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Communication · head to head

Disciple vs LINE WORKS

Disciple logo

Disciple

Communication

White-label community apps published under your own brand on iOS, Android and web

From
£599/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LINE WORKS logo

LINE WORKS

Communication

Business chat built on the LINE interface, aimed at Japanese firms whose staff and customers already use LINE

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LINE WORKS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Disciple the entry plan starts at £599 a month, so a community with a few hundred members pays more per head than almost any percentage-fee alternative, and the flat fee only wins above a revenue threshold you should calculate before signing.; LINE WORKS the external LINE bridge, which is the main reason to choose it, only matters where LINE has consumer penetration, so buyers outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand are paying for a feature they cannot use.
  • They diverge on capability: Disciple covers Native branded apps, LINE WORKS covers External LINE messaging.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Disciple and LINE WORKS actually diverge.

Attributes where Disciple and LINE WORKS differ
AttributeDiscipleLINE WORKS
Starting price£599/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month, flat fee with no transaction chargePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Disciple

  • Native branded apps
  • Web community
  • Groups and feeds
  • Courses
  • Live streaming and video
  • Subscriptions and payments
  • Multi-tier membership
  • Push notifications and analytics

Only in LINE WORKS

  • External LINE messaging
  • Chat and channels
  • Voice and video calls
  • Shared address book
  • Calendar and bulletin board
  • Drive
  • Business email
  • Admin controls

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Disciple

  • A membership body moving several thousand paying members off Facebook Groups into an app that carries its own name in the App Storenot LINE WORKS
  • A fitness or coaching business selling subscriptions where a percentage-based platform fee would cost more each month than a flat licencenot LINE WORKS
  • A sports club or faith organisation that wants push notifications to reach members directly rather than competing with a social feed algorithmnot LINE WORKS
  • A brand running a customer community that must live on its own domain and its own app listing for reasons of ownership or sponsorshipnot LINE WORKS

LINE WORKS

  • A Japanese retail or service chain whose customers expect to book and enquire over LINE rather than emailnot Disciple
  • A clinic, dealership or estate agency that needs customer conversations on LINE but under corporate retention and auditnot Disciple
  • A Japanese SME under 30 staff that wants managed business chat at no licence cost on the free tiernot Disciple
  • The Japanese subsidiary of a foreign group that needs a local tool for front-line staff alongside the group standardnot Disciple

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Disciple

  • The entry plan starts at £599 a month, so a community with a few hundred members pays more per head than almost any percentage-fee alternative, and the flat fee only wins above a revenue threshold you should calculate before signing.
  • Video is metered at 10,000 minutes on the entry plan and 20,000 on Pro, so a community that leans on live streaming will hit overage or a plan upgrade rather than the unlimited storage the marketing implies.
  • Owning your own App Store listing means owning App Store review, rejections and the annual developer account, and a policy change at Apple becomes your problem rather than the platform vendor's.
  • Apple and Google still take their cut of in-app purchases regardless of Disciple charging no transaction fee, so the zero percent claim applies to Disciple's share only and not to the total cost of collecting money in-app.
  • Pricing is in sterling, which introduces exchange rate exposure and, for some buyers, VAT handling that a US-billed competitor would not create.

LINE WORKS

  • The external LINE bridge, which is the main reason to choose it, only matters where LINE has consumer penetration, so buyers outside Japan, Taiwan and Thailand are paying for a feature they cannot use.
  • The free tier caps total storage at 5GB across the whole organisation, not per user, so a team sharing photos or documents exhausts it within weeks and is pushed onto a paid plan.
  • Business email is only on the Advanced plan at 800 yen per user, so an organisation wanting both chat and mail pays nearly double the Standard rate for every seat including staff who only chat.
  • Developer documentation, support and the integration catalogue are strongest in Japanese, which makes it awkward to administer from a non-Japanese IT function.
  • It has no serious developer or engineering workflow story, so organisations that also run Slack or Teams for technical teams end up maintaining two chat systems and two directories.

Pricing, plan by plan

Disciple

£599/month
  • Branded App$599/month
    • Branded iOS, Android and web apps
    • 5 admin seats
    • 10 groups
  • Branded App Pro$999/month
    • Unlimited admin seats and groups under fair use
    • Unlimited monetised courses
    • 20,000 video minutes
  • Organisation$3400/month
    • From £3,400 per month
    • Custom feature development
    • API access and custom integrations

LINE WORKS

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 30 users
    • 5GB total storage
    • Chat, calls, calendar and address book
  • Standard$450/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 1TB shared storage
    • Annual contract price, 540 yen monthly
  • Advanced$800/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Business email
    • 100TB shared storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Disciple if

  • You need native branded apps.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want web community.
Disciple review

Choose LINE WORKS if

  • You need external line messaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want chat and channels.
LINE WORKS review

Questions people ask

Is Disciple or LINE WORKS better?
Neither clearly leads. Disciple starts at £599/month and LINE WORKS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Disciple or LINE WORKS?
LINE WORKS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £599/month for Disciple and Free for LINE WORKS.
Does Disciple or LINE WORKS run on more platforms?
Disciple runs on Web, iOS, Android. LINE WORKS runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
Can I use LINE WORKS for free?
Yes. LINE WORKS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Disciple starts at £599/month.
What is Disciple best used for?
Disciple is most often used for a membership body moving several thousand paying members off facebook groups into an app that carries its own name in the app store, a fitness or coaching business selling subscriptions where a percentage-based platform fee would cost more each month than a flat licence, a sports club or faith organisation that wants push notifications to reach members directly rather than competing with a social feed algorithm, a brand running a customer community that must live on its own domain and its own app listing for reasons of ownership or sponsorship. Of those, a membership body moving several thousand paying members off facebook groups into an app that carries its own name in the app store and a fitness or coaching business selling subscriptions where a percentage-based platform fee would cost more each month than a flat licence are not what LINE WORKS is typically brought in for.
What can Disciple do that LINE WORKS cannot?
Disciple covers Native branded apps, Web community, Groups and feeds, Courses. LINE WORKS covers External LINE messaging, Chat and channels, Voice and video calls, Shared address book.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Disciple: How much does Disciple cost?

Branded App is £599 a month, Branded App Pro is £999 a month, and the Organisation tier starts at £3,400 a month. Annual billing gives two months free.

LINE WORKS: Can LINE WORKS really message ordinary LINE users?

Yes. That is its core differentiator and the reason Japanese customer-facing businesses buy it.

Disciple: Does Disciple take a cut of member payments?

No. All plans are 0% transaction fees on Disciple's side. Apple and Google still take their standard in-app purchase commission, which is separate.

LINE WORKS: Is there a free plan?

Yes, up to 30 users with 5GB of total organisation storage.

Disciple: Is the app published under my brand?

Yes. iOS and Android apps go into the stores under your own name and branding, not as a section within a shared platform app.

LINE WORKS: Does the Standard plan include email?

No. Business email is Advanced only, at 800 yen per user per month on an annual contract.

Disciple: Is there a member limit?

Plans advertise unlimited members subject to fair use. The real limits are admin seats, groups, courses and video minutes, which differ by plan.

LINE WORKS: Is it worth buying outside Japan?

Generally no. Without the consumer LINE bridge it competes poorly against Slack, Teams or Lark on features and ecosystem.

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