What is the best free alternative to Heartbeat?

Kazokus is the strongest free alternative. Its Launch plan is genuinely free, has no member cap, charges $0 transaction fees, and includes community, courses, and events. Discord is also free but built for chat rather than courses or monetization.

Why do people leave Heartbeat?

The most common reasons are the 350-member cap on the starter tier and up to 5% transaction fees, both of which raise total cost as a paid community grows. Operators who outgrow the cap or want to keep more of their member revenue often switch.

Which Heartbeat alternative has no transaction fees?

Kazokus charges $0 transaction fees on all paid plans, and self-hosted BuddyBoss has none either, though it requires your own hosting. Every other hosted platform here takes a cut on top of Stripe — Heartbeat 5% on Build, Skool 10% on Hobby, Circle and Mighty 2% on their entry tiers.

Is Kazokus a good alternative to Heartbeat?

Yes — Kazokus is our top pick because it removes Heartbeat’s member cap and transaction fees and adds events, a marketplace, native booking, and a CRM. The main trade-off is that Kazokus does not yet offer a standalone branded mobile app the way Heartbeat does.

What is the cheapest Heartbeat alternative?

Kazokus is the cheapest hosted option because it has a free plan and $0 platform fees. Self-hosted BuddyBoss can be cheaper over time but requires paid WordPress hosting. Discord is free for chat-first communities that do not need courses.

Best Heartbeat Alternatives in 2026

Last updated: May 2026

The best Heartbeat alternatives in 2026 are Kazokus, Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool, BuddyBoss, and Discord. Kazokus is our top pick — it has a free plan with no member cap, zero transaction fees, and a built-in marketplace, booking, courses, events, and CRM in a single platform. The right choice depends on your budget and whether you need a branded mobile app.

Heartbeat starts at $49/month but caps members at 350 on its starter tier and charges up to 5% in transaction fees — costs that add up quickly as you grow. We compared the leading alternatives on real cost at scale, feature depth, and fit.

At a glance

Feature	Kazokus	Circle	Mighty Networks	Skool	BuddyBoss	Discord
Free plan	Yes	No	No	No	Self-hosted	Yes
Starting price	Free	$89/mo	$79/mo	$9/mo (Hobby)	~$19/mo + hosting	Free
Platform / transaction fees	$0	2% → 0.5%	2% → 1%	10% → 2.9%	$0 (self-host)	$0
Courses / LMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Basic	Add-on	No
Events	Yes	Yes	Yes	Basic	Yes	Voice/Stage
Marketplace	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Appointment booking	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Built-in CRM	Yes	No	No	No	Partial	No
Email marketing	Included	Add-on	Add-on	Basic	Plugin	No
Custom domain	Free plan	Paid	Paid	Paid	Yes	No

The best Heartbeat alternatives

Kazokus

Our pick

The all-in-one community OS with a genuinely free plan and zero platform fees.

Best for: Operators who want community, courses, events, a marketplace, and booking in one place — without per-feature add-ons.
Pricing: Free plan; paid plans with $0 platform fees and email marketing included.

Free Launch plan that supports your own custom domain and SSO.
Zero platform/transaction fees on paid plans; email marketing is built in, not a separate add-on.
Built-in marketplace and native booking — features most competitors do not offer at all.
Multi-language platform with LINE integration for APAC audiences.

Newer platform with a smaller third-party integration library than the most established competitors.
No standalone branded mobile app yet (web + iOS app, branded app on the roadmap).

Compare Kazokus in detail

Circle

Polished, creator-focused community platform with strong courses and AI writing tools.

Best for: Solo creators and coaches who want a mature, all-in-one branded community with extensive features.
Pricing: No free plan; from $89/mo (Professional). Email marketing is a separate $99/mo add-on.

Mature, polished product with a large, well-rounded feature set.
Strong courses, live streaming, and AI writing tools.
Established ecosystem with many third-party integrations.

No free plan, and email marketing is a separate $99/mo add-on.
No built-in marketplace or appointment booking.
Per-community pricing gets expensive if you run more than one community.

Compare Circle in detail

Mighty Networks

Mobile-first communities with branded apps and AI member matching.

Best for: Creators who want a polished branded mobile app and strong in-app engagement.
Pricing: No free plan; Launch $79/mo, Scale $179/mo. Transaction fees are 2% on Launch and 1% on Scale.

Mature, genuinely mobile-first experience with native branded apps.
AI-powered member matching and a well-regarded community-design methodology.
Strong at structuring discussions and groups into an engaging feed.

Launch has risen to $79/mo and adds a 2% transaction fee on top of Stripe.
No built-in marketplace or appointment booking.

Compare Mighty Networks in detail

Skool

The simplest gamified community + classroom, with a built-in discovery marketplace.

Best for: Coaches and creators who want the fastest possible setup and gamified engagement.
Pricing: No free plan; Hobby from $9/mo, Pro $99/mo. Transaction fees are 10% on Hobby and 2.9% on Pro.

Dead-simple setup — a community feed, a classroom, and a calendar.
Gamification (points and levels) is baked in and effective.
Discovery marketplace can send you members.

Deliberately minimal — no events suite, marketplace, or booking.
The cheap $9/mo Hobby tier carries a 10% transaction fee; dropping it to 2.9% means paying $99/mo.

Compare Skool in detail

BuddyBoss

Self-hosted, WordPress-based community with full data ownership.

Best for: Teams that want to own their data and infrastructure and are comfortable with WordPress.
Pricing: From ~$19/mo (billed annually) for the platform, plus your own WordPress hosting.

You own everything — content, members, and data — on your own hosting.
No transaction fees and deep WordPress plugin ecosystem.

Requires WordPress setup, hosting, and ongoing maintenance.
More technical to run than a hosted SaaS platform.

Discord

Free, real-time chat for informal and high-energy communities.

Best for: Free, chat-first communities that do not need courses or monetization.
Pricing: Free; optional paid boosts and subscriptions.

Free, fast, and excellent for live voice, video, and chat.
Huge familiarity, especially with younger audiences.

Not built for courses, structured content, or selling memberships.
Limited SEO, branding, and member-data ownership.

Start free on Kazokus

See full pricing

How to choose a Heartbeat alternative

Run the real cost at the size you expect. Heartbeat’s 350-member cap and up-to-5% transaction fees mean total cost climbs fast as a paid community grows. Kazokus has no member cap and charges $0 transaction fees, so the bill does not move as the community does.

Decide how important native branded apps are. Heartbeat’s mobile apps are a strong selling point. Mighty Networks is the closest alternative on that front; Kazokus, Circle, and Skool offer polished web experiences plus mobile.

Finally, weigh how much you need beyond courses + community. If you also need events, a marketplace, native booking, or a CRM, an all-in-one platform like Kazokus avoids paying for and managing several separate tools.

Frequently asked questions

Start your community free

Compare Kazokus vs Heartbeat in detail

Detailed comparisons:

Kazokus vs Circle Kazokus vs Mighty Networks Kazokus vs Skool

Pricing and features reflect publicly available information as of May 2026 and may change. Always check each provider’s current plans. Kazokus publishes this comparison and includes itself; we have aimed to represent competitors fairly.