Circle vs Heartbeat Comparison 2026
Circle and Heartbeat both run community, courses and events from one login and take a transaction fee that falls as the plan rises. Heartbeat is cheaper to start, $49 a month against Circle's $89, but charges more per transaction at that tier: 5 percent against Circle's 2 percent, both on top of standard payment processing. Circle's top custom tier falls to 0.5 percent; Heartbeat's Scale plan at $849 a month falls to 1.25 percent. Heartbeat also deactivates a community that has not upgraded when its trial ends, and deletes it after 30 days of inactivity.
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
A community with courses and events built in
At a glance
- Heartbeat starts cheaper, at $49.
- Neither has a free tier.
- Only Heartbeat lets you take everything with you if you leave.
- Circle takes 2% of what you earn against Heartbeat's 5%.
Side by side
Circle | Heartbeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $89 | From $49 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| API | Yes |
Circle
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
Circle gives you spaces, events, courses and live streams under your own branding and domain. It is the more configurable answer to Skool, and the price reflects that. Worth it once a community is paying for itself.
Our note
The right answer when the community has to look like it belongs to you, and an expensive one before that is true. Against Skool it is more money and more control, which is the entire difference between them.
Heartbeat
A community with courses and events built in
Heartbeat runs channels, threads, events, courses and a member directory in one place, which is the shape most creator communities end up wanting after outgrowing a Discord server. Payments run through it and it takes a cut that falls as the plan rises. There is no free plan, and a community that stops paying is deactivated rather than frozen.
Our note
Work out the transaction fee at your own revenue before comparing headline prices: at $5,000 a month collected, Grow costs less in total than Build. Against Circle and Mighty Networks this is the one with courses and events genuinely built in rather than bolted on.
Why people weigh these two
- Heartbeat instead of Circle
- Heartbeat wraps community, courses and events into one space at $49 with a trial, undercutting Circle's $89 entry.
- Circle instead of Heartbeat
- Circle runs community software that looks like yours rather than the vendor's, with courses alongside, from $89 a month against Heartbeat's $49.
Which one should you pick
Choose Circle for the lower transaction fee at a comparable stage: 2 percent on the $89 Professional plan against Heartbeat's 5 percent on its cheapest tier. That difference compounds with revenue, so a community collecting real money keeps more of it on Circle even though the subscription itself costs more.
Choose Heartbeat for the lower entry price while a community is small, $49 a month against Circle's $89, accepting the higher 5 percent cut until revenue justifies Grow at $149 for 2.5 percent. Know the deactivation policy before importing a member list: a community that has not upgraded when the 14-day trial ends is deactivated, and deleted after 30 days of inactivity.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper to start?
- Heartbeat is, at $49 a month against Circle's $89. Heartbeat's transaction fee is higher at that tier though, 5 percent against Circle's 2 percent, both on top of standard payment processing.
- Which one has the lower transaction fee at the top tier?
- Circle does: its custom top plan falls to 0.5 percent. Heartbeat's highest published tier, Scale at $849 a month, falls to 1.25 percent.
- What happens to a Heartbeat community that does not upgrade after the trial?
- It is deactivated, and deleted after 30 days of inactivity, according to its listing. Circle's listing does not describe an equivalent deactivation policy after its 14-day trial ends.
- Do both include courses and events in the base price?
- Yes. Circle includes lessons and a calendar alongside the discussion, and Heartbeat includes courses and scheduled events with a calendar as well, both without a separate subscription for either feature.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.