How Heartbeat and Thinkific compare
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.
Thinkific is a reliable place to build and sell learning. Courses, assessments, certificates, communities, memberships, and a branded mobile app option let a training business grow without moving platforms, and the site builder is good enough that many creators never need another. It is steady, well documented, and built around the student.
Where they are different
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.
Thinkific
- Thinkific pages exist to sell courses.
- Thinkific broadcasts to students and sends abandoned-cart email.
- Thinkific books coaching calendars on Start and up.
Choose Heartbeat when a small paid community with courses, calls, and member chat is the product.
Choose Thinkific when courses, assessments, and student communities are the business.
Compare features
What's on Heartbeat and Thinkific
A check means that capability is available. Heartbeat and Thinkific are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Custom domainHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Theme and fontsHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
Public content
- Showcase pagesHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Shop pagesHeartbeat: Not includedThinkific: Included
Audience and email
- AudienceHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Marketing emailsHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Campaign workflowsHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Not included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.Heartbeat: Not includedThinkific: Included
Team
- Admin usersHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- Per-admin permissionsHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
- AI AssistantHeartbeat: IncludedThinkific: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Heartbeat or Thinkific, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Heartbeat or Thinkific may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Heartbeat vs Thinkific pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Heartbeat
Current plans and prices
See what Heartbeat charges on their pricing page.
Thinkific
Current plans and prices
See what Thinkific charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Heartbeat and Thinkific
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 Heartbeat or Thinkific?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Heartbeat or Thinkific when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Heartbeat and Thinkific are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Heartbeat or Thinkific?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Heartbeat or Thinkific for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Heartbeat and Thinkific?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Heartbeat and Thinkific set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Heartbeat or Thinkific 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.