The operating system for community groups that actually meet in person.

Heylo is a platform that gives community group leaders everything they need to run a thriving in-person group — events, group chats, payments, waivers, and a branded group page — all in one place. Whether it's a running club, pickleball league, book club, or parent org, Heylo replaces the patchwork of GroupMe, Venmo, Google Forms, and email chains with a single app. Members join a group, RSVP to events, pay dues, and chat — all without the leader juggling five different tools.

How it works

A group leader creates a branded group page on Heylo with their logo, colors, and a custom URL. They post events with all the details — location, time, registration caps, guest policies — and members get notified by push notification and email. Members RSVP, pay if there's a fee, and join event-specific group chats to coordinate. The leader can collect recurring membership dues, require waivers, screen new members before letting them in, and track attendance over time. Members manage everything from the app or web — no separate payment apps, no email threads, no spreadsheets.

Who it's for

Leaders of in-person community groups — running clubs, volleyball leagues, book clubs, parent orgs, social clubs — who are tired of duct-taping together five different tools. Members who want one place to find events, RSVP, pay, and chat with their group. Anyone starting a new community group and wanting professional-grade infrastructure from day one without paying for it.

What works

Replaces GroupMe, Venmo, Google Forms, and email chains with a single platform. Completely free to use with no paywall or usage limits — Heylo only takes a cut of payments. Branded group pages with custom URLs look professional and are easy to share. Built-in payment collection, waivers, and member screening solve real operational headaches. Works on iOS, Android, and web so nobody is left out.

What doesn't

Not a friend-matching app — you need to already know about a group or start your own. Discovery of groups is limited; there's no curated marketplace of communities to browse. The platform's value scales with group size — solo users won't get much from it. Heylo's transaction fee on payments may not work for groups with tight budgets.

Søren's Take

Heylo isn't a friendship app in the traditional sense — it's the infrastructure that makes community groups actually work. If you're running a running club and juggling Venmo requests, GroupMe threads, and Google Form RSVPs, Heylo consolidates all of that into one clean platform. The fact that it's free (they only take a cut when money changes hands) is a huge deal for volunteer-run groups. The limitation is discovery: Heylo doesn't help you find a group, it helps groups run better. If you're a group leader, this is a no-brainer. If you're looking for friends, you'll need to find the group first — but once you do, Heylo makes the experience seamless.