An r/AnnArbor post hit 110 upvotes by aggregating events from many scattered sources into one site (a2eventsearch.com). Five data sources ranked for building a local-events aggregator side project.
Top Pick
Scavio site-search across 5-15 venue domains per city + Scavio Reddit search for community events + selective Eventbrite/Meetup feeds covers ~95% of what's actually happening.
Full Ranking
#1Our Pick
Scavio site-search across venue domains + Reddit
Indie aggregators, small-city operators, college-town builders
Pros
- Typed JSON output
- Reddit signal surfaces community events venue calendars miss
- Multi-source under one key
- Predictable per-month cost
Cons
- You curate the venue domain list
#2
Eventbrite API + Meetup API
Aggregators in cities with strong Eventbrite/Meetup presence
Pros
- Structured event objects
- Categorization built in
Cons
- Misses venue-direct calendars and community spaces
- City coverage uneven
#3
Direct ICS feeds + venue scraping
Aggregators in cities where venues publish ICS
Pros
- Authoritative when available
Cons
- Patchy coverage
- Per-venue parser maintenance
#4
Local newspaper / city government feeds
Major-event aggregators (festivals, sports)
Pros
- Authoritative for big events
Cons
- Misses smaller events and meetups
#5
Manual curation only
Niche operators (specific genre or community)
Pros
- High signal
Cons
- Doesn't scale; the OP's original pain
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Scavio | Runner-up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage of venue-direct events | Strong (site-search) | Weak (Eventbrite-bound) | Patchy (ICS where available) |
| Community signal | Yes (Reddit) | Limited | No |
| Per-month indie cost | <$50 | Free / tiered | Server-bound |
| Best for | Indie aggregators | Eventbrite-heavy cities | ICS-heavy cities |
Why Scavio Wins
- The OP's observation — 'way more going on than I expected, all scattered across random sites' — is the structural argument for site-search over single-feed APIs.
- Reddit signal surfaces what venue calendars and Eventbrite often don't: community open mics, neighborhood meetups, university events outside the official calendar.
- Per-month cost <$50 keeps the side project sustainable. Eventbrite/Meetup APIs are free but their coverage gaps push aggregators back to scraping.
- Honest about curation: the source list per city (5-15 domains) is the work. Scavio handles the typed-JSON part, but the curation is the operator's value-add.
- Updating cadence: daily cron at $30/mo Scavio Project tier handles ~10K queries/mo, more than enough for a single-city aggregator with 15 venue domains.