The best apps to create an event
There is no single best app for creating an event — there's one per situation. What decides is what you're organising, not the length of the feature list.
- 1
A night out or a party with friends — To Gather. A private outing, invitations by link — your friends reply with no account and nothing to install —, a date settled together, and the photos of the night all landing in one place.
- 2
A party that deserves a proper invite page — Partiful, Luma. A good-looking event page, shared by link, with the list of replies. That's their job.
- 3
An open event you want people to find — Facebook Events. It's still the place where an event gets discovered without you sending the link to each person.
- 4
A paid event, with tickets — Eventbrite, Billetweb, HelloAsso for a non-profit. Taking money and controlling the door is a trade of its own.
- 5
Just finding a date — Doodle, Framadate — or To Gather's "Best slot" view if your crew is already there. A date poll is not an event.
The classic trap is picking the most complete tool rather than the most fitting one. A ticketing platform for twelve friends is a form to fill in for nothing; a group chat for a public event is a guest list nobody can keep track of. What follows: the four questions that settle it, then what To Gather does — and what it doesn't.
Four questions that settle it before you choose
None of them is about a feature. They're about the night you're preparing, and each one rules out half the tools.
Who has to reply, and with what?
This is the harshest filter. If replying requires an account or an install, some of your guests never will — and you'll spend the week chasing them by message. Look for the tool where people reply from a link, in a browser.
Is the date already settled?
If it is, you need an invitation page. If it isn't, you first need a way to find the slot: creating the event before you have the date means editing everything afterwards, and telling everyone all over again.
Is it open to all, or between you?
An open event needs to be findable: a public page, sharing, discovery. A private event needs the opposite — that it shows up nowhere, and that the guest list doesn't grow on its own.
What do you want left the next day?
Most tools stop at the door: they handle the run-up, not the night itself. If the photos matter, check what becomes of them — otherwise they'll end up scattered across five phones and a group chat.
The shortlist, by use case
Six families of tools, each good at something specific. None is good at everything, and that's fine: they aren't aiming at the same moment.
To Gather
Nights out with friends, from the date to the photos
A private outing by default, which your guests join through a plain link — no account, nothing to install. The date is settled together, before the event is pinned down, and the photos taken during the night gather in an album that opens for everyone at the same time. Free, ad-free, on iOS and Android.
- The right call when
- you're organising among friends, the date isn't settled yet, and you want something left of the night.
- Avoid when
- you're selling tickets, aiming at strangers, or organising from a computer — creating happens on a phone.
Partiful, Luma
The invitation page that makes people want to come
Polished event pages, shared by link, with the list of replies and nudges. Luma leans towards communities and recurring meet-ups, Partiful towards parties with friends.
- The right call when
- the date is settled and you want an invite with some style.
- Avoid when
- you still have to find the slot, or the event must stay unfindable.
Facebook Events
The event people find without a link
The only one on this list where an event can be found by people you never sent anything to. The trade-off is well known: it takes an account, and reach depends on what the network chooses to show.
- The right call when
- the event is open and you want it to travel beyond your own contacts.
- Avoid when
- it's private, or your guests have left the network.
Doodle, Framadate
The date poll, and nothing else
You propose slots, everyone ticks, the best column wins. Framadate is non-profit and account-free; Doodle offers paid tiers. Neither carries the event once the date is found.
- The right call when
- the only open question is "when".
- Avoid when
- you expect an invitation, reminders or a discussion thread to follow.
Eventbrite, Billetweb, HelloAsso
When there are tickets to sell
Taking payments, issuing tickets and controlling the door is a trade of its own, with its own obligations. HelloAsso is the French non-profit reflex, with no mandatory commission.
- The right call when
- entry is paid, or you need to control who comes in.
- Avoid when
- it's free and among friends — a ticketing form will lose you half the group.
WhatsApp and group chats
The default choice, and where it stops
It's where 90% of nights out start, because everyone is already there. It holds up to about five people. Beyond that, replies get lost between two jokes, nobody knows who's coming any more, and one careless add widens the group.
- The right call when
- there are three or four of you and the date is obvious.
- Avoid when
- you need to count who's coming, or the event should stay quiet.
In short: which tool for which situation
Read it by row, not by column: the question isn't "which tool is best", it's "what am I organising".
| What you're organising | The tool that fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A night out with friends, date to be found | To Gather | availability is cross-referenced before the date is pinned down, and nobody installs anything to reply. |
| A birthday or a housewarming | To Gather, Partiful | invitations by link and a guest list that keeps itself up to date. |
| A weekend or a trip with several people | To Gather | you need consecutive days that suit everyone, not a single evening. |
| An open event you want people to find | Facebook Events | it's the only one where you stumble on an event without having been sent the link. |
| A paid event, or one with a controlled door | Eventbrite, Billetweb, HelloAsso | payments and access control aren't things to improvise. |
| A work meeting to schedule | Doodle, Framadate | a slot poll is enough; the event then lives in the work calendar. |
| Drinks with three people, tomorrow | The group chat | at that size, any tool adds more friction than it removes. |
What To Gather does, precisely
We organise nights out with friends, not events in general. Here's what that covers, unrounded.
