Top 8 Social Planning Apps iPhone

While social apps such as those that provide text, voice and video messaging capabilities are obviously among the most popular on mobile devices these days, one can often find that these simply aren’t enough when it comes to organizing a social outing. I mean, everyone has WhatsApp and Facebook these days so simply adding a bunch of people to a group or thread and giving it a title should be enough, right? But what about browsing places to go, and checking how to get there? Neither of these platforms are particularly interactive when it comes to sorting out the particulars, but luckily there are a bunch of iOS apps out there that are looking to provide this service. With these apps, you can not only look through the places you want to go and find out how to get there, but read reviews and book tables and tickets, and a whole lot more. We recently took a bunch of these social planning apps for a spin and come up with a list of favorites – let us know what you think!

8. ZookCity (Free)

As is perhaps to be expected, many of these social planning apps tend to focus in on the main idea of “what’s on” in your general area, offering an aggregated and updated list of everything from concerts and sporting events to constant establishments like restaurants and night clubs. ZookCity certainly takes this approach, and isn’t so much a huge database like TripAdvisor or Yelp but an “of the day” chalkboard of different upcoming events that may interest you in your given city. You simply download the app, sign up using email or Facebook details and then head over to the Discover section to find interesting and fun stuff to do. You can then add friends to your social event through your friends list on Facebook and of course book tickets for events through partner sites, making ZookCity a very convenient app to own. – Download from iTunes

7. Allcal (Free)

As is the case with just about every breed of app to be found on the App Store, social planning apps do come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Allcal, which is short for All Calendars, take a slightly different approach to many of the entries to be found here and builds its features on a powerful and very useful calendar system that makes organizing your life easier. It is however collaborative, meaning that you can invite friends, family and coworkers to use your calendar, adding or editing and sharing events along the way. It then gives you the opportunity to RSVP for an event, search events and gives you real time updates to keep you in the loop. – Download from iTunes

6. Konvene (Free)

Konvene is another app designed to bring people together, allowing you to find and plan just about any kind of event. As a guest that has been invited to a given event through the app, you can then throw in money so as to pay for tickets or whatever, or just chat with other people that have been invited in order to iron out the details. It’s also a great way of planning and managing multiple events, since you can apply tags to them so as to tell them apart. Konvene is also really great when it comes to the navigation side of things, allowing you to access maps in order to find out how to get to wherever your event is taking place! – Download from iTunes

5. 7Out (Free)

Then there is 7Out, which seems based upon the idea of an elaborate messaging app where you can share details of events. You create your event and then invite others on your friends list to RSVP – either through Facebook, email or even SMS. As an invitee, you can accept the idea or else enter the chat and suggest something different. The name of the app comes from the amount of different events that you can plan, which include: meal, drinks, party, coffee&tea, sports, outdoor and entertainment.  – Download from iTunes

4. Swarm by Foursquare (Free)

While the original Foursquare app has always seemed to lack a specific identity, growing into a cross between a social networking platform and something more atune to location discovery, their recently released Swarm spin-off looks to be a lot more sure of itself. Rather than event planning, Swarm is more about bringing people together in an efficient way, and part of this is using the GPS to find people around you so that you can perhaps meet up. Those looking for the check-in side of Foursquare will probably be disappointed, it’s a solid idea that expands upon the social planning concept.  – Download from iTunes

3. Mesh (Free)

Mesh is another social planning app that brings together a range of different functions under one roof, so to speak, allowing you to suggest and plan events among friends for just about any kind of crowd – from getaway weekends to business conventions. One thing I’ve found with other social planning apps is that they are great for communicating, but you still have to look elsewhere in order to find flights, book seats, reserve tickets, etc. With Mesh, you can share your flight and hotel reservations with those involved in the event, so that others can pick the same – ideal for those who might wish to share accomodation. A recent update that offers users a calendar view is also very useful, especially for those who have multiple events running at around the same time. – Download from iTunes

2. Myhub (Free)

Planning group activities can be a real pain, but Myhub looks to make the entire process easier, and most importantly confines the process to a single tool rather than a collaborative effort between messaging apps, social media, review sites, etc. All you do is enter the basic details of your event, and mess around with the advanced options if you need to, then send out invites to just about anyone in your contacts. All those you send an invite to can RSVP, supply money for the cause and of course chat with the other people that have been invited. The good thing about Myhub, at least in my opinion, is that it works for both large scale and smaller scale gatherings, so whether you’re organizing the business event of your career or just planning a night out on the town with some buddies, it works.  – Download from iTunes

1. WePopp (Free)

Part of the reason I was drawn to WePopp in the first place was its glorious interface, which is precise and clean and just about everything you could want from a social planning app today. The app allows you to plan events with friends in just a few taps, and is perhaps the best of all those listed so far when it comes to polling friends in order to find a place, date and time that suits everyone involved. What’s more, the app was recently updated to support OpenTable, a service (which has its own app) that is designed to help you manage your dinner reservations. – Download from iTunes