Leaving Meetup? How to Move Your Group Without Losing Members

To move a group off Meetup without losing members, set up the new home first, post your next month of events there, tell members with a clear announcement and one link, run both platforms side by side for about four weeks, then make the switch. Groups lose people when they switch overnight. They keep them when members can see the new home working before the old one closes.

Why organizers are looking around

Meetup charges organizers a subscription (Standard and Pro plans, with the current price shown in your account settings). It has also tested charging members per RSVP. Searches for "how to delete Meetup account" jumped more than 25x over the past month on Google Trends. For a free hiking club or run crew, paying to host and asking members to chip in is hard to keep up.

Before you move: pick a home that fits how your group meets

• Recurring outdoor plans (weekly runs, Saturday hikes, paddle nights): you want events that repeat automatically and a group chat.
• Big ticketed events: an event-ticketing tool may fit better.
• Mostly conversation: a group chat app alone might be enough.

Whatever you choose, check three things: is it free for members, can a newcomer join from one link without downloading anything first, and can you message the group?

The 4-week move

Week 1: Set up and announce

1. Create the group on the new platform with the same name and a short description.
2. Post the next four weeks of events there, set to repeat weekly.
3. Post an announcement on Meetup with one link and a reason (see the template below).

Weeks 2–4: Run both

• Keep Meetup events up, but put the new event link at the top of each one.
• At every meetup, say it out loud: "We're moving. Join here so you don't miss next week."
• Thank people by name in the new group chat. People follow where the conversation is.

Week 5: Switch

Post a final Meetup announcement with the new link, then stop posting events there. Keep the group page up a little longer so stragglers can still find the link.

Announcement template

"Hi everyone! We're moving [group name] to [new home], which is free for members, our weekly events repeat automatically, and there's a group chat. For the next month we'll post on both so nobody misses anything. Join here: [link]. Questions? Reply below."

What not to do

• Don't export or copy member lists or emails to message people elsewhere. Those belong to the members (and to the platform's terms). Invite through your own announcement.
• Don't switch overnight. The four weeks of overlap are what keep members.
• Don't launch with an empty calendar. People join a group that has a next plan.

Moving to Catch of a Lifetime

Catch is built for exactly this kind of group: weekly outings that post the next one automatically and invite last week's crew, a group chat, day-of check-in with a trip plan for safety, and a Tribe for your members. It's free for hosts and members. Use an AI assistant? Our MCP server has a move_from_meetup tool: paste your group's description and schedule, and it drafts every weekly outing and writes your member announcement.