Heartbeat

Heartbeat is a paid platform for running online communities, with Android and iOS apps. Listed features include private spaces, event hosting, moderation tools, and custom domains. Plans vary by community size: Build supports up to 350 members, Grow up to 5,000, and Scale has unlimited members. Build includes five automation workflows and one custom landing page; Grow includes unlimited workflows and 50 hours of native video hosting. Scale includes 50 custom landing pages and 200 hours of native video hosting, along with a white-label branded mobile app.

Monthly prices are $49/mo for Build, $149/mo for Grow, and $849/mo for Scale. Annual billing saves 17% on Build and Grow, or 10% on Scale. A separate native video hosting add-on is $19/mo for 50 hours of storage. Integrations include Zapier, Zoom, Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, Slack, and Peerboard imports. A 14-day trial is available, but communities are deactivated if they are not upgraded afterward. Inactive communities are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Heartbeat offers community features across plans differentiated by member capacity and included tools. Review the trial end and inactivity policies before choosing a plan.

Heartbeat suits community operators who want private spaces, events, moderation, and mobile apps. Its plans cover communities from 350 members to unlimited membership.

Overview

Heartbeat is a paid platform for running online communities that combine discussion, courses, events and content. It suits organizers who want private spaces, moderation, a custom domain and mobile apps in one service. The main decision is whether your membership fits its tier limits and whether you can manage the consequences of an unconverted trial or prolonged inactivity.

Its 14-day trial lets prospective organizers evaluate the service before paying. Communities are deactivated when the trial ends without an upgrade, and inactive communities are automatically deleted after 30 days, so this is not a platform to leave unattended during a transition.

Key features

Community, learning and administration

Heartbeat brings together private spaces, event hosting, courses, channels, documents and landing pages. Build includes unlimited channels, courses, events, documents and landing pages, but limits automation to five workflows and provides one custom landing page. Grow removes the workflow ceiling and raises custom landing pages to 15; Scale provides 50. Those distinctions matter most to organizations using automated onboarding or multiple campaign pages.

Moderation tools and unlimited admins and moderators support distributed operations. However, staff accounts count toward the member allowance, reducing the usable capacity of Build and Grow for teams with many operators.

Video, integrations and apps

Secure in-platform video hosting is available. Grow includes 50 hours of native video, while Scale includes 200 hours. Build does not include a stated native-video allowance, although a separate 50-hour hosting add-on costs $19 a month. The integration set covers Zapier, Zoom, Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar and Slack, with imports from Circle and Peerboard, giving established communities practical ways to connect existing workflows.

Android and iOS apps extend access beyond the browser. Scale adds a white-label branded mobile app, a meaningful distinction for organizations that want their own app identity rather than a standard Heartbeat experience. The feature comparison also lists GDPR compliance. Email and chat support ranges from a two-business-day response to same-day response.

Pricing

Build costs $49 a month when billed monthly and supports up to 350 members. It includes unlimited channels, courses, events, documents and landing pages, five automation workflows and one custom landing page. Annual billing is $$490, equivalent to $40.00 per month, saving 17%; this is the sensible tier for a smaller community that does not need extensive automation or video storage.

Grow costs $149 a month monthly, supports up to 5,000 members, and includes unlimited automation workflows, 50 hours of native video hosting and 15 custom landing pages. Its annual price is $$1,490, or $124.00 per month, also a 17% saving. Choose it when a 350-member ceiling or five-workflow limit would quickly become an operational constraint.

Scale is custom-priced through a scheduled call. The published annual figure is $9,200.00, shown as $766.00 per month, with unlimited members, 50 custom landing pages and 200 hours of native video hosting. It is aimed at large communities and organizations requiring a branded mobile app, but the much higher commitment makes it difficult to justify for modest audiences. Annual billing saves 10% on Scale. All plans permit unlimited admins and moderators, counted within member limits. Refunds are handled case by case by support.

Platforms

Heartbeat provides Android and iOS mobile apps. A white-label branded app is included only with Scale, while lower tiers use the standard mobile-app offering.

Who it's for

Build fits a paid community of up to 350 members that needs structured spaces, events and learning content at a predictable entry price. Grow is better for expanding memberships, heavier automation and regular native video. Scale is for organizations with unlimited-member ambitions, substantial video needs or a requirement for a branded app. Groups seeking a no-cost starting point should look elsewhere because Heartbeat has no free plan.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Private spaces, moderation, events, courses and content tools are combined in one platform.
• Pros: Integrations with major calendars, Slack, Zapier and Zoom can reduce workflow fragmentation.
• Pros: Android and iOS apps are included, with a white-label app option at Scale.
• Cons: Build's 350-member cap and five automation workflows may force an early upgrade.
• Cons: Trial communities are deactivated after 14 days without upgrading, and inactive communities are deleted after 30 days.
• Cons: Scale requires a sales call and costs substantially more than the entry tiers.

Alternatives

For a free entry tier supporting up to 100 members and five spaces, consider HuddleSpot. GroupApp is another freemium option with a 100-member, three-channel free plan. Choose Daisie if its iOS and web focus and seven-day full-access trial fit your community. Learnify is oriented toward learning and offers Android, iOS and web access. Nas.com provides a yearly Pro option with up to 10,000 members. Circle is a paid alternative with broader platform coverage and a Professional plan at $89 a month on annual billing. Mateflow starts at $49 a month and emphasizes storage, AI queries and knowledge-base capacity. Mighty Networks starts at $79 a month for its Launch plan. For broader category browsing, see Learning Community Platforms, Social Networking Software, Online Community Platforms and Community Platforms.

Verdict

Heartbeat is a strong fit for organizers who want community, learning, events, moderation and mobile access together, with a clear path from 350 to 5,000 or unlimited members. Its principal reasons to look elsewhere are the lack of a free plan, strict inactivity handling and the cost of Scale; smaller or experimental communities may prefer a freemium service, while very large groups should budget carefully for the custom-priced top tier.