AltarDesk vs ParishSOFT
AltarDesk
altardesk.co.uk
ParishSOFT
parishsoft.comSide by side
| Figure | AltarDesk | ParishSOFT |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £17/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 13 | 7 |
| Spec score · Church Background Check Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.4 (#11) |
| Audience | AltarDesk describes itself as built for church administrators and provides UK Gift Aid and Charity Commission governance modules. | The company says it serves more than 185 dioceses and 12,000 parishes across the United States and Canada. |
| Founded | A Companies House data mirror records Rayscent Ltd as incorporated on 27 March 2026. | 1998 |
| Integrations | GetApp lists SMS, Google Drive, Stripe and GoCardless as AltarDesk integrations. | ParishSOFT Families connects with ParishSOFT Giving, Offering and Pledge, Religious Education, Tuition, Intelligent Query, and Ministry Scheduler. |
| 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 company says ParishSOFT Giving is PCI compliant and uses SSL certificates, encryption, intrusion detection, and transaction security. |
| Support | The support centre says its team normally responds within one working day. | ParishSOFT provides a support ticket option and an online help center covering Family Suite, Accounting, diocesan products, websites, and online giving. |
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
ParishSOFT
- ParishSOFT Giving Consulting Plan$250, paid once
- Family Suite Guided Consulting Plan$900, paid once
- Family Suite Basic Consulting Plan$1,700, paid once
- ParishSOFT Accounting Basic Consulting Plan$1,700, paid once
- Family Suite Standard Consulting Plan$3,200, paid once
- ParishSOFT Accounting Standard Consulting Plan$3,200, paid once
- ParishSOFT GivingPriced 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.
ParishSOFT
ParishSOFT provides church management software and related tools for Catholic parishes, dioceses, schools, and ministry organizations in the United States and Canada. Families manages household and member details, sacramental records, communications, and reporting. Accounting supports budgets, payroll, purchasing, and financial reporting; the maker describes it as GAAP compliant. Giving handles online and recurring donations, reports, payment forms, and contribution and pledge tracking. Family Suite also supports religious education and ministry scheduling, and connects with several ParishSOFT products. MinistryOne offers digital giving, media, event management, prayer requests, group messaging, and push notifications. The listed platforms include web, Android, iOS, and an API. Pricing for the main products is on request. Separate consulting plans range from $250, paid once for ParishSOFT Giving Consulting to $3,200, paid once for Family Suite or Accounting Standard Consulting. ParishSOFT Giving has a stated free 30-day trial. The maker says its tools are used by more than 185 dioceses and 12,000 parishes across the United States and Canada.