Luma vs PredictHQ: your own calendar, or a free MCP or event data for demand forecasts
Luma is Luma's JSON API for managing your own calendar's events and guests, plus a separate MCP server that can search public Luma events. PredictHQ is a paid event-intelligence API that returns deduplicated real-world events with impact scores, used mainly for demand forecasting.
The short answer
- Luma: Hosts automating their own Luma calendars, and agents finding public Luma events such as tech and community meetups through the MCP server.
- PredictHQ: Forecasting demand around events with attendance and impact estimates, rather than sending people to buy tickets.
Side by side
| Luma | PredictHQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | The API covers only the calendar its key was created on. The MCP server can search upcoming public Luma events by keyword, location and date range. | Events in 19 categories, from concerts, sports, festivals and conferences to public holidays, severe weather and airport delays. |
| Returns | Not stated on its pages | Title, category, start date, location (geometry, address), a 0-100 rank, predicted attendance, predicted event spend in USD and linked entities such as the venue. |
| Before the first call | API: a Luma Plus subscription on the calendar and a per-calendar API key (200 requests a minute per calendar). MCP: any Luma account, signed in through OAuth. | A PredictHQ account (sign up for free) and an API token created in the web app. What you can query depends on your subscription. |
| Free | The MCP server works with any Luma account, without Luma Plus. | A free trial with no credit card needed; the trial length is not stated. |
| Paid | The API needs Luma Plus, listed at $59 a month billed annually. | Not stated on its pages |
| Acting on a result | Not stated on its pages | Nothing: the event schema has no ticket or booking link. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Not stated on its pages | Caching, storing or keeping copies of PredictHQ data is prohibited unless you buy the Storage extension or agree otherwise in writing; displaying data requires attribution. |
| AI in its terms | Not stated on its pages | Training or fine-tuning any AI tool, including LLMs, on PredictHQ data, or creating embeddings from it, is prohibited without written authorisation in an Order Form. |
| Coverage | Not stated on its pages | Global. |
| MCP server | Official MCP server at https://mcp.luma.com (searches public Luma events and manages events you host). | Official hosted MCP server at https://mcp.predicthq.com/v1/mcp (OAuth or API key). |
Where Openpath fits
Openpath has no event listings yet. Events are on its roadmap, from organizers who list them themselves. Get listed.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Luma?
API: a Luma Plus subscription on the calendar and a per-calendar API key (200 requests a minute per calendar). MCP: any Luma account, signed in through OAuth.
Is Luma free?
The MCP server works with any Luma account, without Luma Plus.
What do I need before I can use PredictHQ?
A PredictHQ account (sign up for free) and an API token created in the web app. What you can query depends on your subscription.
Is PredictHQ free?
A free trial with no credit card needed; the trial length is not stated.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Luma, read on October 15, 2026:
- docs.luma.com/reference/getting-started-with-your-api: “To use the Luma API, you need a Luma Plus subscription.”
- docs.luma.com/reference/getting-started-with-your-api: “The Luma API is a JSON-based API that allows you to programmatically manage your events and guests.”
- docs.luma.com/reference/getting-started-with-your-api: “only grants access to the calendar it was created on”
- help.luma.com/p/luma-api: “The Luma API uses a per-minute rate limit shared across read and write requests:”
- luma.com/pricing: “$59 ... Per month, billed annually”
- luma.com/pricing: “API access”
- help.luma.com/p/mcp: “search upcoming public events on Luma by keyword, location, and date range.”
- help.luma.com/p/mcp: “Anyone with a Luma account can connect — you don’t need Luma Plus.”
- help.luma.com/p/mcp: “https://mcp.luma.com”
PredictHQ, read on October 15, 2026:
- predicthq.com/pricing: “Free Trial - No Credit Card Needed”
- predicthq.com/pricing: “Comprehensive high-quality global coverage of events across 19 different categories”
- docs.predicthq.com/api/events/search-events.md: “A log scale numerical value between 0 and 100 with a five-level hierarchical impact schema.”
- docs.predicthq.com/api/events/search-events.md: “A numerical value that reflects the predicted attendance for supported attendance-based categories.”
- docs.predicthq.com/api/events/search-events.md: “you don't receive an error when requesting a date range or location”
- docs.predicthq.com/getting-started/api-quickstart.md: “Store the token somewhere safe. The WebApp doesn't show it again.”
- docs.predicthq.com: “Structured, deduplicated real-world events for discovery, explainability, and building trust in AI-driven decisions.”
- predicthq.com/legal/terms: “cache, store, download, scrape, or retain a copy of”
- predicthq.com/legal/terms: “whenever Customer displays PredictHQ Data on its website or within its app”
- predicthq.com/legal/terms: “use PredictHQ Data to train or fine tune any AI Tool”
- predicthq.com/legal/terms: “use any AI Tool to create embeddings from PredictHQ Data”
- predicthq.com/legal/terms: “unless explicit prior written authorisation is given by PredictHQ in an Order Form.”
- docs.predicthq.com/ai/mcp.md: “The PredictHQ MCP server connects AI assistants and agent-based systems directly to PredictHQ's APIs.”
- docs.predicthq.com/ai/mcp.md: “https://mcp.predicthq.com/v1/mcp”