Short answer: the best apps to make friends in a new city are the ones that get you to the same people more than once. For most newcomers that means combining two: Meetup for recurring interest groups and Bumble BFF (free) for meeting individuals and local groups. Add Timeleft if you want someone else to organize a dinner with strangers, Volo or a parks league if you want a weekly team sport, and Nextdoor or Eventbrite for neighborhood news and local events. Below is a dated comparison table, how each app fits your first three months, and the limits to know before you sign up.
Disclosure: TryMeetNow is published by the team behind MeetNow, our app, which is live on the web at app.trymeetnow.com, starting in Malta. We’ve tried to be fair to every option here, we list MeetNow last, and nobody paid to be included.
Apps to make friends in a new city: comparison table
Prices and features change often. Everything below was checked against official sites or app store listings in October 2026; confirm details in the app before paying for anything.
| App or platform | What it is | Cost | How it works | Best for | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meetup | Platform for interest groups and events | Free for members to join groups; some groups charge dues or event fees | Join groups (hiking, language exchange, board games, social) and RSVP to events | Recurring groups around an interest | Quality varies; some groups are inactive or very large |
| Bumble BFF | Bumble’s friendship app, relaunched in 2025 with Groups | Free, per its App Store listing | Match one-to-one or join local Groups that chat and plan meetups | Meeting individuals at a similar life stage | Chat-first; plans depend on someone suggesting them |
| Timeleft | Dinners with a small group of matched strangers | Paid subscription (price shown in the app; varies by city and plan length) plus your own meal | Book a dinner date; the app assigns your table and restaurant | A low-effort first night out | A new table each time, so repeat contact is up to you |
| Volo (and city rec leagues) | Social sports leagues | Paid per league or event; varies by city | Sign up alone or with friends and get placed on a team | Weekly contact with the same group | Only in cities where it operates; check your parks department too |
| Nextdoor | Neighborhood social network | Free | Join your neighborhood feed, see local posts, events and groups | Meeting people who live nearby | Not built for friendship; tone varies by neighborhood |
| Eventbrite | Event listings and ticketing | Free to browse; many events free, others paid | Find classes, workshops and local events | Trying a class or workshop in your first weeks | Mostly one-off events, so you rarely see the same people twice |
| Local subreddits and forums | City discussion communities | Free | Read newcomer threads; some cities have regular meetup posts | Local tips and “new to the city” threads | Unstructured; meetups depend on volunteers |
| MeetNow (our app) | Free app for plans at public places | Free | A host posts a plan with time, seats and who pays; people ask to join; the host picks | Small, specific plans | Live on the web and on Android through Google Play, starting in Malta; the iPhone app is not in the App Store yet |
Last checked October 2026.
The apps, one by one
1. Meetup: best for recurring groups
Meetup is still the broadest directory of local interest groups in most US and Canadian cities. Members join groups for free, though some organizers charge dues or event fees to cover their costs. For a newcomer, its biggest strength is repetition: a weekly hiking group, a monthly book club or a language exchange gives you the same faces again and again.
Newcomer tip: pick two groups that meet at least twice a month and go three times before deciding. Look for groups with recent events and smaller attendance; a 15-person board game night is easier than a 200-person mixer. If Meetup doesn’t work in your area, our guide to Meetup alternatives compares other options.
2. Bumble BFF: best free option for meeting individuals
Bumble BFF is Bumble’s friendship app. In September 2025 it was relaunched on technology from Geneva, a community app Bumble had acquired, adding Groups for chatting and planning hangouts alongside one-to-one matching, as TechCrunch reported at the launch. Its App Store listing describes it as free.
Newcomer tip: say in your profile that you just moved and what you like to do, then suggest a specific plan within a few messages: “Want to try the farmers market on Saturday morning?” Join one or two local Groups that actually meet in person.
3. Timeleft: best for a low-effort first night out
Timeleft seats you at a restaurant dinner with a small group of strangers it has matched. It runs on a subscription, and the price depends on your city and plan length; the app shows your local price before you pay. Food and drinks are paid separately. It’s a good way to get out of the apartment in your first weeks without organizing anything. Our full Timeleft review covers pricing, how matching works and who it suits.
Newcomer tip: treat each dinner as a source of one or two contacts. Swap numbers with whoever you click with and suggest something specific within a week; otherwise the next dinner starts from zero.
4. Volo and city rec leagues: best for weekly contact
Volo runs social sports leagues, such as kickball, volleyball and soccer, in a number of US cities, and you can sign up on your own and be placed on a team. Many city parks and recreation departments run adult leagues too, often at lower prices. A season gives you a fixed weekly slot with the same 10 to 15 people, which is exactly what new friendships need.
5. Nextdoor: best for neighbors
Nextdoor is a free neighborhood network. It isn’t designed for making friends, but it’s useful for finding local events, block parties, walking groups and neighborhood recommendations. Introducing yourself as new can lead to helpful replies, and occasionally an invitation.
6. Eventbrite: best for classes and workshops
Eventbrite lists local events, from free talks to paid workshops. It’s handy for exploring your new city in the first few weeks, especially multi-week classes, which give you more repeat contact than one-off events.
7. Local subreddits and forums
Many cities have active subreddits and forums with “new to the city” threads, recommendations and sometimes regular community meetups. They’re best for local knowledge (which neighborhoods have the best run clubs, where people play pickup soccer) rather than as a friend-finding tool on their own.
