Comparison

Heylo | Build community groups vs Sociate

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Heylo | Build community groups

This platform helps community group leaders organize events, manage member communication, and collect payments. It provides a branded space for groups to foster engagement and streamline operations, making it easier to build a thriving community.

Highlights
  • Event organization and broadcasting
  • Dedicated event and topic chats
  • Customizable event registration
  • Flexible payment collection
  • Branded group spaces
  • Member screening and privacy controls
Features
Read full description

Heylo is the platform for community groups. Heylo gives leaders the tools to be more organized with events, chats, and payments in your own branded group space. Whether you’re leading a running group, book club, pickleball team, or parent organization, Heylo gives you the tools to build a thriving community and meaningful group experiences. The result? Happier members and a stronger, more engaged community. WITH HEYLO, YOU CAN… ORGANIZE EVENTS Create events and broadcast all the details by push notification and email Keep everyone connected with dedicated event group chats Customize event registration, set caps, offer early access, and invite guests Control event visibility—keep some events private for members, while showcasing others to the public. Track attendance and celebrate participation with event milestones STREAMLINE COMMUNICATION Create chats for members by topic and for events Add icebreakers and introductions No more juggling DMs or emails—everything your members need is in one place Pinned chat for leaders to reach everyone with integrated push notifications and emails COLLECT PAYMENTS AND WAIVERS Skip the awkward conversations and simplify member contributions. Flexible recurring membership options, from monthly to scholarship Add a price to an event and collect payments in advance Showcase sponsors and partners with discounts behind a membership paywall Protect yourself by collecting waivers BRAND YOUR SPACE Customize your group’s page with your group’s colors, logo, and a custom URL you can share on your socials. Add custom links to share essential information. There’s no limit to the number of links you can add, and you control the visibility. Your group page automatically displays all your upcoming events and group information, keeping your page fresh and up-to-date without any extra effort. HAPPIER MEMBERS Members can choose how they stay connected via the web, app, or email. They manage their memberships, profiles, connections, and payment information by themselves. PLUS HEYLO IS… FREE TO USE No paywall to get started, no usage limits, and no ads. Heylo makes money by collecting a small percentage when you collect payments. A SAFE SPACE Make your entire group private, host private events accessible only to selected members of your group, and screen new members before allowing them to join. Collect private member information securely, whether you're hosting brunches and need to know dietary restrictions, or signing up for running races with age and gender requirements. Remove or delete anything in your group, including messages, members, or events. You have control. Export your member info anytime. WHAT GROUP LEADERS SAY “In our first year on Heylo, paid members increased 3x to over 600. We had to set a cap. I can’t believe how seamless Heylo is.” - Steve Finley, Brooklyn Track Club “Super user-friendly. There are even some older players—in their 70s—who use Heylo without issue. Heylo has made a tremendous impact on how much the group plays—a great thing for everyone.” - Mike Smith, Ragle Beach Volleyball “Collecting payment in advance of our classes brought our no-show rate down from 50% to zero.” - Romain, San Francisco Beach Volleyball

About

Sociate

Connect with the Global MBA Community to share insights, discover opportunities, and find jobs. Engage in forums, network with alumni in your target industry, and post job openings to a niche audience.

Highlights
  • MBA Community Forums
  • Alumni Networking
  • Job Board
  • Event Promotion
  • Targeted Audience Visibility
Features
Read full description

With Sociate App, you can tap into the collective knowledge, insights and opportunities of the Global MBA Community in the following ways: Forums: A perfect place to promote your upcoming MBA Conference, your new startup product or ask fellow MBAs for input on a new survey Members: The easiest way to find MBA Alums working in your target industry, screen candidates for a new role or simply bookmark alums and peers for future messaging Jobs: The best place to promote that new role in your team with the niche US MBA Community; With Forums and Jobs, MBA alumni and students have the flexibility to make their postings, events or jobs visible to 'All Schools' or Specific MBA Programs.

Screenshots

Heylo | Build community groups4 screens
Sociate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Sociate at free against Heylo | Build community groups's free with in-app purchases. Heylo | Build community groups's advantage is ratings volume (6.2K vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Heylo | Build community groups against 5.0 for Sociate. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heylo | Build community groups has 6.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Heylo | Build community groups ships an update fortnightly, Sociate every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Heylo | Build community groups versus Sociate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeylo | Build community groupsSociate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (6.2K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings6.2K — better2
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB44 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperPiccup, Inc.Sociate Inc

Customer experience

Heylo | Build community groups

All ratings6,192 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative20.7%

Sociate

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Heylo | Build community groups

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Slow media loading in chat
  • Issues with phone number entry
  • Inconsistent app behavior

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add search function within chat threads
  • Integrate with Google Calendar
  • Allow photo zooming without downloading
  • Add Apple login option

Sociate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Heylo | Build community groups

No in-app purchases

None

Sociate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Heylo | Build community groups free?
Heylo | Build community groups is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sociate free?
Sociate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Heylo | Build community groups or Sociate?
Sociate is rated higher. Heylo | Build community groups averages 4.9 out of 5 from 6.2K ratings, while Sociate averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Heylo | Build community groups or Sociate have ads?
Neither Heylo | Build community groups nor Sociate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Heylo | Build community groups or Sociate?
Heylo | Build community groups ships an update fortnightly, and Sociate every 2 weeks. Most recently, Heylo | Build community groups was updated on September 26, 2026 and Sociate on September 8, 2026.

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