Alternative

The Best Heartbeat Alternative in 2026

Heartbeat is a capable community platform with events, courses, and automation. But transaction fees on every plan, a 350-member cap on entry, no gamification, and no email campaigns leave room for something better.

Why people look for Heartbeat alternatives

Transaction fees on every plan

Heartbeat charges 5% on Build, 2.5% on Grow, and 1.25% on Scale — all on top of Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30. A community earning $10,000/month loses $500–$790/month in combined fees on the Build plan.

350 member cap on the entry plan

Heartbeat's Build plan caps you at 350 members. Hit that ceiling and you jump from $49/month to $149/month on Grow. The Scale plan with unlimited members is $849/month.

No gamification

Heartbeat has no points, no badges, no streaks, no leaderboards. For a community platform, there are no native tools to drive engagement, reward participation, or create progression.

AI helps you, not your members

Heartbeat's Pulse AI assists with setup and troubleshooting the platform. It does not learn from your course content or answer member questions. It is a support tool, not a teaching tool.

No email campaign builder

Heartbeat sends event reminders and push notifications, but has no email campaign builder with templates, segmentation, or scheduling. You still need a separate email tool.

Automation limited on entry plan

The Build plan caps you at 5 automation workflows. For anything beyond basic member actions, you need the Grow plan at $149/month to unlock unlimited workflows.

Tenant.so vs Heartbeat: Feature comparison

Data sourced from Heartbeat's official pricing page as of April 2026.

FeatureTenant.soHeartbeat
Community SpacesFeeds, chat, forums, private spacesChat channels, discussions, 24/7 meeting rooms
Real-time ChatBuilt-in chat roomsChat channels
Online CoursesFull LMS — video, quizzes, certificates, drip contentCourses (self-paced or cohort), drip-feed, video hosting
Email MarketingIncluded — templates, segmentation, schedulingEvent reminders + push notifications (no campaign builder)
EventsRSVP, calendar sync, reminders, attendanceVirtual + in-person, ticketing, reminders
GamificationPoints, streaks, leagues, badges, leaderboards, 9 levelsNo native gamification
AI AssistantJarvis — RAG-powered, trained on your course contentPulse AI (setup + troubleshooting, not content-trained)
Automation14 triggers with conditional logicWorkflows (5 on Build, unlimited on Grow+)
Transaction Fees0%5% (Build) · 2.5% (Grow) · 1.25% (Scale) + Stripe fees
Member LimitsUnlimited350 (Build) · 5,000 (Grow) · Unlimited (Scale at $849/mo)
Access ControlPublic/private spaces, group-level permissions, paywalled contentAccess controls on documents and events
CustomizationThemes, wrappers, custom reactions, upvoting subsystemsBranding + custom domain
White LabelFrom day oneBranded app on your domain
Affiliate ProgramBuilt-inBuilt-in with automated commission tracking
Member MatchmakingNoAutomated matching based on interests
Analytics & ReportingGA4, Google Search Console, Chart.js throughoutMember analytics
Custom DashboardsLiveboards with custom widgetsNo
Migration / ImportCSV and JSON import for members, courses, contentLimited import options
Financial Calculators60+ built-inNo
License Key SystemBuilt-in generation + managementNo

What Tenant.so does that Heartbeat does not

Zero transaction fees

Every dollar your members pay goes to you. Heartbeat charges 1.25–5% on top of Stripe fees. A community earning $10K/month on the Build plan loses nearly $800/month in combined fees.

Full gamification engine

Points, streaks, leagues, badges, leaderboards, and a 9-level progression system. Heartbeat has no native gamification tools. Engagement is left entirely to content quality.

AI trained on your content

Jarvis learns from your course material and answers student questions automatically. Heartbeat's Pulse AI helps with platform setup — it does not interact with your content.

Built-in email campaigns

Full email campaign builder with templates, segmentation, and scheduling. Heartbeat sends reminders and notifications, but has no email marketing tools.

Unlimited members from day one

No 350-member cap, no 5,000-member ceiling. Grow without being forced into higher tiers.

60+ financial calculators

BRRRR analysis, mortgage calculators, net worth trackers, debt payoff tools. Built in for finance, real estate, and business communities.

License key system

Sell software, plugins, or digital products with built-in license key generation and management. Heartbeat does not support this.

Where Heartbeat still wins

We believe in honest comparisons. Here is where Heartbeat has an edge.

Member matchmaking

Heartbeat automatically matches members based on shared interests. A unique feature for networking-focused communities that Tenant.so does not currently offer.

24/7 meeting rooms

Always-on virtual rooms where members can drop in for conversations anytime. A strong feature for communities built around real-time connection.

Event ticketing

Heartbeat has flexible ticketing with pricing options for both virtual and in-person events. A polished events experience for community-led conferences and workshops.

Who should switch to Tenant.so?

Creators who want deep customization

Themes, wrappers, liveboards, custom reactions, upvoting subsystems, granular gamification. Tenant.so gives you customization that goes far beyond branding.

Communities that need engagement tools

Points, streaks, leagues, badges, leaderboards, and a 9-level progression system. Heartbeat has none of this. If engagement drives your business, Tenant.so has the tools.

Communities generating revenue

0% transaction fees vs Heartbeat's 1.25–5% + Stripe fees. The more you earn, the more Heartbeat costs you. Tenant.so scales without taking a cut.

Growing communities hitting member caps

Unlimited members from day one. No 350-member ceiling, no forced upgrade to $149/month, no $849/month for unlimited.

Finance and business communities

60+ built-in financial calculators make Tenant.so a natural fit for communities focused on investing, real estate, or entrepreneurship.

Creators who want AI that teaches

Heartbeat's AI helps configure the platform. Tenant.so's Jarvis answers student questions from your actual course content. Setup tool vs. teaching tool.

Ready to switch from Heartbeat?

Request early access and build your community with gamification, AI, email campaigns, and unlimited members — at 0% transaction fees.

Already on another platform? Send us your export file and we will build a custom import function for your data. No one gets left behind.

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“We were paying for Circle at $129/month, ConvertKit at $79/month, Zapier at $49/month, and a separate course host. That is over $3,000 a year before transaction fees. When Circle announced another price increase and started charging extra for media storage, we decided to build the platform we actually wanted. Tenant.so is what happens when you stop stitching tools together and build the whole thing from scratch.”

Jameson Brandon

Founder & Lead Developer, Terminal Blank