Almost every car club starts on Facebook Events, and for a while it is fine. It stops being fine at the point where you are posting the same meet to three groups, keeping the roster in a spreadsheet, and collecting $15 a head over Venmo. Facebook was never built to be a club management tool — it is a place to post, and the post disappears down the feed.
When Facebook Events is the better call
If your whole club already lives in one Facebook group, shows up reliably, and no meet ever costs money, Facebook is free and works. Stay there.
| Gearz | Facebook Events | |
|---|---|---|
| Event discovery | Live map — people who are not in your group can still find you | Only reaches people already in the group or invited |
| Selling tickets | Stripe checkout on the event page, money into your account | Not built in — Venmo, cash at the gate, or a separate ticketing site |
| Member roster | Real roster with roles and admin permissions; CSV export coming soon | A group member list you cannot export or assign roles in |
| Reaching your members | Club feed posts and public event pages | The algorithm decides who sees the post |
| Attendance history | Tracked per member, feeds the Gearhead Score | "Going" counts that vanish after the event |
| The cars | Garage profiles with mod history and build cost | Photos in an album |
| What it costs | Free for members. Clubs from $9.99/club/month. Your first club starts with a 14-day free trial. | Free |
Your event gets one public page that works for anybody — members, non-members, people who quit Facebook. Post that link in the group chat, on Instagram, wherever your people actually are. You stop re-posting the same meet to three groups to reach everyone.
Tickets get paid for on the event page through Stripe. No DM receipts, no spreadsheet at the gate, no working out who paid twice. Gearz takes 5% + $0.50 per paid ticket on Starter Club (3% + $0.30 on Crew Chief); Stripe charges its own processing fee on top.
A Facebook group member list is Facebook’s. A Gearz roster is yours — CSV export is coming soon on Crew Chief — and roles let you hand real admin duties to the people who help you run the thing.
No. Every event and club page is a public link anyone can open. Members only create an account when they RSVP or buy a ticket, so you can keep posting in the group chat exactly like you do now.
Most organizers do at first. Keep the group for conversation, use the Gearz event link for RSVPs and tickets, and move the roster over when you are ready.
For members, yes: the Enthusiast plan is free forever and needs no card. Running a Club takes a plan, Starter Club ($9.99/club/month) or Crew Chief ($19.99/club/month). Your first club starts with a 14-day free trial. Crew Chief removes the member cap and lowers the ticket fee.
Gearz opens soon
Sign-ups are invite-only while we open city by city. Join the waitlist, or claim a founding spot and get in on day one. Browsing meets stays free either way.
Comparison details reflect each platform's publicly published pricing and features. Facebook Events is not affiliated with Gearz.