Fora vs Heartbeat
Fora
fora.so
Heartbeat
heartbeat.chatSide by side
| Figure | Fora | Heartbeat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 14 |
| Spec score · Learning Community Platforms | 8.4 (#5) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Spec score · Online Community Platforms | 8.4 (#13) | 8.7 (#9) |
| Spec score · Community Platforms | 8.1 (#55) | 8.9 (#11) |
| Custom domain | Custom domains are included with Pro and are presented as a way to remove Fora branding from the member experience. | Custom domain is included on every plan. |
| Event hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Integrations | The official comparison mentions no named third-party integrations and says payment connections use the creator’s own stack. | Integrations include Zapier, Zoom, Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, Slack, Circle, and Peerboard imports. |
| Member limit | 5000 | 350 |
| Mobile apps | none | Heartbeat includes iOS and Android apps. |
Plans
Heartbeat
- Build$49 a month
- Build$490 a year
- Grow$149 a month
- Grow$1,490 a year
- Scale$849 a month
- Scale$9,200 a year
- Native video hosting add-on$19 a month
- Build annual$40 a month
- Build monthly$49 a month
- Grow annual$124 a month
In their own words
Fora
Fora is a web-based white-label community platform for creators, educators, and coaches. It combines discussions, courses, events, and a member directory in one branded space. Communities can use a Fora subdomain or a custom domain owned by the creator. Course material can be arranged into chapters and lessons, while a leaderboard ranks members by posts, completions, and activity. Fora supports event hosting and lists a 5,000-member limit, with Starter and Pro plans shown for 200 and 5,000 members respectively. The FAQ says most communities can launch in under 20 minutes without code or infrastructure setup. Fora is in beta and free, with no credit card or trial period. Starter and Pro are each listed at free, billed monthly; Enterprise lists unlimited members but no price. There are no mobile apps. Fora says it does not sell personal information, though it may share data with service and analytics providers. Beta terms do not guarantee uptime or service availability.
Heartbeat
Heartbeat is a paid platform for running online communities, with Android and iOS apps. Its 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 costs $49 a month billed monthly; Grow costs $149 a month billed monthly; Scale costs $849 a month billed monthly. Build includes five automation workflows and one custom landing page. Grow includes unlimited automation workflows and 50 hours of native video hosting. Scale includes 50 custom landing pages, 200 hours of native video hosting and a white-label branded mobile app. Native video hosting is also available as a $19 a month add-on for 50 hours of storage. Integrations include Zapier, Zoom, Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, Slack, Circle and Peerboard imports. The 14-day trial does not become a continuing free plan: communities are deactivated if they are not upgraded afterward, and inactive communities are automatically deleted after 30 days.