Hylo review (2026): is it any good?
Free open-source platform for community groups and coordination
Hylo report card
Very good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for a free community platform with mobile apps
Hylo is free for every group, with unlimited members, chat, events, projects, proposals and iOS and Android apps. Hylo Pro and Whitelabel are not out yet, and file attachments cap at 50 MB.
Who Hylo is for
- Fits if you run a mutual-aid or place-based group on a zero budget
- Works for groups that want chat, events and decisions in one place
Who Hylo is not for
- Skip it if you need an API or video streaming, as Hylo Pro is not out yet
- Watch out: attachments cap at 50 MB each
- Watch out: stewardship help costs extra, from $300 for a support call
- Skip it if you want branding, as Hylo Whitelabel is listed as coming soon
Why Hylo gets a 3.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyFree for every group with unlimited members and groups, and no paid plan is on sale yet.
- AFree plan and trialThe full platform is free with no member cap, and the 50 MB attachment limit is one a normal group will rarely hit.
- BFeaturesGroups, chat, events, projects, proposals, a member map and mobile apps. API access and video streaming are not available yet.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You set up groups, subgroups and decision rules.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb plus iOS and Android apps, but no desktop app and no integrations listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hylo's own pages on 13 November 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/hylo#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/hylo.svg" alt="Hylo: 3.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Hylo stands among course and community platforms
Hylo's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 98 of the 98 other course and community platforms we grade.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 98 of 98) and worst on ease of use (C, above 23).
Hylo has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 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 99 course and community platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hylo’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 94 of 98, level with 4
- AFree plan and trialAbove 98 of 98
- BFeaturesAbove 56 of 98, level with 42
- CEase of useAbove 23 of 98, level with 72
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 25 of 98, level with 72
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 78 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 Hylo, or make your own?
Keep it
Hylo is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 98 of the 98 other course and community platforms we grade.
What you could make
- Calendar: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
- A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Hylo’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 Hylo?
Hylo is a coordination platform for community groups, networks and place-based organizing. A group gets discussions, chat, events, requests and offers, projects, proposals and a member map in one place. The platform is free and open source under the MIT license, with paid hands-on support from the team.
Worth knowing
- File storage is limited, with a 50 MB maximum per attachment.
- Hylo Pro (an estimated $60 per group per month) and Hylo Whitelabel are listed as coming soon, so API access and video streaming are not yet available.
- Hands-on stewardship support is sold separately: $300 for a support call, $2,500 for onboarding, $100 per month for ongoing support.
Key features
- Groups and subgroups
- Nested and peer groups with unlimited members, plus a public commons for discovering other groups.
- Discussion and chat
- Threaded conversations with topics and tags, and real-time chat rooms inside any group.
- Requests, offers and projects
- Mutual-support requests and offers with completion tracking, and projects with tasks, roles and timelines.
- Proposals and decisions
- Polls, proposals and quorum for structured decisions, with shared agreements and roles.
- Events and map
- In-person and virtual events with RSVPs and calendar sync, and a member map for place-based groups.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps that the vendor describes as full-featured, with email, push, in-app and digest notifications.
Hylo pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hylo is free to use.
- Starts at
- Free
- Free plan
- The full platform is free for every group, with unlimited members and groups, and 50 MB maximum per attachment.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hylo | $0 | Free forever: groups and subgroups, chat, events, projects, proposals, map, member directory and mobile apps. |
Read from hylo.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hylo before you buy.
Hylo alternatives
- Hylo vs Loomio
Free trial · from $33/mo
- Hylo vs Discourse
Free plan · from $100/mo
- Hylo vs Bettermode
Free trial · from $149/mo
- Hylo vs Groups.io
Free plan · from $20/mo
- Hylo vs Circle
Free trial · from $89/mo
Common questions
Does Hylo have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Hylo is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Hylo have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Hylo is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Hylo open source?
Yes. Hylo is open source, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.