Frnds of Frnds vs Heylo

Pricing

Both Frnds of Frnds and Heylo fall in the Free price range. Frnds of Frnds: Free to use. Heylo: Free to use; Heylo takes a small percentage when groups collect payments.

Format & matching

Frnds of Frnds uses groups of 1:1, compared to Heylo’s Varies, and both use manual / self-select matching.

How they work

Frnds of Frnds: Download the app and connect your contacts so it can map your social graph. Your friends — even ones in relationships — can create matchmaker profiles and recommend people they think you'd hit it off with. Every match you see is someone connected to your real social circle, not a random stranger. When both sides are interested, you match and can start chatting. The whole premise is 'don't talk to strangers' — your friends do the vetting for you.

Heylo: 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.

What to love

Frnds of Frnds: Every match is vetted through your actual friend network. Friends can play matchmaker, which makes the whole thing more fun. Completely free — no paywalls or premium tiers. The trust factor is real — you're not meeting total strangers. Founded by college students who clearly understand their demo.

Heylo: 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.

Reality check

Frnds of Frnds: Requires a minimum number of contacts to start matching — barrier to entry. iOS only, no Android app available. Very new and small user base — your area might be empty. If your friends aren't on it, the whole concept falls apart.

Heylo: 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

On Frnds of Frnds: Frnds of Frnds is solving a real problem: the best dates usually come from introductions, not algorithms. The mutual-friends concept is genuinely smart, and the fact that it's free is refreshing. But there's a chicken-and-egg problem — you need your friends on the app for it to work, and it requires a minimum number of contacts to even start. If you're a college student or in a city where it's catching on, it's worth trying. If you're the first person in your friend group to download it, you might be staring at an empty screen.

On Heylo: 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.