Your guests reply with nothing to install
The outing's link is enough: from a browser, with no account and no download, everyone replies yes, maybe or no, changes their mind later, ticks the slots that work for them and drops their photos during the night.
The date is found before it's fixed
Two routes, read side by side. Guests who have the app and follow you back share their busy slots: the "Best slot" view surfaces the evenings when no calendar is taken. The others tick, from their link, the slots you propose.
Private, and not just by setting
An outing created from a regular account is private and cannot be made public: the rule is enforced by the server, there is no switch. It appears neither on your profile nor in the Discover tab. Only the host, the co-hosts, the attendees and the invited guests can see it.
A hundred places, three hundred on a pro account
A regular outing has 100 places — app attendees and link guests counted in the same allowance. A professional account goes up to 300, can lower its own cap, publish its events and issue a QR-code entry ticket.
The photos of the night, gathered and held back
During the event, a photo prompt goes out to those who have the app. Nothing shows up at the time: the album opens all at once at 6pm once the night is over, for everyone who was there.
A guest book, and a thread the host can't read
The guest book, switched on for the outing, collects a note from everyone during the night and only opens when the photos are revealed — the host and their co-hosts are the only ones who read it. The other way round, an outing's secret chat is closed to its host: that's where their gift gets planned.
What To Gather does not do
Better said here than discovered the night before. On these points the tools above do the job — and we have no intention of replacing them.
- No money pot and no expense splitting: you agree on the amount in the app, then collect with whatever your group already uses.
- No paid ticketing and no payment processing: no money goes through To Gather.
- No public event from a regular account: only professional accounts publish open events.
- No public discovery: unless you follow a professional account, you reach an outing through a link, never by chance.
- No web version of the app: creating and organising happen on a phone. The site serves the public pages and the guests' replies.
- No accommodation, table or travel booking.
Frequently asked questions about event creation apps
What is the best app to create an event?
The one that matches what you're organising. For a night out or a party with friends whose date isn't settled yet, To Gather: the outing is private, guests reply from a link without installing the app, and the photos of the night gather in one place. For a party with a settled date that deserves a good-looking invitation, Partiful or Luma. For an open event that strangers should be able to find, Facebook Events. For a paid event, Eventbrite, Billetweb or HelloAsso. And if the only open question is "when", a date poll such as Doodle or Framadate is enough.
Is there a free app to create an event?
Yes, several. To Gather is free and ad-free, on iOS and Android: creating an outing, inviting, cross-referencing availability, chatting and getting the photos back costs nothing. Framadate is free and non-profit for date polls. Facebook Events is free if your guests have an account. Ticketing platforms, on the other hand, make their money on the tickets sold — HelloAsso being the exception for non-profits, with a voluntary contribution.
Can you create an event without guests installing an app?
Yes, and it's the first thing to check. With To Gather, only the organiser has the app: guests get a link and reply from their browser, with no account and no download. They can change their answer, tick slots and send their photos on the night. What does need an account: automatic reminders, the group chat, calendar syncing and the album you can browse afterwards.
Which app should you use when the date isn't settled yet?
Avoid creating the event straight away: you'd have to edit it and tell everyone again. Two approaches. The classic poll — Doodle, Framadate — where everyone ticks slots. Or To Gather's calendar cross-referencing: guests who have the app and follow you back share their busy slots, and the "Best slot" view surfaces the evenings when no calendar is taken; those without the app tick the proposed slots from their link. Once the slot is picked, the outing carries the date and everyone is told.
Which app for a public or paid event?
Not To Gather, unless you have a professional account. An outing created from a regular account is private and cannot be made public — the rule is enforced server-side, there is no setting. For an open event that people should be able to discover, Facebook Events remains the reference; for a paid event, a ticketing platform such as Eventbrite or Billetweb, or HelloAsso if you're a non-profit. A To Gather professional account publishes its events, sets a cap of up to 300 places and issues a QR-code ticket, but processes no payment.
Do these apps handle a money pot or expense splitting?
To Gather doesn't — no money pot, no expense splitting, and none planned. You agree on the amount in the app, then the collecting happens with whatever tool your group already uses. Ticketing platforms do take payments, but that's selling tickets, which is a different thing from splitting a bill. To share costs between friends, dedicated apps are what to look at — it's a trade of its own.
How many guests can you invite?
In To Gather, an outing created from a regular account has 100 places, app attendees and link guests sharing the same allowance: the 101st reply is refused. A professional account goes up to 300 places and can set a lower cap. Beyond that you're running a public event, and a ticketing platform will suit you better.
Can you create an event from a computer?
Not with To Gather: the app is mobile, on iOS and Android, and there is no web version for organising. The site only serves the public pages and the guests' replies — which is precisely what a guest does from their computer, with nothing to install. If organising from a computer is essential, Partiful, Luma, Facebook Events and the ticketing platforms all work in a browser.
A night out with friends starts with a date and a link.
Install the app, create the outing, send the link. Your friends reply with nothing to install.
Free · ad-free · iOS & Android
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