Circle vs Heartbeat
Circle and Heartbeat are both community platforms tools aimed at creators and small businesses. Heartbeat costs less, from $49/mo versus $89/mo for Circle.
Circle
All-in-one community platform for creators and brands
Heartbeat
Community platform with chat, events and courses
| Pricing | Paid · $89 | Paid · $49 |
| Starting price | $89/mo | $49/mo |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Creators, Small businesses | Creators, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2020 | US · 2020 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Circle if
Creators and companies who want a premium, branded community with courses and payments.
- Polished, flexible community experience
- Courses, events and payments in one
- Strong for creators and B2B communities alike
Look elsewhere if: Budget communities (Skool, Discord) or knowledge-heavy forums (Discourse).
Choose Heartbeat if
Community builders wanting flexibility.
- Lightweight
- All-in-one
- Customizable
Look elsewhere if: Large enterprise communities.
Circle vs Heartbeat pricing
Circle
- Professional$89/moBilled annually; unlimited members, 3 admins, 2% transaction fee
- Business$199/moBilled annually; 5 admins, 1% transaction fee, workflows, API
- Scale$419/moBilled annually; 10 admins, 1% transaction fee, AI agents
- Circle PlusCustomBranded mobile apps, unlimited admins, 0.5% transaction fee
Heartbeat
- Build$49/mo$40/mo billed annually; 350 members, 5% transaction fee
- Grow$149/mo$124/mo billed annually; 5,000 members, 2.5% fee
- Scale$849/mo$766/mo billed annually; unlimited members, 1.25% fee
Circle · Key features
- Spaces for posts, chat, events and courses
- Live streams and video rooms
- Paid memberships, tiers and gated spaces
- Workflows for automation and member journeys
- Branded mobile apps (Plus)
- AI agent, analytics and API
Cons
- Price plus transaction fees
- Branded app is a significant add-on
- Search and threading can be weaker than forums
Heartbeat · Key features
- Threads and chat
- Events
- Courses
- Documents
- Payments
- Custom branding
Cons
- Smaller ecosystem
- Mobile maturing
- Fewer integrations
Circle vs Heartbeat: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Circle or Heartbeat?
Heartbeat starts at $49/mo and Circle at $89/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Circle and Heartbeat have a free plan?
Circle has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. Heartbeat has no free plan, a 14-day free trial.