Meet5 vs mmotion

Pricing

Both Meet5 and mmotion fall in the Free price range. Meet5: Free for all activity features; Premium subscription for private chat, priority access, and extras. mmotion: Free (invite-only beta).

Format & matching

Meet5 uses groups of 5+ per activity, compared to mmotion’s 5 friends per profile, and both use interest-based matching.

How they work

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.

mmotion: Apply to join the vetted community — mmotion is members-only. Once approved, the app quietly logs the places you spend time at (restaurants, gyms, galleries) into a private Location Vault that only you can see. You create up to three profiles to express different sides of yourself — maybe one for nightlife, one for fitness. When you're ready, you choose which visits to share publicly. You can discover other members who've visited the same spots and connect with them, limited to five friends per profile to keep things intentional. Messaging opens with a built-in conversation starter about the place you both visited.

What to love

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.

mmotion: Privacy-first design — everything is private by default. Location-based matching feels more organic than profiles or algorithms. Multiple profiles let you compartmentalize your social life. Five-friend limit per profile forces genuine connections. Built-in conversation starters remove the cold-open awkwardness.

Reality check

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.

mmotion: NYC-only beta with a 1,000-user cap — most people can't use it yet. Invite-only application process creates a barrier to entry. Requires constant location access, which is a big ask. Very new — the community may be too small to reliably match with people.

Søren's take

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.

On mmotion: mmotion is one of the most interesting social apps I've seen in a while — the idea of meeting people through shared places instead of shared bios is genuinely compelling. The privacy controls are thoughtful and the five-friend cap is a bold design choice that signals they're serious about quality over quantity. But right now, it's a NYC-only beta capped at 1,000 users, so unless you're in Manhattan, you're on a waitlist. Worth applying if you're in New York and curious about what post-swipe social networking looks like.