Lunchclub alternatives in 2026

Lunchclub hasn't updated its app since March 2022, and the team behind it now runs a crypto exchange. If you want what Lunchclub did, a 1:1 video call with someone new, the closest alternative in 2026 is Touchbase. It books you one 20-minute call a week with someone in your field, and it's free. Everything below was checked on 24 October 2026.

What happened to Lunchclub?

Lunchclub stopped updating its app in March 2022, and its team now runs Lighter, a crypto exchange.

Lunchclub started in 2017. It matched you with someone based on your goals and set up a 45-minute video chat (Penn Career Services). It raised about $30 million.

Growth stalled in 2022. Its CEO and co-founder, Vladimir Novakovski, turned the company into Lighter and kept most of the engineers. Lighter raised $68 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in November 2025 (Fortune).

Is Lunchclub still working?

Lunchclub's sign-up page is still online. Its iPhone app was last updated on 3 March 2022, with version 2.3.8 (App Store). You can still sign up, but the app hasn't changed in more than four and a half years.

What's the best Lunchclub alternative?

The best Lunchclub alternative in 2026 is Touchbase, if you want what Lunchclub did: a 1:1 video call with someone new, set up for you. Touchbase does it every week. It's free, and anyone can join.

Touchbase introduces you to someone new in your field every week, so you know people before you need them. It's built for founders, investors, salespeople, marketers and anyone else who wants to know more people in their field.

With most alternatives, there's no set rhythm. You're matched when you ask, or when the app finds a fit, so the next intro could be days or months away. On Touchbase you're matched every week, so your network grows on a schedule, not by chance.

We match you with someone in your field whose goals fit yours, book a time you're both free and host the 20-minute video call. If you think your product or service could help the other person, feel free to pitch it.

How Touchbase works is near the end of this post. We make Touchbase, so weigh this section with that in mind.

What are the other Lunchclub alternatives?

The other Lunchclub alternatives each do one part of what Lunchclub did. Here's who each one is for, and how it differs from Touchbase.

Boardy AI

Boardy AI is the closest thing to Touchbase on this list, and the busiest. It's an AI "superconnector" for founders, investors and operators (boardy.ai). You message it on WhatsApp, iMessage, email, LinkedIn or X and tell it what you're working on. It looks for people who fit. Once you both say yes, it introduces you by email. If you connect Google Calendar, it books the meeting on Google Meet too.

The numbers are big. Boardy AI says it has spoken with 255,000+ people, made 273,000+ introductions and introduced $88 billion+ in capital. Its LinkedIn page has about 103,000 followers.

How Boardy AI differs from Touchbase:

• On request vs every week. Boardy AI makes intros around what you need right now: an investor, a customer, a hire. Touchbase matches you every week, so you meet people before you need anything from them.
• AI vs a person. Boardy AI is an AI that finds and makes the matches. On Touchbase, a person checks every match before it's booked, for now.
• Who it's for. Boardy AI is built for founders, investors and operators. Touchbase is open to everyone, founders and investors included, in any field and at any level.

ADPList

ADPList is a mentoring marketplace with two sides. Mentors in design, product, engineering, marketing, data and more offer sessions, and mentees book them (adplist.org). It's free to start, with free sessions available. Each session is a 1:1 online call, and its length depends on the mentor.

How ADPList differs from Touchbase: on ADPList you're a mentor or a mentee, and you book each session yourself. Touchbase has one kind of member. Everyone signs up the same way and says what they're after: help, helping others, or meeting peers. Then the calls come once a week. ADPList is built around mentors, while Touchbase also matches peers with peers.

Articuler

Articuler finds people for you to contact. It searches 980 million+ professional profiles, curated lists and event guest lists, then tells you why each person is worth meeting (articuler.ai). It's built for sales leads, hires, job referrals and fundraising.

How Articuler differs from Touchbase: Articuler doesn't make the introduction. The first message is yours to send, and Articuler says 15% of its matches reply. On Touchbase nobody sends a cold message. Both people signed up to meet, and the call is booked for them.

Happenstance

Happenstance searches the people you already know (Gmail, LinkedIn, calendar) for a warm path to someone. It has 500,000+ users and teams, and it's useful when you already know who you want to meet (happenstance.ai).

Donut

Donut pairs coworkers for coffee chats in Slack or Microsoft Teams, on a schedule the company sets. It's used by 20,000+ teams, but it only works where your workplace has it installed (donut.com).

Why not Meetup? It runs group events, not 1:1 introductions.

How do the Lunchclub alternatives compare?

This table compares Touchbase and five other Lunchclub alternatives on who they're for, how you meet, how often and price. Checked on 24 October 2026.

Which Lunchclub alternatives have shut down?

Several apps that still appear in Lunchclub alternative lists have shut down or changed. This table lists them, checked on 24 October 2026.

How does Touchbase work?

Touchbase works in four steps, and the only one that takes effort is turning up.

What happens after you sign up?

1. You say what you're after: a job, advice, a move into a new field, hiring, mentoring, or meeting peers. You add your field and the times you're free.
2. Each week, we match you with one person. People asking for help meet someone with the same or more experience who signed up to give it, and peers meet peers. Never someone from your company, and never the same person twice.
3. We book the first time you're both free, at least two days out, and send you both a calendar invite. You see each other's name, photo, field, role, company and LinkedIn, and you can each leave a short note before the call.
4. You join a 20-minute video call on Touchbase, in your browser. Talk about work, or anything else. Swap contacts if it clicks.

What makes Touchbase different?

• Anyone can join. Founders, investors, salespeople, marketers: any field, any level. Students get a quick profile review first.
• Every week. You're matched every week, with no need to ask or search.
• Nothing to set up. You don't connect a calendar or chase a time. We book the call and host it.
• People show up. Two missed calls pause your account, so nobody is left waiting in an empty call.
• Matched by a person. A person checks and books every match right now.

Why does a weekly call with someone new matter?

A weekly call with someone new grows the part of your network that leads to new jobs. A 2022 study in Science followed more than 20 million LinkedIn users over five years, covering 600,000 new jobs. People they knew a little, not their closest contacts, led to the most job moves.

Take one call a week and that's 52 new people in your field in a year. They're the people who think of you when a job, a client or a second opinion comes up.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free app like Lunchclub?

Yes. Touchbase is free right now and books you a 20-minute 1:1 video call every week. ADPList and Happenstance are free to start.

Is Boardy AI like Lunchclub?

Partly. Both match you with people and set up a meeting. Boardy AI makes intros around a specific ask, like an investor or a customer. If you want a 1:1 call with someone in your field every week, Touchbase is closer.

Is Shapr still available?

No. Shapr closed in 2023 after the Lincoln Group bought it.

How often does Touchbase match you?

Every week. Each match is a 20-minute video call at a time you're both free.

What does my match see about me?

Your name, photo, field, role, company and LinkedIn. Not what you said you're looking for.

Want to meet someone new in your field next week? Sign up for Touchbase. It's free.