AltarDesk vs SignMeUp
AltarDesk
altardesk.co.ukSignMeUp
signmeup.org.ukSide by side
| Figure | AltarDesk | SignMeUp |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £17/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 13 | 1 |
| Spec score · Church Background Check Software | 9.2 (#1) | 7.1 (#31) |
| Communications | Communications supports email, SMS and push broadcasts, campaigns, templates, birthday messages and consent tracking. | Organisers can email volunteers and attendees and use built-in messaging for communications between event organisers. |
| 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 maker says the service uses security protocols and encryption technologies and stores hourly database backups in a UK data centre. |
| Support | The support centre says its team normally responds within one working day. | The maker directs customers with technical issues to its support portal and says its charity contact form cannot answer SignMeUp technical support queries. |
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
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.