Disciple Media vs Heartbeat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Heartbeat grades higher than Disciple Media: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Heartbeat grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Disciple Media
White-label community app for iOS, Android and web
Heartbeat
Paid community platform with courses, events and member payments
Which one is for you
Pick Disciple Media if
- Fits if you want your own app in the stores with your brand on it and can pay $599 a month
- Works for organisations with a paying audience that runs groups and livestreams
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $599 a month is the floor, and $999 for Pro
- Watch out: unlimited items on the plans are subject to fair usage
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there isn't one
- Watch out: Zapier and unlimited courses are on the $999 plan only
Pick Heartbeat if
- Fits if your members want a desktop app as well as a phone app
- Works for coaches charging a monthly membership with chat, courses and live calls
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell a lot on Build, where 5% of every payment goes to Heartbeat
- Tight if you grow past 350 members, a count that includes admins and moderators
- Skip it if you want a branded app without the $766-a-month Scale plan, sold through a call
- Watch out: video hosting on Build is a $19 a month add-on, and the API and branding removal start on Grow at $124
How we grade them
| 1.8GPADisciple MediaWeak | 2.6GPAHeartbeatGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$599 a month billed yearly is four times the $149 where the dearest tenth of courses and communities tools starts. The page's metadata quotes GBP, so the dollar figure may be a conversion. | 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 | DA free trial with support, but the page doesn't say how long it lasts or whether a card is needed. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, enough to set up channels and a first course. |
| Features | CBranded app, feeds, groups, messages, livestreaming, courses and a page builder. The listing's gap: Zapier and unlimited courses need the $999 plan. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. Building and launching a branded app is a project, with the vendor's console and support. | 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, iOS and Android, with Zapier, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zoho connections. No desktop app. | 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 white-label community app under your own name | 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: Disciple Media and Heartbeat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Disciple Media starts at $599 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Heartbeat starts at $40 a month and scores 3.0.
Heartbeat scores higher and starts $559 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 13 score higher than Disciple Media 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
- Heartbeat also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Disciple Media | Heartbeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $599 per month, billed yearly | $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with support; length not stated | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Disciple Media | Heartbeat Chat |
| Price read from | disciple.community | heartbeat.chat |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Disciple Media
- Entry price is $599 a month billed yearly, with no free plan.
- Unlimited items on the plans are subject to fair usage, and prices exclude sales tax.
- The page's search metadata quotes GBP prices (from £449 a month), so the dollar figure shown may be a conversion.
- Zapier and unlimited courses need the $999 plan.
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
Disciple Media
- Your own branded app
- Publishes a white-label app listed under your brand on iOS and Android, plus a web version.
- Feeds, groups and messages
- Gives members a feed, group chats, direct messages, events and a member directory.
- Livestreaming and courses
- Hosts livestreams and courses, with multi-host livestreams on the Pro plan.
- Page builder
- Lets your team build home screens section by section.
- Ways to earn
- Subscriptions, in-app purchases, sponsorship and donations are listed as monetization options.
- Integrations
- Open API, webhooks and Zapier, and CRM sync with more than 100 CRMs on the Organisation plan.
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
Disciple Media
Branded App$599
per month, billed yearly
Branded iOS, Android and web app, 5 admin seats, 10 groups, 1 monetizable course and 10k video minutes.
Branded App Pro$999
per month, billed yearly
Unlimited admin seats, groups and monetized courses, 20k video minutes, multi-tier pricing and Zapier.
Organisation$3,400
per month and up, billed yearly
Tailored proposal with SSO, CRM sync, bespoke development and migration support; sold through sales.
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
Disciple Media
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
The pricing page says yearly billing includes 2 months free compared with the quarterly option.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Disciple Media or Heartbeat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Heartbeat is cheaper to start with: $40 a month, against $599 a month for Disciple Media. Disciple Media starts at $599 per month, billed yearly, and Heartbeat starts at $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Disciple Media or Heartbeat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Disciple Media nor Heartbeat has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Disciple Media and Heartbeat run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.