AltarDesk vs Churchly
AltarDesk
altardesk.co.ukChurchly
churchlyapp.comSide by side
| Figure | AltarDesk | Churchly |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £17/mo | $99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 13 | 7 |
| Spec score · Church Background Check Software | 9.2 (#1) | 7.8 (#19) |
| Product | AltarDesk is a church management platform for member records, donor statements, schedules, safeguarding and giving. | Churchly describes itself as a volunteer scheduling, coordination, and communication tool for churches and religious organizations. |
| Security | AltarDesk says connections use TLS 1.3, stored data is encrypted with AES-256, and organisation records are isolated with row-level security. | The terms disclaim any warranty that the app will be secure or uninterrupted. |
| Support | The support centre says its team normally responds within one working day. | Starter includes email support, Scale includes priority email support, and Network+ includes priority support and an SLA. |
Plans
AltarDesk
- FreeFree
- Free (up to 15 people)Free
- Up to 75 people£17 a month
- 76–125 people£25 a month
- 76–125 people£25 a month
- 126–200 people£35 a month
- 126–200 people£35 a month
- 201–500 people£69 a month
- 201–500 people£69 a month
- 501–1,000 people£99 a month
Churchly
- Founding Church$99 a month
- Starter$149 a month
- Growth$249 a month
- Pro$349 a month
- Scale$499 a month
- Network$899 a month
- Network+Priced on request
In their own words
AltarDesk
AltarDesk is a church management platform for member records, donor statements, schedules, safeguarding and giving. Its member portal and app let people update their details, view rota duties, give and access giving statements. Paid plans include Gift Aid and GASDS management, direct HMRC claim submission and contactless giving. Bank statement imports support Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Monzo; member giving uses Stripe card payments. The free plan covers up to 15 people and includes 500 MB of storage. The displayed tier for up to 75 people costs £17 a month and includes 2 GB of storage. Member and giving records are held in UK data centres, while sermon video and audio remain in the church’s own Google Drive. AltarDesk says connections use TLS 1.3, stored data is encrypted with AES-256, and organisation records are isolated with row-level security. It also says it does not sell church data, share it with advertisers or train AI models on it. At a plan’s member cap, a church must move to a higher plan before adding people.