Hampton vs Meet5

Pricing

Hampton is priced at $$$$ (Annual membership (pricing disclosed during application process)), while Meet5 comes in at Free (Free for all activity features; Premium subscription for private chat, priority access, and extras).

Format & matching

Hampton uses groups of 8 per core group, compared to Meet5’s 5+ per activity, and Hampton relies on manual / self-select matching while Meet5 uses interest-based matching.

How they work

Hampton: Head to joinhampton.com and submit an application. Hampton is invitation-only with an ~8% acceptance rate — you'll need to be an active founder or CEO of a tech-enabled business with at least $3M in annual revenue, $3M in capital raised, or a $10M+ previous exit. If accepted after a paper screening, structured interview, and community veto process, you pay an annual membership fee and get placed into a Core group of eight curated founders in your city. Your Core group meets in person ten times a year, facilitated by a trained moderator. Beyond that, you get access to local chapter events (dinners, workshops, signature experiences) and a private Slack network of 1,000+ members for rapid Q&A on business and personal topics.

Meet5: Download the app, create a profile, and select your region to see available activities near you. Browse events by category — hiking, dining, parties, sports, culture, games — or use filters to narrow it down. Join an activity that interests you, and you'll be added to a group chat with other participants so you can coordinate before the event. You can also create your own activities and invite others. After the event, mark people you clicked with as favorites and invite them to future activities. The more you attend, the more tailored your invitations become.

What to love

Hampton: Extremely curated membership — ~8% acceptance rate ensures high-caliber peers. Core groups of 8 create real accountability and trust over time. In-person only meetings in your city — no Zoom calls pretending to be community. No-solicitation policy means nobody is trying to sell you anything. Bootstrapped company with long-term vision — not optimizing for a VC exit.

Meet5: Activity-based format takes the pressure off — you're there to do something, not just make small talk. Massive user base (2.5 million+) means plenty of events to choose from in supported regions. All core activity features are completely free. User verification process keeps the community legitimate. You can create your own events, not just join existing ones.

Reality check

Hampton: Pricing is not transparent — you have to apply just to learn the cost. Strict eligibility requirements exclude early-stage founders. Currently in 16 cities — if you're not in one, you're out of luck. No app — everything runs through a website and Slack.

Meet5: User density in the US is still growing compared to established European cities. Premium features (private chat, seeing who favorited you) require a subscription. Event quality depends entirely on who creates them — no curation or facilitation. The app interface can feel cluttered compared to more polished competitors.

Søren's take

On Hampton: Hampton isn't for most people, and that's the point. If you're a tech founder doing $3M+ in revenue and you're tired of generic networking events full of people pitching you, this is the real deal. The Core group model — eight people, same group, ten meetings a year — creates the kind of trust and candor you can't get from a conference or a Slack community alone. The price tag and exclusivity will turn off a lot of people, but for the founders who get in, the ROI is reportedly massive. Just know that this is a long-term commitment, not a casual membership you dip into.

On Meet5: Meet5 takes the opposite approach from algorithm-matched dinner apps: instead of assigning you a table, it gives you a menu of activities and lets you choose your own adventure. That freedom is both its strength and weakness — you'll find everything from hiking trips to board game nights, but the quality is entirely user-generated. The 2.5 million users and half a million completed activities prove the model works. Now that it's available in the US alongside its established European base, it's one of the best free ways to meet people through shared interests wherever you are.