Grip.events is a well-established enterprise conference networking platform. Me&New is a Telegram-native AI matchmaking tool built for builder events. They solve similar problems — connecting attendees before and during events — but with fundamentally different approaches, audiences, and price points.
This comparison is honest. Grip is a strong product for the audience it was built for (large B2B conferences, corporate networking events, trade shows). Me&New is a strong product for a different audience (hackathons, Web3 events, developer communities). If you're deciding between them, the right answer depends almost entirely on which category your event falls into.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Me&New | Grip.events |
|---|---|---|
| App install required | ✓ No install — Telegram native | ✗ iOS + Android app required |
| AI-powered matchmaking | ✓ Vector search + intent routing | ~ Keyword + filter-based matching |
| Automatic multilingual | ✓ Per-recipient auto-translation | ✗ English only |
| Setup time | ✓ ~24 hours (no app store review) | ✗ 2–4 weeks (onboarding + integration) |
| Participant onboarding | ✓ 90 seconds via Telegram bot | ✗ Profile creation in app (5–10 min) |
| Post-event community | ✓ Persistent Space with weekly roulette | ✗ Event closes, community ends |
| Organizer dashboard | ✓ Real-time match + engagement analytics | ✓ Full analytics suite |
| Scheduled meetings | ~ Bot-facilitated meetup proposals | ✓ Full calendar integration |
| Sponsor/exhibitor features | ✗ Not a focus | ✓ Core feature |
| Badge scanning / check-in | ✓ HMAC-verified Telegram check-in | ✓ QR + NFC badge scanning |
| Pricing (organizer) | ✓ Free (currently) | ✗ €5,000–€30,000+ per event |
| Web3 / crypto native | ✓ Deep ETHGlobal positioning | ✗ Generic enterprise focus |
| Participant cost | ✓ Free | ✓ Free (app download required) |
Where Grip wins
Grip is a mature, well-funded product optimized for large enterprise conferences with exhibitor halls, sponsor tiers, and structured meeting scheduling. If you're running:
- A large trade show or B2B conference with sponsors who need lead capture
- An event where 1-to-1 scheduled meetings are the primary networking format
- A corporate event where branded app experiences and white-labeling matter
- An event with budget for €10,000+ in event technology
…Grip is a strong choice. It has robust exhibitor features, deep calendar integrations, and a full enterprise support team.
Large corporate events with sponsorship tiers and €10K+ tech budget
Grip excels at structured meeting scheduling for B2B conference attendees. It has white-labeling, sponsor lead capture, and full enterprise support. If those are your requirements, Grip is purpose-built for them.
Where Me&New wins
Me&New wins decisively on three dimensions that matter most for hackathons and developer events:
1. Zero install friction
Hackathon builders are on Telegram. Asking them to download another app creates immediate friction — especially when they're focused on building. Me&New lives inside Telegram. The onboarding is a 90-second bot conversation. Grip requires downloading, registering, and building a profile in a separate app — a process many builders simply skip.
In practice: Me&New runs at ETHGlobal Cannes 2026 via a single Telegram invite link with no app store, no install, no separate account. Any app-based competitor has to clear the additional hurdle of getting attendees to download and register before they can be matched.
2. Multilingual by default
Grip is English-only. At international hackathons, this excludes 30–40% of participants from comfortable networking. Me&New auto-translates every broadcast and match suggestion per recipient. A French builder's post lands in Chinese for a Mandarin speaker — without either party doing anything special.
3. Post-event persistence
When a Grip event closes, the community ends. Me&New Spaces persist indefinitely. The network you build at a hackathon becomes an ongoing professional community with weekly roulette matches, broadcasts, and a reputation graph. For organizers who want long-term community value, this is a structural advantage.
The key insight: Grip is built for corporate events where app adoption is enforced by registration workflows. Me&New is built for communities where adoption has to be earned — so it's engineered to be frictionless enough that builders actually use it.
Hackathons, Web3 events, and international developer communities
If your attendees are builders who are already on Telegram, if your event is international, or if you want the community to outlast the event — Me&New is the stronger fit. It's also free, while Grip starts at €5,000+ per event.
Bottom line
These tools aren't really competing for the same organizer. Grip serves large enterprise conferences with significant tech budgets. Me&New serves builder events where adoption has to happen through delight, not enforcement.
If you're an ETHGlobal-style organizer, a crypto summit coordinator, or running any developer-first event: Me&New is purpose-built for your context, it's free, and it goes live in 24 hours.
See also: Me&New vs Whova — for a comparison with another popular conference platform.
Also compare
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Deploy Me&New →Frequently asked questions
Can Me&New replace Grip for a large enterprise conference?
If you need exhibitor lead capture, white-labeled branded app experience, or a full scheduled meeting marketplace — Me&New is not the right choice. Those features are Grip's core value proposition and Me&New doesn't offer them. Me&New is purpose-built for informal, high-intent builder networking, not structured B2B meeting scheduling.
What's the real cost difference?
Me&New is currently free for organizers. Grip pricing is not publicly listed but typically ranges from €5,000 to €30,000+ per event depending on attendee count and features. For most hackathon organizers, this price difference alone makes the comparison easy.
Does Me&New work for events larger than 500 people?
Yes. The matching architecture scales horizontally — more participants improve match quality rather than degrading it. The main scaling challenge is onboarding adoption, which is why Me&New is engineered to minimize friction (90-second onboarding, no app download). We've designed everything to work in high-volume, high-velocity environments.
Is Grip better for Web3 conferences?
Grip is a general enterprise platform with no specific Web3 features or positioning. Me&New was built at ETHGlobal and has deep integration with the builder ecosystem — the language, the community norms, and the types of connections that matter (co-founders, contributors, investors) are all understood at a product level. For Web3 events, Me&New is the native choice.