Heylo | Build community groups vs LetsBuddyUp
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heylo | Build community groups
This platform empowers community group leaders to organize events, manage communications, and collect payments seamlessly. It offers tools for branded group spaces, event customization, and secure member management, fostering stronger, more engaged communities.
- Organize events with push notifications and email
- Streamline communication with topic and event chats
- Collect payments and waivers
- Brand your group space with custom logos and URLs
- Secure member information and control privacy
- Track attendance and manage memberships
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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
LetsBuddyUp
Easily find people to join your favorite activities. Coordinate schedules and connect with new or existing friends for sports, hobbies, and social meetups. Offers a free core experience with optional premium enhancements.
- Activity matching and scheduling
- Profile creation
- Discover activity partners
- Send and receive invites
- In-app chat and coordination
- Filters and sorting tools
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LetsBuddyUp is an activity planning + social app. • Bring your availability and activity matching into one place so you can coordinate plans at times that actually work, with filters and sorting tools to save you time. • Whether you're meeting someone new or finding time with your crew, LetsBuddyUp makes it happen • Buddyup for tennis, pickleball, rock climbing, hiking, gym workout, running, yoga, golf, cycling, volleyball, skiing, basketball, soccer, coffee, co-working, parenting, volunteering, and more! Great for: • Early birds, weekenders, lunch sessions, and night owls • Beginners breaking into a new activity • Regulars looking for consistent partners • Champs looking for challengers • Extroverts who love meeting people IRL • Introverts who want to skip the back-and-forth • Filling your week with activities • Staying active and social Free end-to-end! LetsBuddyUp's core experience is completely free with no ads: • Create your profile • Discover activity partners • Send and receive invites • Chat and coordinate • Schedule activities Premium offers enhancements and supports our mission to help people buddyup and get active! • Weekly: $1.99/week • Monthly: $4.99/month Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in iPhone Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://letsbuddyup.com/support Terms of Use: https://letsbuddyup.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Heylo | Build community groups at none against LetsBuddyUp's 2. Heylo | Build community groups also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (6.6K vs 3). On price, rating, update cadence and device support 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
Both are free to download. LetsBuddyUp sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Heylo | Build community groups asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Heylo | Build community groups against 5.0 for LetsBuddyUp. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heylo | Build community groups has 6.6K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Heylo | Build community groups ships an update fortnightly, LetsBuddyUp every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heylo | Build community groups | LetsBuddyUp |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (6.6K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6.6K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Piccup, Inc. | ICG Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Heylo | Build community groups
LetsBuddyUp
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
LetsBuddyUp
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heylo | Build community groups
No in-app purchases
LetsBuddyUp
- BuddyUp Premium$1.997 Days
- BuddyUp Premium$4.991 Month
Questions
Is Heylo | Build community groups free?
Is LetsBuddyUp free?
Which has better reviews, Heylo | Build community groups or LetsBuddyUp?
Do Heylo | Build community groups or LetsBuddyUp have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heylo | Build community groups or LetsBuddyUp?
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