Comparison

Meetup vs StudyBuddy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Meetup

Connect with people who share your interests through local and online events. Discover or create groups, find new friends, build your network, and engage in discussions. Join or host events happening weekly.

Highlights
  • Discover local and online events
  • Join or create interest-based groups
  • Meet new people and make friends
  • Host and manage your own events
  • Engage in discussions and direct messaging
  • Personalize event schedules
Features
Read full description

Pursue your interests with people who share them, both online and in person. With over 60 million members, Meetup helps you build a career network, discover a tech community, create a personal brand, make time for your hobbies, and meet friends who share similar interests. Easily meet people you know you’ll get along with and create groups of friends that will be as excited as you to embrace your hobbies, participate in online or local events or engage in discussions. Download the Meetup app and host your own events or join one of the 100,000 Meetup events with new people happening every week. Discover local and online events Meet new people and get matched with over 330,000 groups and friends based on your network of interests, from tech conferences to free yoga and everything in-between Explore online or local events by category, search by keyword, or see what’s popular in your area with a map Save events you’re interested in and come back to them later. Pick and choose the people and friends you want to meet at all the events that you like Have discussions with the people you meet and use direct messaging to stay in touch with your new friends Meet people who are interested in the same local or online events, create new groups of friends and expand your online network Start a group Host your own events online and in person by creating a group on your favorite topic, and meet friends who wants to participate Watch your community of friends and network of people grow as your group is recommended to interested people and potential new friends to meet Easily personalize and schedule events on-the-go, and manage your group from anywhere Keep the momentum going between events by sharing photos and using discussions and instant messaging to connect with the people and friends in your group that you are keen to meet Get in touch with questions or suggestions: iossupport@meetup.com In order to recommend Meetup events that are hosted by local groups, we use your device's precise location (GPS and network-based). EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.meetup.com/privacy/

About

StudyBuddy

Connect with nearby students to study together. Find a study partner for exams, projects, or casual academic discussions. Make learning more social, fun, and collaborative.

Highlights
  • Find nearby study buddies
  • Collaborative studying
  • Social learning
  • Exam preparation
  • Academic discussions
Read full description

How does it work? 1. Enter what you’re studying 2. Find a buddy nearby 3. Team up to crush it together Make studying social, fun, and collaborative. Whether you’re prepping for exams, want to make a connection with another student in your city, discuss the logic behind Pythagorean theorem, or just need to borrow a pen, it starts with StudyBuddy! Follow us for tips, motivation, and fun study hacks: Facebook: @TheStudyBuddyApp Instagram: @TheStudyBuddyApp TikTok: @TheStudyBuddyApp Twitter: @TheStudyBuddyApp #STUDYBUDDY

Screenshots

Meetup4 screens
StudyBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StudyBuddy at 92% against Meetup's 21%. StudyBuddy also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). Meetup's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (273K vs 5). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Meetup sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. StudyBuddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StudyBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meetup has 273K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Meetup's written reviews are positive against 92% of StudyBuddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Meetup ships an update every 4 days, StudyBuddy monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Meetup versus StudyBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMeetupStudyBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (273K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.3% of reviews91.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings273K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.1
Further details — not scored
Size273 MB16 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperMeetup LLCNathaniel Blumer

Customer experience

Meetup

All ratings272,682 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews1,955 reviews
Positive21.3%
Neutral8.4%
Negative70.3%

StudyBuddy

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive91.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative2.7%

Bugs and requests

Meetup

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to upload photos
  • Inconsistent event information across app and website
  • Login and account management issues
  • Unreliable push notifications

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to customize notification settings
  • Option to filter events by age group
  • Improved calendar integration
  • More moderation of inactive or spam groups

StudyBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Meetup

Subscriptions9
  • Member Subscription: 1 Month7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Meetup Plus Subscription$4.997 Days
  • Meetup Plus Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$4.997 Days
Show 6 more
  • Member Subscription$9.997 Days
  • Member Subscription7 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Meetup Plus Subscription7 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Standard Organizer7 Days trial$12.997 Days
  • 1-Month Unlimited Subscription$14.991 Month
  • Meetup Subscription: 1 month1 Month trial$23.991 Month
None

StudyBuddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Meetup free?
Meetup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StudyBuddy free?
StudyBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Meetup or StudyBuddy?
StudyBuddy is rated higher. Meetup averages 4.7 out of 5 from 273K ratings, while StudyBuddy averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Meetup or StudyBuddy have ads?
Meetup shows ads; StudyBuddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Meetup or StudyBuddy?
Meetup ships an update every 4 days, and StudyBuddy monthly. Most recently, Meetup was updated on November 8, 2026 and StudyBuddy on November 1, 2026.

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