Search "apps to meet locals while traveling" and the top results are lists from 2013 to 2018. Half the apps on them are gone. This is the 2026 version, written by the founder of one of the apps, with the others described the way I would describe them to a friend.
The comparison#
| App | What it is for | Cost | Where it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couchsurfing | Free hangouts, hosting, city events | Paid membership | Worldwide, strongest in big cities | Quieter than its peak; hosting is slow to arrange |
| Meetup | Group events: language exchange, hikes, tech, running | Free to attend most events | Big cities worldwide | Groups, not one-to-one |
| Showaround | Paid locals who act as guides | Hourly, platform commission | Europe and major cities | Guided, itinerary-shaped |
| Withlocals | Private experiences with a local host | Per experience, platform commission | Europe, Asia, some Americas | Fixed menus of experiences |
| Bumble BFF | Friend-matching by swiping | Free, paid tiers | Where Bumble has users | Thin outside large cities |
| Facebook and WhatsApp groups | Expat, digital nomad and city communities | Free | Everywhere, strong in Latin America | Noise, no profiles, no vetting |
| Roavi | Pay a local directly for a few hours of company; free Community board by city | Local Friend's hourly rate, no commission | Dominican Republic, Colombia, Thailand strongest; 50+ cities | Few Local Friends in many cities yet |
What each one is actually like#
Couchsurfing is still the best free way to meet people who like meeting travellers. The hangouts feature works in any big city on any evening. It moved to a paid membership in 2020 and lost some of its community, but it is alive.
Meetup is where you go if you want a group rather than a person: a language exchange on Tuesday, a hike on Saturday. It is free for most events and the people are locals who chose to be there.
Showaround and Withlocals are the paid, guide-shaped options. Showaround lists locals by the hour; Withlocals sells experiences with a host. Both take a commission on top of what the local gets and both lean toward a plan you book rather than an afternoon you improvise. Good for Europe.
Bumble BFF is friend-matching by swiping. It works where Bumble has a lot of users, which means large Western cities, and is thin almost everywhere else.
Facebook and WhatsApp groups are unglamorous and effective, especially in Latin America. "Expats in Medellín", "Digital nomads Mexico City", the city's Couchsurfing WhatsApp. No profiles, no vetting, lots of noise, and still where a lot of real meetups start.
Roavi is the one I built, so judge accordingly. A local creates a Local Friend profile with an hourly rate; you message them, agree a plan, meet in public and pay them directly. Roavi takes no commission and does not process the payment. There is also a free Community board organised by city where locals answer questions. The honest weakness: supply is concentrated. Santo Domingo is the largest city on the platform, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Thailand are the strongest countries, and many cities have few or no Local Friends yet. What a Local Friend is and how much it costs.
The ones that are gone#
Tripr, Travel Pal, TravBuddy and Flip the Trip appear on most older lists. They have shut down or gone quiet. If a list recommends them without a date, the list is old.
Which one for which trip#
- Solo, on a budget, big city: Couchsurfing hangouts and Meetup.
- A few days, want one person who knows the place: Roavi where it has Local Friends, Showaround in Europe.
- A packaged experience with a host: Withlocals.
- Moving somewhere for a month or more: the Facebook and WhatsApp groups first, then everything else.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Roavi, the WhatsApp groups, and Couchsurfing in the capitals.
Staying safe with any of them#
Profile first, messages in the app, first meeting in public in daylight, someone knows your plan. That rule does more than any app's verification badge. How to meet locals when traveling has the non-app routes: where to stay, how to move, where to eat.
Want a local for a few hours, not a tour?
Browse Local Friends or ask the CommunityFrequently Asked Questions
What is the best app to meet locals while traveling?
It depends on what you want. For free, Couchsurfing hangouts and Meetup events. For a paid local who goes where you choose, Roavi or Showaround. For guided experiences with a fixed itinerary, Withlocals. For friend-matching by swiping, Bumble BFF in cities where it has users.Are the apps on older lists still working?
Many are not. Tripr, Travel Pal, TravBuddy and Flip the Trip have shut down or gone quiet since the lists from 2013 to 2018 that still rank. Couchsurfing survived by moving to a paid membership. Check the app store's last update date before relying on any of them.Is it safe to meet locals through an app?
Safer than meeting a stranger in a bar, if you use the app's profile, message first, meet in a public place in daylight the first time, and tell someone your plan. Apps with identity checks and in-app messaging make that easier.What is the difference between Roavi and Couchsurfing?
Couchsurfing is free exchange: hosting, hangouts, meetups, with a membership fee. Roavi is paid company: a Local Friend sets an hourly rate and you pay them directly for their time, with no commission to Roavi, plus a free Community board by city. One is a gift economy, the other is a fair price for someone's afternoon.Which apps work in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Couchsurfing and Meetup in the big cities. Roavi's Local Friends are concentrated in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Thailand, with Santo Domingo the largest city on the platform. Facebook and WhatsApp groups are strong across Latin America for expat and city communities.