Comparison

Pocket Beacon vs Heartforge

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Beacon

Unlock exclusive content and benefits for fans of a popular web series. Enjoy ad-free viewing, early access to events, merchandise discounts, and bonus episodes. Support independent creator-owned media.

Highlights
  • Ad-free access to video and podcast library
  • Exclusive pre-sales for live events
  • Invitation to a private Discord server
  • Persistent merchandise discount
  • Bonus content (Cooldown, Fireside Chats)
  • Same-day podcast releases
Features
Read full description

Beacon is a special membership program that offers unparalleled and ad-free access to Critical Role and its vast video and podcast library, exclusive pre-sales for live events, invitation to a private Discord server, and a persistent discount on merchandise throughout all international online shops! By becoming a Beacon member, you’ll unlock special bonus content like Critical Role Cooldown and Fireside Chats, same-day Critical Role podcast releases alongside the VODs, and more, all while directly supporting creator-owned independent media.

About

Heartforge

This app is a digital assistant for the Daggerheart tabletop role-playing game, offering tools for both game masters and players. It facilitates character sheet management, campaign building, encounter tracking, and provides a searchable compendium of game content. Features include offline functionality, soundscapes, and guided leveling up.

Highlights
  • Character sheet management
  • Campaign building tools
  • Combat encounter tracker
  • Searchable compendium
  • Offline functionality
  • Soundscape integration
  • Guided character leveling
Features
Read full description

Forge your next adventure. Heartforge is a powerful, tactile Daggerheart-compatible assistant for both game masters and players. Whether you’re building a campaign, running a tense encounter, or managing your character sheet, Heartforge brings your table together on iPad or iPhone. It’s designed to be fast, visual, and easy to use. For Game Masters • Adventures: Build, organize, and run your worlds with characters, loot, encounters, and locations. Link content with notes, @-mentions, and embedded statblocks. Invite your players to join to sync character stats and homebrew content. • Encounters: Track combat with tools built for Daggerheart. Manage Hit Points, Stress, and Fear with quick taps. Add adversaries directly from the environment your players are exploring. • Compendium: A searchable library of creatures, loot, equipment, and environments, now with Daggerheart SRD 2.0. Create your own, import content, and drop items into adventures or encounters with a tap. • Embed music and sounds in statblocks, encounters, and your prep notes for instant atmospheres at the tabletop. • Enjoy regular new creatures and environments, each with a One Page Adventure that works as a one-shot or a drop-in for ongoing campaigns. • Handy utilities like a dice calculator and Fear tracker. • Fully customizable Home view that works as your rules reference or a custom GM screen. For Players • Character Sheets: Track your abilities, Hope, Feats, equipment, and advancements in a clean, touch-friendly layout. • Join your GM’s adventure: Enter a join code to link your character to the adventure. Your GM can bring it into encounters and track its status, while its details and stats stay yours. • Level Up: Follow a guided flow to apply new traits and improvements without digging through reference material. • Companions & Beastforms: Manage companion stats and transformations right from your sheet. • Offline Ready: Everything works with or without an internet connection. Heartforge content is written by people, not AI, and the app is illustrated by real artists. Unlock the full Heartforge experience with a monthly or yearly subscription, granting access to all features and content drops. Why people love it • Supports user-generated content, free of charge • Scales from quick one-shots to sprawling campaigns • Tactile, approachable interface for both GMs and players • Built for Daggerheart from the ground up • Works offline Heartforge is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Darrington Press. Terms of use: https://www.heartforge.app/terms-of-use/ Privacy policy: https://www.heartforge.app/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Pocket Beacon4 screens
Heartforge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Heartforge at 100% against Pocket Beacon's 28%. Heartforge also leads on rating (3.8 vs 3.3). Pocket Beacon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (366 vs 8). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Heartforge sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Pocket Beacon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Heartforge holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Beacon has 366 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Pocket Beacon's written reviews are positive against 100% of Heartforge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Beacon ships an update fortnightly, Heartforge every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pocket Beacon versus Heartforge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket BeaconHeartforge
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (366 ratings)3.8 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings366 — better8
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB203 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCritical Role Productions, LLCLauri Kieksi

Customer experience

Pocket Beacon

All ratings362 ratings
Positive47.2%
Neutral19.3%
Negative33.4%
Written reviews278 reviews
Positive27.7%
Neutral28.4%
Negative43.9%

Heartforge

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pocket Beacon

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Videos starting from the beginning
  • Freezing when switching to audio mode
  • Inconsistent behavior when locking screen

Requested features

4 requests
  • Picture-in-picture mode
  • Offline video downloads
  • Customizable playback controls
  • Apple TV app support

Heartforge

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Pocket Beacon

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Heartforge

Subscriptions2
  • Heartforge Premium (Monthly)$2.991 Month
  • Heartforge Premium Yearly$22.991 Year
One-time1
  • Heartforge Premium Lifetime$38.99

Questions

Is Pocket Beacon free?
Pocket Beacon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Heartforge free?
Heartforge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Beacon or Heartforge?
Heartforge is rated higher. Pocket Beacon averages 3.3 out of 5 from 366 ratings, while Heartforge averages 3.8 from 8 ratings.
Do Pocket Beacon or Heartforge have ads?
Neither Pocket Beacon nor Heartforge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Beacon or Heartforge?
Pocket Beacon ships an update fortnightly, and Heartforge every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pocket Beacon was updated on October 30, 2026 and Heartforge on October 24, 2026.

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