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Congregate

congregateonline.com

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Spec score 9.1 #1 of 24 in Church Website Builders

What it is

Congregate is a church management platform that combines a church website, member management, and leadership tools. Member features include a directory, attendance tracking, visitor registration and follow-up, and a leadership CRM. Communications include email, premium SMS, and premium text-to-speech voice messages. Its worship scheduler assigns positions and volunteer tasks, with support for blockout dates, replacements, confirmations, and reminders.

Churches can upload sermon media in formats such as MP3, PowerPoint, PDF, or YouTube links; the platform can create podcast feeds and support social sharing. The native members app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android, and includes member modules, a directory, Bible, and sermon audio. Congregate says more than 30 modules are included in each service plan. Plans include a public website and mobile app at $20/mo for Economy, while Members Only is also $20/mo and omits the public website and email accounts. Standard plans carry a one-time $499 setup fee, discounted by $50 for churches with fewer than 50 members. Free technical support is included, with ticket responses stated as within 24 hours or less. The site offers a free test drive but gives no duration. The service runs on web, Android, and iOS.

Spec sheet

What it does
Congregate combines a public church website, members-only area, and leadership management tools.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Purpose
Congregate is a church management platform combining a church website, member management, and leadership tools.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Intended users
Congregate describes its service as built for local churches and their visitors, members, and leaders.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Integrations
Congregate supports embedded or linked live-stream and online-giving providers and offers Google Analytics and Google Maps API settings.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Security
The service supports two-factor authentication for administrators and members.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Privacy
The privacy policy says collected information is not sold or rented and may be shared with service partners only as needed to provide services.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Support
Free technical support is included in every service plan, and the company says it responds to support tickets within 24 hours or less.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Founded
The Congregate service was launched in 2009.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Maker
Congregate is a product and service provided by DP Media Group, LLC.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
API and SDKs
Official documentation mentions a Congregate API for the WordPress integration, but no separate public SDK catalog is presented.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Attendance tracking
Attendance can be recorded overall, per member, and for visitors with reporting tools and mobile entry.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Availability limitation
Terms say the platform may become inaccessible because of maintenance, equipment faults, network failures, attacks, or other causes and is provided without an uptime guarantee.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Bible class tracking
Administrators can record Bible and Sunday-school classes, teachers, materials, topics, and grade levels.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Billing limitation
Billing policies state that monthly invoices or email receipts are not sent and that manual monthly credit-card payments are not accepted.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Calendars and events
Multiple calendars serve public users, members, and leaders and can be viewed in the app or personal calendar programs.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Communications
The platform supports email messaging, premium SMS messaging, and premium text-to-speech voice messages.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Documentation
Support provides quick-start guides, feature documentation, tutorial videos, FAQs, launch instructions, and ticket support.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Finance tracking
Finance tools record contributions, budgets, and expenses and export data in a QuickBooks-compatible format.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Free access
The site offers a free test drive, but does not state a trial duration on the pages reviewed.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Google Play privacy declaration
The Android listing says the developer reports no data sharing, no data collection, and encryption in transit.Read 21 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Google Play update
The Android listing records a May 4, 2026 update that added Visitor Tracker as a native module.Read 21 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Included modules
The company says over 30 feature modules are included in all service plans.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Independent adoption
Ellisville church of Christ publicly identifies its website as powered by Congregate.Read 21 Oct 2026 · simplychristians.com
Licence
Terms assign Congregate platform intellectual-property rights to Congregate and its licensors and prohibit copying, reverse engineering, and derivative works.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Limit: app feature gaps
An Apple-app reviewer said the dashboard lacked useful at-a-glance information and that several functions still required the website.Read 21 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: app reliability
Apple-app reviewers reported launch failures, blank white screens, and login problems after updates.Read 21 Oct 2026 · appshunter.io
Member directory
The directory stores member contact details, photos, family relationships, groups, and custom fields.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Member management
Features include a member directory, attendance tracking, visitor registration and follow-up, and a leadership CRM.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Messaging
The message center supports email, text, and voice communication to members, groups, and mailing lists.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Mobile app
The native members app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android and includes member modules, directory, Bible, and sermon audio.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Mobile app requirements
The Congregate Members app requires iOS or Android, an internet connection, a Congregate-powered church site, and a member account.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Praise: app redesign
An Apple-app reviewer praised a recent update as fast, clean, professional, and customizable.Read 21 Oct 2026 · appshunter.io
Pricing limits
All standard service plans carry a one-time $499 setup fee, discounted by $50 for churches with fewer than 50 members.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Public website
The platform provides search-optimized public pages with unlimited pages, hosting, and SSL included.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Rating on Apple App Store
3.9 out of 5 from 19 ratingsRead 21 Oct 2026 · appshunter.io
Rating on Google Play
2.4 out of 5 from 20 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Refund limitation
Refunds are generally unavailable, with setup-fee refunds limited to cancellations within the first 14 days.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Security and privacy
The privacy policy says sensitive information is encrypted in transit and stored on secured servers with limited employee access.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Sermons
Users can upload sermon media including MP3, PowerPoint, PDF, and YouTube links, with automatic podcast feeds and social sharing.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Sermons and podcasts
Churches can publish sermon media, podcast feeds, and social-sharing links.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
System requirements
Congregate Admin runs in a modern browser on a computer, tablet, or phone and requires an internet connection.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Visitor tracking
Visitor tools record contact and visit history, generate QR registration, and assign follow-up tasks.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
WordPress integration
The WordPress plugin connects a WordPress site to Congregate using a client ID, client secret, and Congregate API module registration.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Worship planning
The worship scheduler automatically assigns worship positions and volunteer tasks and supports blockout dates, replacements, confirmations, and reminders.Read 4 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Worship scheduling
The assignment engine can automatically generate worship positions and volunteer tasks.Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com