Which app for which kind of newcomer?
| If you… | Start with | Add |
|---|---|---|
| Have a clear hobby (hiking, games, languages) | Meetup | Bumble BFF Groups for that interest |
| Want to meet people at your life stage | Bumble BFF | A Meetup social group |
| Hate organizing and want a night out | Timeleft | A weekly activity for repeat contact |
| Like sports or want structure | Volo or a parks league | Bumble BFF to meet people outside the team |
| Want to know your neighbors | Nextdoor | Local events from Eventbrite or the library |
| Work remotely and need weekday contact | Meetup daytime or coworking groups | A weekly class |
A 3-month plan using apps
Apps work best as part of a routine. Here’s a simple plan for your first three months; for a fuller version that includes non-app steps, see our 12-week plan for moving to a new city alone.
- Weeks 1 to 2: set up Bumble BFF and join two Meetup groups. Book one Timeleft dinner or one Eventbrite class to get out of the house early.
- Weeks 3 to 4: attend each Meetup group at least once; suggest one in-person plan to a BFF match.
- Month 2: drop the group that didn’t fit and go to the other one every time. Sign up for a league or multi-week class.
- Month 3: invite two or three people you’ve met to something small: a game night, a brunch, a hike.
The goal by the end of month three isn’t a full social life; it’s two or three recurring places where people know your name, and one or two people you see outside them.
How to get more out of friendship apps
- Lead with “I just moved.” It gives people an easy reason to reply and offer tips.
- Move to a plan fast. Suggest a specific activity, day and public place within five messages.
- Prefer recurring over one-off. A weekly group beats ten single events.
- Use two apps, not six. More apps usually means more chatting and fewer plans.
- Follow up within a week. If you clicked with someone at an event, message them with a specific invitation while it’s fresh.
For broader picks beyond the newcomer use case, our roundup of apps to meet new people reviews eight options in more depth.
What to look for in an app when you’re new in town
- Local activity: an app is only as good as the number of active people near you. Check for recent events or active groups in your neighborhood before investing time; our guide to picking the best app to find friends walks through a 15-minute local test.
- Repetition built in: recurring groups, leagues and multi-week classes beat one-off events, because friendships need repeated time together.
- A path to in-person plans: event pages, group calendars or a clear meeting format. Apps that are mostly chat tend to stay that way.
- Clear costs: know what’s free, what’s a subscription and what you’ll pay at the venue before you commit.
- Safety tools: blocking, reporting and the ability to meet in public places you choose.
Apps vs offline options
Apps are most useful in your first few weeks, when you know nobody and don’t yet know where people gather. After that, offline routines usually do more of the work. The people you meet through a weekly league, a class at the community center or a regular volunteer shift become familiar faces without any swiping or messaging. A good rule of thumb is to use apps to find your first two or three recurring activities, then spend most of your social energy inside those activities rather than on new matches.
A worked example
Taylor (a composite example) moves from Ohio to Denver for a new job and knows nobody. In week one, Taylor downloads Bumble BFF, joins two Meetup groups (a Saturday hiking group and a Wednesday board game night) and books a Timeleft dinner for the second Friday. The dinner is fun but nobody follows up. The hiking group is too big. The board game night, though, has the same dozen regulars every week. By week six Taylor knows most of them by name, and a BFF match turns out to be a climber who invites Taylor to a beginner session. In month three, Taylor hosts a small game night for four people from the Wednesday group. Two apps found the starting points; repetition did the rest.
Safety in a new city
When you don’t know the city yet, it’s worth being a little more careful about first meetings:
- Meet in a busy public place you can find on a map, such as a central cafe, a park entrance or a popular bar.
- Tell a friend, even one back home, where you’re going and who you’re meeting.
- Arrange your own way there and back, and check transit times before you go.
- Keep the first meeting short and leave whenever you feel uncomfortable.
Our checklist on whether friendship apps are safe covers in-app safety features and red flags.
Where MeetNow fits
MeetNow is our own app, so we’ve kept it to the facts: it is live on the web at app.trymeetnow.com, starting in Malta. It’s built around plans rather than profiles: a host posts a plan at a public place, such as brunch for four or a Saturday museum visit, with the time, the number of seats and who pays, and people nearby ask to join with a short note.
Want to turn this into an actual plan? MeetNow is a free app for meeting people in person: a host posts a plan at a public place, says who pays (host pays, split, pay your own or free) and picks who joins. It is live on the web and works in your browser, starting in Malta. The Android app is on Google Play; the iPhone app is not in the App Store yet. Open MeetNow and see the plans posted in Malta.
FAQ: apps to make friends in a new city
What is the best app to make friends in a new city?
For most newcomers, Meetup is the best starting point if you want recurring groups around an interest, and Bumble BFF is the best free option for meeting individuals and joining local groups. Timeleft suits people who want someone else to organize a dinner, and Volo suits people who want a weekly team sport.
Are there free apps to make friends in a new city?
Yes. Bumble BFF is free according to its App Store listing, joining Meetup groups is free for members (some groups charge dues), Nextdoor is free, and many Eventbrite events are free to attend. Timeleft and Volo are paid.
How many apps should I use after moving?
Two is usually enough: one for recurring groups (such as Meetup or a sports league) and one for meeting individuals (such as Bumble BFF). More apps tend to mean more chatting and fewer in-person plans.
Is it safe to meet people from friendship apps in a new city?
Generally yes, with normal precautions: meet in a busy public place, tell a friend where you’re going, arrange your own transportation, keep the first meeting short and leave if you feel uncomfortable. In a new city, choose central, easy-to-reach venues you can find on a map.
How long does it take to make friends after moving to a new city?
Expect a few months. Research by Jeffrey Hall at the University of Kansas estimated about 50 hours together to become casual friends, so the fastest route is seeing the same people every week through a recurring group or activity.
