your own domain |
| Your data | No export of the group's members and events | Events, pages and images as one archive at any time; members go along if they agree |
| Owner and hosting | Meta, USA | MeetAgain UG in Berlin; servers in Germany |
| Being found | Group suggestions to a huge user base | A small, growing event list without paid placement |
Facts about other products were checked on 2026-10-10 00:00 against their own websites. Prices and features change - if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Moving your group over
You do not have to close the Facebook group. Many groups keep it as a signpost to their events.
Create your group
Apply with a name, a description, the languages your members speak and a few tags. Choose how visible the group is: public and listed on meetagain.org, left out of the group list, or private for members only. A person reviews every application, usually within one to three business days.
Once it is approved and the balance is topped up - €6.00 a month, paid in advance - the group has pages anyone can open from a link, with or without an account. Members who want to RSVP sign up with their email address; nobody needs a Facebook account.
Events people actually see
Create the next events, or a recurring series with one rule - every Thursday, every first Friday of the month - with a venue and a time. Events are not posts: they do not slide down a feed, they stand in date order until they have happened.
Members RSVP with one click, get a reminder shortly before the event starts, and can get a weekly email with what is coming up. Anyone can subscribe to the group's calendar feed, so the dates appear in the calendar they already use.
Build a small website
Add pages with the block editor: who you are, where you meet, how to join. Every block can be written in each of the group's languages, and a block with your upcoming events keeps the home page current without you touching it.
The conversation moves too. Members comment under each event and start topics in the Town Hall forum, and event photos collect in a shared gallery - all of it visible to members, in the order it was written.
Keep everything yours
Export the group as one archive at any time: settings, events, pages and images, ready to import into a MeetAgain installation of your own. Members decide for themselves whether their profile, RSVPs, comments and photos go along - nothing about a member is included until they allow it, and everyone included is told afterwards.
That is the difference to a Facebook group, which offers no export of its members and events: the group lives where Meta keeps it. On MeetAgain the code is open source, so the archive always has somewhere to go.
Questions organizers ask
Do I have to delete the Facebook group?
No. Keep it as a signpost: MeetAgain makes a Facebook group header with your name, logo and meeting schedule.
My members do not want another app.
They do not need one. MeetAgain works in any browser and sends email reminders to members who want them; there is an Android app for those who prefer one.
Is it GDPR compliant?
MeetAgain is run by a German company and hosted in Germany. Members choose what others see of them, and the group can export its data at any time.
Is there advertising?
No ads, no tracking for advertising, and no paid placement in the event list.