Circle vs Heartbeat
We give Circle a 2.8 GPA and Heartbeat a 2.6, out of 4.0. Circle grades higher on ease of use. Heartbeat grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Circle
Community platform with courses, events, payments and branded apps
Heartbeat
Paid community platform with courses, events and member payments
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACircleGood | 2.6GPAHeartbeatGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Professional is $89 a month billed yearly plus Circle's 2% of sales, $40 on $2,000: $129 a month. That's mid-pack, above Skool Pro ($82.50) and Mighty Networks ($119), below Heartbeat ($140). | CGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Build is $40 a month billed yearly but keeps 5% of payments, $100 on $2,000: $140 a month. Grow's 2.5% makes $174. Dearer than Skool Pro ($82.50), Mighty ($119) and Circle ($129), level with Kajabi ($143). |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, which is enough to set up spaces and invite a few people. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, enough to set up channels and a first course. |
| Features | BSpaces with posts and chat, courses, events, live streams and rooms, paid memberships, a website builder, gamification and AI credits on every plan. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job; workflows and the API just start on Business. | BChannels, threads, DMs, evergreen and cohort courses with quizzes, events with Zoom recordings, video rooms for 256, paid offers and waitlists, workflows and Pulse AI. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job; video hosting on Build is a $19 add-on. |
| Ease of use | A4.87 from about 86,000 App Store ratings, the strongest record in this category. Members open the app and they're in. | CNo App Store rating on record. Pulse AI sets up the space and channels from a description, but you're still building a community and its offers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Slack, HubSpot, Mailchimp and Teachable, plus an API and MCP on Business. No desktop app, which an A needs. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, the widest spread in this category, with Stripe, Zapier, Zoom, Google and Outlook calendars and an API from Grow. |
| Best for | a branded community with courses and events | paid communities on desktop and phone |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Circle and Heartbeat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Circle starts at $89 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Heartbeat starts at $40 a month and scores 3.0.
Circle scores higher, and starts $49 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Circle for less, and none scores higher than Heartbeat for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). Heartbeat starts at $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Circle also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| Circle | Heartbeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Circle | Heartbeat Chat |
| Price read from | circle.so | heartbeat.chat |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Circle
- Creators and brands whose main product is a community
- Communities that also sell courses and run live events
- Teams that want automations and an API around their community
Heartbeat
- Coaches and creators charging a monthly membership for a community
- Communities that mix discussion, courses and live calls in one place
- Members who want desktop apps as well as web and mobile
Worth knowing
Circle
- Circle takes 2% of each sale on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale and 0.5% on Circle Plus.
- Email Hub costs extra on top of any plan except Circle Plus: $19 a month for up to 1,000 contacts, $99 at 10,000.
- Workflows, the API and removing Circle branding need Business; AI agents and webhooks need Scale.
- An app under your own name in the app stores is only in Circle Plus, which is priced through sales.
Heartbeat
- Heartbeat keeps 5% of payments on Build, 2.5% on Grow and 1.25% on Scale, on top of Stripe's fee (typically 2.9% + 30 cents).
- Member limits count admins and moderators: 350 on Build and 5,000 on Grow.
- On Build, native video hosting is a $19 a month add-on with 50 hours; API access and removing Heartbeat branding start on Grow.
- The white-label branded mobile app is only on Scale, at $766 a month billed annually, which is sold through a call.
Key features
Circle
- Spaces, discussions and chat
- Members join topic spaces for posts and chat, with a member directory, rich profiles and gamification. Professional allows 20 spaces.
- Courses
- Courses live inside the community on every plan, and course migration from another platform is free on annual Business plans and above.
- Events and live streams
- Live events, live streams and live rooms: Professional covers 100 stream attendees, 15 room participants and 10 hours.
- Payments and website
- Paid memberships and products through Circle's checkout, a website builder and a custom domain on every plan.
- Workflows, API and AI
- Business adds workflows, APIs and an MCP server; Scale adds AI agents, AI moderation and webhooks. Extra AI credits cost $10 per 1,000.
- Email Hub
- An optional add-on for broadcasts, scheduled campaigns, sign-up forms, segments and marketing automations to contacts and members.
Heartbeat
- Channels, discussions and messages
- Organize the community into public and private channels with threaded posts and live chat, plus one-to-one and group DMs and a member directory.
- Courses and documents
- Evergreen courses with drip release or cohort courses with fixed dates, with quizzes, assignments and a discussion on every lesson, beside a document library.
- Events and video rooms
- Live events with RSVPs, reminders, calendar sync and Zoom recordings, plus voice and video rooms for up to 256 people at once.
- Payments and offers
- Sell subscriptions, one-time offers, tiered memberships and paid waitlists, with coupons, trials, upsells and ready-made checkout pages.
- Workflows
- Send emails and DMs, grant access or follow up automatically when members join, attend, finish a course or go quiet. Build allows 5 workflows.
- Pulse AI
- An AI co-builder that sets up the space, channels and first pages from a description of your community and builds landing pages.
Plans
Circle
Professional$89
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Unlimited members, courses, events, website, payments, apps, 3 admins, 20 spaces, 2,500 AI credits. Circle takes 2% of each sale.
Business$199
per month, billed annually ($219 billed monthly)
20 workflows, APIs and MCP, custom profile fields, branded emails, no Circle branding, 5 admins, 30 spaces. 1% transaction fee.
Scale$419
per month, billed monthly or annually
AI agents and AI workflows, unlimited workflows, webhooks, custom SSO, 10 admins, 100 spaces, 5,000 AI credits. 1% transaction fee.
Circle PlusCustom
Custom branded iOS and Android apps, unlimited admins and spaces, Email Hub with 10,000 contacts, a dedicated expert. 0.5% transaction fee.
Heartbeat
Build$40
per month for up to 350 members, billed annually ($49 monthly)
Unlimited channels, courses, events and checkout pages, 5 automation workflows, 1 landing page, custom domain. Heartbeat keeps 5% of payments.
Grow$124
per month for up to 5,000 members, billed annually ($149 monthly)
Unlimited workflows, 50 hours of video hosting, 15 landing pages, affiliates, API access, white-label emails, no Heartbeat branding. 2.5% fee.
Scale$766
per month, unlimited members, billed annually ($849 monthly)
A white-label branded mobile app, advanced analytics, 50 landing pages, 200 hours of video and same-day support. 1.25% fee. Sold through a call.
Ways to pay less
Circle
- Annual discount
Lower monthly price with annual billing
Circle's pricing lists Professional at $89 a month billed annually against $99 monthly, and Business at $199 against $219. Scale costs the same either way.
Heartbeat
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
Build is $490 a year instead of $49 a month and Grow $1,490 instead of $149, two months free; Scale saves 10% at $9,200 a year.
