Guide

What is replacing Facebook groups?For people who run a local community or club.

If your run club, supper club or neighborhood group lives in a Facebook group, these are the places organizers move it to, compared on what matters for a group that meets in person: events, members, messages and cost. Every fact was read on the company’s own page on October 7, 2026. Our own product is one of them.

Nothing replaces Facebook Groups one for one. For a local community or club, the job usually splits in two: a chat app where members talk, such as WhatsApp Communities or Discord, and a home for events, members and money that you control, such as Meetup, Mighty Networks, Circle or SocialLoop. Heylo puts chat, events and payments in one free app.

How do I choose a Facebook group alternative?

Start from what your group actually does together, then ask each tool these five questions.

What do members do most: talk to each other every day, or come to events? A busy chat needs a chat app; a group that meets needs events, RSVPs and a guest list.
Do you collect money: dues, tickets or donations? Check what each tool takes per payment on top of card processing.
How do new people find you today? If Facebook search or a friend’s share brings most of them, plan where new members will come from before you move.
Who keeps the member list? Check whether you can see members’ emails, and export them, if you ever leave.
How will you reach everyone at once: an announcement channel, email, or an app notification? A message in a busy chat is easy to miss.

Facebook group alternatives compared

US pages, read October 7, 2026.
Tool	Best for
WhatsApp Communities	A local group that mostly talks, on the app members already use
Discord	An active group that chats every day and likes voice rooms
Heylo	A free club or community app with events, chat and payments together
Meetup	A group that wants new members to find it by interest and location
Mighty Networks	A paid membership community with courses and chat
Circle	A paid community whose events are mostly online sessions
SocialLoop	A community that runs regular in-person events and paid memberships as one business

WhatsApp Communities

Best for: A local group that mostly talks, on the app members already use

Events:: Anyone in a group can create an event and others reply, so the group sees who is coming; people going get an automatic notification as it gets close.
Members:: A community puts related group chats under one umbrella, with admin roles and moderation tools.
Messages:: Group chats, plus an announcement group that reaches everyone in the community at once.
Cost:: WhatsApp’s community pages list no price and no way to collect dues or sell tickets, so money is handled elsewhere.

Discord

Best for: An active group that chats every day and likes voice rooms

Events:: Scheduled events in a voice channel, a stage, or “somewhere else”, which can be a physical location; members can be notified when it starts.
Members:: Roles and permissions decide who can do what, including who can create events.
Messages:: Text channels, voice channels and stages inside one server.
Cost:: Free to download. Server Subscriptions let members pay a monthly fee for tiers and perks you set.

Heylo

Best for: A free club or community app with events, chat and payments together

Events:: Unlimited events and RSVPs on the free Base plan.
Members:: Member directories; members can pay for events, memberships and donations.
Messages:: Group chats, and 500 emails a month on the Base plan.
Cost:: Base is $0 a month with 5% + $0.59 per payment; Plus, Pro and Business are $19, $59 and $199 a month with lower payment fees.

Meetup

Best for: A group that wants new members to find it by interest and location

Events:: Events are the core. The free Starter plan, for first-time organizers only, allows one group, two in-person events a month and ten attendees per event.
Members:: Members join the group on Meetup; only Pro organizers get member email addresses, and only to some extent.
Messages:: A Contact Members tool emails the whole group, a custom list or people by RSVP status, without showing you their addresses.
Cost:: Standard from $29.99 a month or $174.99 a year; Pro from $55 per group a month. Meetup says prices vary by location.

Mighty Networks

Best for: A paid membership community with courses and chat

Events:: Online and in-person events on every plan; charging for one-time events starts on the Scale plan.
Members:: Subscription and one-time payments.
Messages:: Chat spaces with threads and reactions.
Cost:: Launch is $79 a month or $950 a year, plus a 2% transaction fee. The 14-day free trial is on the Growth plan.

Circle

Best for: A paid community whose events are mostly online sessions

Events:: Event pages that collect RSVPs, send calendar invites and reminder emails, plus live streams and live rooms.
Members:: Unlimited members, a member directory and rich profiles, and payments.
Messages:: Direct messages and group chat, in-app notifications and a weekly email digest.
Cost:: The Professional plan is listed at $89 a month billed annually, plus a 2% transaction fee. A 14-day free trial needs no card.

SocialLoop

Best for: A community that runs regular in-person events and paid memberships as one business

Events:: Events with RSVPs, paid tickets, guest lists and check-in at the door.
Members:: A community with a public page, a free membership and paid tiers billed monthly or yearly that renew automatically; each person is kept in a CRM.
Messages:: Message members by tier, by email and app notification, or send email campaigns to the people in your CRM.
Cost:: Free plan, then paid plans; a platform fee on dues and tickets of 5% on every plan, plus card processing. The Free plan holds a community of up to 50 members.

Geneva is often suggested as a Facebook Groups alternative. Bumble’s acquisition of Geneva has closed, according to geneva.com, and we could not confirm from an official page whether new groups can still start there, so it is not compared here.
Reddit and Nextdoor also come up. They are public discussion and neighborhood networks rather than a home for a group you run, so they are left out.
SocialLoop lists public events for people to find, but it is not a network of people browsing for groups to join: you bring your members. Its platform fee is 5% on dues and tickets on every plan.

How do I move my group off Facebook?

Members don’t transfer; they choose to come. Treat the move as an invitation.

Pick the new home before you announce anything, and set it up with your next event already on it.
Announce the move in the Facebook group with one link and one reason: what members get there that they don’t get here.
Run the next event only through the new home, so signing up there is how people come.
Keep the Facebook group open for a few weeks, pin the link, and post only pointers to the new place.
Thank the people who move first by name. Others follow the regulars.

Common questions

What is replacing Facebook groups?

What is the best free alternative to a Facebook group for a local club?

WhatsApp Communities and Discord are free to start and good for talking. WhatsApp’s community pages list no way to collect money; Discord’s Server Subscriptions let members pay monthly. Heylo’s Base plan is free and includes events, RSVPs, member directories and group chats, taking 5% + $0.59 from each payment instead. Meetup’s free Starter plan is only for first-time organizers and allows two in-person events a month with ten attendees each. SocialLoop’s Free plan holds a community of up to 50 members, with a platform fee on dues and tickets of 5% on every plan.

Can I move my Facebook group members to another app?

Not automatically. Members have to choose to join the new place, so the move is an invitation, not a transfer. Announce one link with a clear reason, run your next event only there, keep the Facebook group open for a few weeks with the link pinned, and thank the first people who come over.

Should a local community use WhatsApp or Discord instead of a Facebook group?

Use WhatsApp Communities if members already use WhatsApp and mostly need announcements and small group chats. Use Discord if the group talks all day, likes voice rooms and is comfortable with channels and roles. Both can create events. If you sell tickets, or want a guest list to check people in at the door, look at an event tool alongside either.

Sources, read October 7, 2026: WhatsApp Communities · WhatsApp: events in communities (May 1, 2024) · Discord: Scheduled Events · Discord: Server Subscriptions · Discord: Getting Started · Heylo pricing · Meetup Organizer prices · Meetup Starter plan · Meetup: emailing members · Mighty Networks pricing · Circle pricing · Circle events · Geneva

Moving a club that charges dues?

Compare club management software for memberships and renewals, or Meetup alternatives if part of your group is on Meetup. Starting a paid group? Read how to build a paid community.