Heylo vs Les Amis

Pricing

Both Heylo and Les Amis fall in the Free price range. Heylo: Free to use; Heylo takes a small percentage when groups collect payments. Les Amis: Free to join; optional credit purchases for premium experiences.

Format & matching

Both apps use groups of Varies, and Heylo relies on manual / self-select matching while Les Amis uses interest-based matching.

How they work

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.

Les Amis: Download the app and create a profile — all users go through a verification process to keep the community women-only. Browse upcoming events in your city, from pottery classes and wine tastings to outdoor hikes and dinner parties. RSVP to anything that catches your eye. You can also join interest-based groups to find women who share your hobbies and start chatting before you ever meet in person. Show up to the event, meet your new people, and follow up through private messaging in the app.

What to love

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.

Les Amis: Women-only space creates genuine comfort and safety. Curated offline events take the planning burden off you. Verified profiles mean less spam and more real people. Available across 12 cities in Europe and the US. Interest-based groups let you find your people before meeting IRL.

Reality check

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.

Les Amis: Women-only means you can't bring male friends or partners. Event availability varies heavily by city — Barcelona and Amsterdam have the most. Premium experiences cost extra credits on top of the free tier. Still relatively small community in newer cities like Austin and New York.

Søren's take

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.

On Les Amis: Les Amis nails something most friendship apps get wrong: it leads with real events, not endless chat threads. The women-only angle isn't just a filter — it fundamentally changes the vibe. Women show up more open, more relaxed, and more willing to actually exchange numbers. The European city coverage is strong (Barcelona and Amsterdam especially), though the US expansion is still early. If you're a woman in one of their cities and you're tired of trying to make friends through dating app side features, Les Amis is the real deal.