The Heartbeat Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Heartbeat in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Heartbeat
The Insider’s Guide
Paid community platform with courses, events and member payments
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among course and community platforms, read from Heartbeat’s own pages.
Made by Heartbeat Chat · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Heartbeat’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Heartbeat’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 15 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade
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.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Heartbeat, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Pulse AI sets up the space and channels from a description, but you're still building a community and its offers.
- 1
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.
- 2
Paid plans start at $40 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
- 3
You can try it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 6 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 15 of 18
That is against the other course and community platforms we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
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.
Heartbeat at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Heartbeat Chat
- Category
- Courses & Communities
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
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.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Graded 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 | C | No free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, enough to set up channels and a first course. |
| Features | B | Channels, 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 | C | No 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 | A | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
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 it 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
Good to know
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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$40
A month to start
Heartbeat is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
Graded against its alternatives, community platforms.
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.
Trying it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Read from heartbeat.chat on Oct 17, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on heartbeat.chat
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
6
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Paid community platform with courses, events and member payments. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, workflow automation, online courses, community.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Stripe
- Zapier
- Zoom
- Google Calendar
- Outlook Calendar
- Google Analytics
- Meta Pixel
- Google Tag Manager
Heartbeat is made by Heartbeat Chat.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
15/18
Other course and community platforms it is graded above
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
- CFree plan and trialAbove 3 of 18
- BFeaturesAbove 10 of 18
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 18
- 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; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Heartbeat is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
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.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Circle, Skool, Mighty Networks, Disco and Kajabi
The 5 tools Heartbeat is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.8GPA
Circle
Free trial · from $89/mo
Community platform with courses, events, payments and branded apps.
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Circle also covers email campaigns.
- 2.4GPA
Skool
Free trial · from $9/mo
Community platform with courses, events and paid memberships.
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Heartbeat also covers workflow automation.
- 2.4GPA
Mighty Networks
Free trial · from $79/mo
Community platform with courses, livestreams and paid memberships.
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- 2.0GPA
Disco
Free trial · from $399/mo
Branded learning academy for cohort courses, community and AI help.
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Heartbeat also covers workflow automation.
- Disco also covers surveys.
- 2.0GPA
Kajabi
Free trial · from $143/mo
All-in-one platform for selling courses, coaching and communities.
- Only Heartbeat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Heartbeat also covers workflow automation.
- Kajabi also covers marketing automation, email campaigns and paid newsletters.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Heartbeat’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. 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.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Heartbeat Chat. Prices change, so check heartbeat.chat before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
1,880
Tools graded, in 47 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
1,880
tools graded
47
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Heartbeat, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/heartbeat
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Heartbeat: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/heartbeat
Know someone choosing between course and community platforms?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/heartbeat/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded course and community platforms after Heartbeat, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Courses & Communities Insider's GuideEvery one of the 19 course and community platforms we grade, compared
- Circle Insider's GuideCommunity platform with courses, events, payments and branded apps2.8 GPA
- Simplero Insider's GuideAll-in-one platform for courses, community, email and coaching2.8 GPA
- systeme.io Insider's GuideAll-in-one marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and community2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Heartbeat’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Heartbeat is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Heartbeat Chat. Prices and plans change: check heartbeat.chat before you buy.