Heartbeat Chat vs OpenWater Group
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heartbeat Chat
Build and manage your online communities with a versatile platform. Engage members through chat, voice, and video, and create a knowledge base for lasting discussions. Integrate with other tools to automate actions and track growth.
- Customizable channels for chat and posts
- Voice rooms for real-time conversations
- Presence indicators for a shared room feel
- Knowledge base creation from discussions
- Integration with Zoom, Google Calendar, Salesforce, etc.
- Automated community match-ups and intros
- Permission management and payment processing
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Heartbeat is the home for all your online communities. Create a space where you and your community can have fun through chats, threads, voice, and video. Heartbeat works great for online schools, accelerators, incubators, paid communities, innovations hubs, support groups, and so much more! Whether its a massive, established community, or you're just getting started, Heartbeat makes it easy to build lasting, genuine relationships. LAUNCH AN INVITE-ONLY COMMUNITY SPACE: - Customize channels to use posts or chats and design a space just for you and your community to have deep discussions about how the world is changing or just to share the best restaurants in Atlanta. - Voice rooms help you take your conversations to the next level — jump into a voice room with 1 click - Presence indicators floating around the app show you where other people are, and make it feel like you're in the same room CREATE A LASTING LIBRARY OF KNOWLEDGE - Turn insightful posts into long-lasting knowledge base articles & grow your community off the great conversations that happen - Organize information vital to your community members & create a space they can always reference for the best information - Manage access through powerful permissioning tools native to Hearbeat SCALE YOUR COMMUNITY LIKE A BOSS - Use deep integrations with Zoom, Google Calendar, Salesforce, Hubspot, Airtable, and more to automate community actions & track deep analytics over time to see how your community is growing - Automate in-community match-ups and conversations through customizable, weekly Heartbeat intros - Create moderators, special access permissions, manage payments, oversee projects & more within your customizable community space
OpenWater Group
This platform connects accomplished professionals to foster new opportunities and build a strong community. Members can expand their networks, learn from peers, and access exclusive benefits like events and courses.
- Exclusive professional community
- Expanded peer networks
- In-person networking events
- Professional development courses
- Virtual events and webinars
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OpenWater is a members-only platform that builds a community of accomplished professionals with decades of experience to drive fresh professional opportunities. OpenWater’s Wisdom Network is a roster of diverse professionals from across industries. Members connect with one another to expand their networks, learn from each other and even launch their own ideas. OpenWater members enjoy exclusive benefits, including: •Expanded professional networks with true peers •In-person networking events •Professional development courses •A full calendar of virtual events and webinars OpenWater is where wisdom meets opportunity.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: OpenWater Group at 4.9 against Heartbeat Chat's 4.0. Heartbeat Chat's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
OpenWater Group holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 137 and 57 respectively.
Heartbeat Chat ships an update every 5 weeks, OpenWater Group every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heartbeat Chat | OpenWater Group |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (137 ratings) | 4.9 (57 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 137 — better | 57 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 78 MB | 91 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Heartbeat Chat, Inc | A3 Network, Inc. |
Customer experience
Heartbeat Chat
OpenWater Group
Bugs and requests
Heartbeat Chat
Reported bugs
40 issues- Audio playback stops when phone locks
- Users struggle with logging in
- App is not optimized for iPad, especially in landscape view
- Invasion of privacy concerns regarding photo access
- Notifications are inconsistent and important messages are missed
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- Auto-subscriptions and difficulty with cancellation
- App performance is non-existent, leading to slow loading and unresponsiveness
- Content overlaps
- Tiny frame on iPad, displaying a mobile view
- Forced photo upload during sign-up
- Email already in use error after providing email
- Courses are inaccessible
- Slow response from support
- App fails to update
- Unable to access community
- Unable to cancel subscription
- Charged without consent
- App not working on iPhone
- App freezes frequently
- White screen issues upon opening the app
- App does not function correctly
- Messages not sending when the send button is tapped
- App doesn't work on tablets
- Phantom notifications causing frustration
- App crashes frequently
- Jank and unstable performance
- App shows it has posted but it never publishes
- Notifications and Activity pages have major glitches and don't refresh
- Unable to pull down the Activity page to refresh
- App started messing up immediately, unable to access anything
- App asks for information, then shows an error that it cannot find the channel
- App loads but nothing is tappable or responsive
- App is constantly freezing
- App crashes after iOS update
- App shows communication but refuses to show what it is
- App shows a white screen and is unusable
- App shows a white screen and is garbage
- App shows it has posted but it never published the comment
- Notifications are funky and make zero sense
- App doesn't work correctly on iPhone
Requested features
17 requests- Allow audio to play while phone locks
- Improve iPad optimization, especially in landscape view
- Fix the app icon to not resemble a dating app
- Allow users to change their RSVP to an event after confirming
- Enable users to join public threads via the app
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- Improve image embedding, especially on mobile
- Reduce excessive white space
- Fix notification logic
- Improve image insertion functionality
- Add permalinks to the app
- Allow location changes within the app
- Fix phantom notifications
- Enable profile editing
- Fix the login process for users
- Make the app work on tablets
- Improve backend setup on mobile
- Allow deletion of communities on mobile
OpenWater Group
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heartbeat Chat
No in-app purchases
OpenWater Group
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Heartbeat Chat free?
Is OpenWater Group free?
Which has better reviews, Heartbeat Chat or OpenWater Group?
Do Heartbeat Chat or OpenWater Group have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heartbeat Chat or OpenWater Group?
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