How Beacons and Heartbeat compare
Beacons is more than a link page. A link-in-bio, digital product store, email marketing, media kit, brand-deal invoicing, and AI tools give a creator a mini back office without leaving the app. For someone monetizing social attention with sponsors and downloads, it is a clever, generous bundle.
Heartbeat is a friendly place to start a paid community without a big budget. For $49 a month you get channels, threads, chat, voice rooms, DMs, unlimited courses and events, a custom domain, checkout pages, five automation workflows, and Pulse, an AI that actually sets up channels, offers, and pages for you. Grow adds unlimited workflows, DM rules, an affiliate program, and white-label email; Scale adds a branded app. For a founder with a small group who wants courses and calls next to the conversation, Heartbeat covers a lot for the price.
Where they are different
Beacons
- Beacons is a profile with tools.
- Beacons emails from its platform.
- Beacons sells downloads and links.
Heartbeat
- Heartbeat's landing page is the door to a private space.
- Heartbeat emails members through workflows and a weekly digest.
- Heartbeat's events sync to members' calendars.
- Heartbeat charges 5% to 1.25% on payments.
Choose Beacons when you are monetizing a social audience with sponsors, downloads, and a bio link.
Choose Heartbeat when a small paid community with courses, calls, and member chat is the product.
Compare features
What's on Beacons and Heartbeat
A check means that capability is available. Beacons and Heartbeat are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Custom domainBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Theme and fontsBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Brand kitBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
Public content
- Shop pagesBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
Audience and email
- AudienceBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Marketing emailsBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Campaign workflowsBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.Beacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
Team
- Admin usersBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Per-admin permissionsBeacons: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
- AI AssistantBeacons: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Beacons or Heartbeat, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Beacons or Heartbeat may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Beacons vs Heartbeat pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Beacons
Current plans and prices
See what Beacons charges on their pricing page.
Heartbeat
Current plans and prices
See what Heartbeat charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Beacons and Heartbeat
You don't pay until you publish.
Cardel provides a home for your craft. Share and sell your work, grow your audience, and bring your community together on a site of your own.
Common questions
Is Cardel an alternative to Beacons or Heartbeat?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Beacons or Heartbeat when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Beacons and Heartbeat are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Beacons or Heartbeat?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Beacons or Heartbeat for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Beacons and Heartbeat?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Beacons and Heartbeat set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Beacons or Heartbeat to Cardel?
Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.