Plans and prices

Virtual Library $10 a month monthly 135+ books and study resources · unlimited membership users Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Sermon Transcriptions $15 a month monthly 7 hours/month · AI transcription · downloadable text files Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Economy $20 a month monthly 5 GB storage · 15 email accounts · public website and mobile app · all Congregate features Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Members Only $20 a month monthly No public website · no email accounts · member-management tools · members mobile app Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Text Messaging $25 a month monthly 2,000 messages/month · US mobile numbers · MMS available as add-on Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Voice Messaging $25 a month monthly 1,000 minutes/month · US phone numbers · text-to-speech messaging Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Classic $45 a month monthly 10 GB storage · 15 email accounts · public website and mobile app · all Congregate features Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Self-Hosted WordPress $55 a month monthly WordPress hosting excluded · no email accounts · unlimited storage · WordPress themes and plugins · all Congregate features Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Unlimited $55 a month monthly Unlimited storage · 15 email accounts · public website and mobile app · all Congregate features Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com
Congregate-Hosted WordPress $70 a month monthly WordPress hosting included · unlimited storage · 15 email accounts · WordPress themes and plugins · all Congregate features Read 21 Oct 2026 · congregateonline.com

Every Congregate plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • More than 30 modules are included in service plans.
  • Worship scheduler handles assignments, replacements, and reminders.
  • Sermons can generate podcast feeds.
  • Native members app includes directory and sermon audio.
  • Free technical support is included.

Limits

  • Standard plans have a one-time $499 setup fee.
  • The free test drive has no stated duration.
  • Members Only has no public website or email accounts.

Who it suits

Congregate is aimed at local churches and the visitors, members, and leaders they serve. Its plan options include both public website packages and a Members Only option without a public website.

Verdict

Congregate combines website, member, worship-planning, and communications tools, with a native app and support included in service plans. Its monthly plans begin at $20/mo, but standard plans also carry a one-time setup fee.

Where Specifiction places it

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