Heartbeat
Paid community platform with courses, events and member payments
Heartbeat report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for paid communities on desktop and phone
Heartbeat is a paid community with real chat: channels, threads, DMs, courses, events and video rooms for up to 256 people, in apps for every computer and phone. The fee is the catch. Build keeps 5% of payments on top of Stripe's, so $2,000 of sales a month costs $140, more than Circle or Mighty Networks.
Who Heartbeat is for
- Great if your members want a desktop app as well as a phone app
- Handy when your community mixes chat, courses and live calls
- Good for coaches charging a monthly membership
Who Heartbeat is not for
- 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
Why Heartbeat gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyGraded 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).
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, enough to set up channels and a first course.
- BFeaturesChannels, 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.
- CEase of useNo 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.
- APlatforms and integrationsWeb, 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Heartbeat's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/heartbeat#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/heartbeat.svg" alt="Heartbeat: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Heartbeat stands among course and community platforms
Heartbeat's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 18 of 18) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $40 a month, against a middle price of $41 for the category: 7 of the 17 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 19 course and community platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got. Heartbeat’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 18, level with 13
- CFree plan and trialAbove 3 of 18, level with 13
- BFeaturesAbove 10 of 18, level with 8
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 18, level with 15
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 18 of 18
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 19 course and community platforms. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Heartbeat, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Heartbeat you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade. It costs $480 a year.
What you could make
- Online courses: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Heartbeat’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Heartbeat?
Heartbeat is a platform for running a paid online community on your own domain, with chat channels, threaded discussions, direct messages, courses, documents and live events in one space. Memberships, one-time offers and paid waitlists are sold through built-in Stripe checkout, and Heartbeat keeps a share of each payment that falls from 5% to 1.25% on higher plans. Members use it in a browser or in desktop and mobile apps.
Heartbeat is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly). See every plan
Good for
- 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
- 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
- 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.
Heartbeat pricing
- Starts at
- $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Build | $40per 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 | $124per 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 | $766per 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. |
Read from heartbeat.chat on Oct 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Heartbeat before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 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.
Stated on heartbeat.chat
Works with
- Stripe
- Zapier
- Zoom
- Google Calendar
- Outlook Calendar
- Google Analytics
- Meta Pixel
- Google Tag Manager
Heartbeat alternatives
- Heartbeat vs Circle
Free trial · from $89/mo
- Heartbeat vs Skool
Free trial · from $9/mo
- Heartbeat vs Mighty Networks
Free trial · from $79/mo
- Heartbeat vs Disco
Free trial · from $399/mo
- Heartbeat vs Kajabi
Free trial · from $143/mo
Common questions
Is Heartbeat free?
No, Heartbeat is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Heartbeat cost?
Heartbeat lists 3 plans. Build: $40 per month for up to 350 members, billed annually ($49 monthly). Grow: $124 per month for up to 5,000 members, billed annually ($149 monthly). Scale: $766 per month, unlimited members, billed annually ($849 monthly). Prices were read from heartbeat.chat on Oct 17, 2026.
What platforms does Heartbeat work on?
Heartbeat is available on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Does Heartbeat offer any discounts?
Heartbeat publicly lists the following: Save 17% with annual billing.
Is Heartbeat open source?
Heartbeat is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Heartbeat have an API?
Yes. Heartbeat offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Heartbeat integrate with?
Heartbeat's listing names Stripe, Zapier, Zoom, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Google Analytics, Meta Pixel and Google Tag Manager. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Heartbeat?
Heartbeat is made by Heartbeat Chat.
What are the alternatives to Heartbeat?
The closest alternatives to Heartbeat in our directory are Circle, Skool, Mighty Networks, Disco and Kajabi. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Heartbeat.
How does Heartbeat compare with other course and community platforms?
Heartbeat's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade. It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 18 of 18) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Is Heartbeat good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Heartbeat C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $40 a month, against a middle price of $41 for the category: 7 of the 17 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Could I make my own version of Heartbeat?
To replace Heartbeat you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 15 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade. It costs $480 a year. What you could not make: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to. Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026.