RumbleSeat and Gearz solve the same problem — a car club running on a Facebook group and a spreadsheet — and charge for it in opposite ways. RumbleSeat is free to use and takes 1% plus card fees on every transaction. Gearz is a Club plan plus a platform fee on paid tickets (5% + $0.50 on Starter Club, 3% + $0.30 on Crew Chief). Which one is cheaper depends almost entirely on how much money moves through your events.
When RumbleSeat is the better call
If you run one or two free meets a year and never sell a ticket, RumbleSeat costs you nothing and Gearz would be an expense you do not need. Pick them.
| Gearz | RumbleSeat | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs to start | Members join free. Your first club starts with a 14-day free trial. Card required. | Free, no member limits |
| Pricing model | A Club plan, $9.99 to $19.99 a month, plus 3% + $0.30 to 5% + $0.50 per paid ticket | 1% + card fees per transaction, scales with your revenue |
| Map-first event discovery | Live map of nearby meets, filterable by type, date, and club | Event listings |
| Integrated ticketing | Stripe Connect payouts and paid tickets on Starter Club and Crew Chief | Built-in ticketing with per-transaction pricing |
| Club roster and roles | Unlimited members and staff seats on Crew Chief; CSV export coming soon | No member limits |
| Member reputation system | Gearhead Score — XP for attending meets and logging mods | Not offered |
| Digital garage profiles | Per-vehicle build pages with mod history and cost tracking | Not offered |
| Where it is live | Pre-launch — join the waitlist or claim a founding spot | General availability |
Gearz charges a Club plan plus a fee on each paid ticket: 3% + $0.30 on Crew Chief ($19.99 a month) and 5% + $0.50 on Starter Club. RumbleSeat's 1% is lower per ticket, so if tickets are all you need, price it out first. What the Gearz plan adds is map discovery, a roster with roles, and garage profiles in one place.
The Gearhead Score turns attendance into something members can point at. XP for showing up, badges, a leaderboard. Organizers get repeat attendance from people who want the streak, not just people who saw the post.
Every member gets a garage profile with the build, the mods, and what they cost. It is the part of car culture nobody else stores, and it is why members log in between meets.
If you never sell tickets, yes — RumbleSeat is free and Gearz would cost you a subscription for features you are not using. Once you sell paid tickets regularly, compare the two: RumbleSeat’s fee is lower per ticket, and Gearz adds a Club plan and its own per-ticket fee. Gearz is the better fit if you also want map discovery, a roster with roles, and garage profiles.
Yes. Import your members and invite them by link. CSV export of your roster is coming soon on Crew Chief.
Anyone anywhere can join the waitlist or claim a founding spot. We open city by city so each map has real density on day one — until your city opens you bring your own members rather than getting discovered by new ones. The waitlist is how we pick the order.
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. RumbleSeat is not affiliated with Gearz.