AltarDesk vs VolunteerBadge
AltarDesk
altardesk.co.uk
VolunteerBadge
volunteerbadge.comSide by side
| Figure | AltarDesk | VolunteerBadge |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £17/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 13 | 6 |
| Spec score · Church Background Check Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.5 (#10) |
| Audience | AltarDesk describes itself as built for church administrators and provides UK Gift Aid and Charity Commission governance modules. | The company describes the platform as built for nonprofits, churches, and volunteer organizations. |
| Company legal name | The maker is Rayscent Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 17120455. | Crunchbase identifies the legal entity as ScreenForge Labs, LLC DBA VolunteerBadge. |
| Headquarters | The registered address is 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ. | Fort Myers, Florida, United States |
| Integrations | GetApp lists SMS, Google Drive, Stripe and GoCardless as AltarDesk integrations. | The product lists Planning Center, Bloomerang, Little Green Light, Breeze ChMS, Better Impact, Rosterfy, Assemble, CERVIS and Zapier connections. |
| Privacy | AltarDesk says it does not sell church data, share it with advertisers or train AI models on it. | The privacy policy says personal information is not sold or used for third-party marketing and that biometric data is retained only as needed for verification, fraud prevention and legal compliance. |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.5 out of 5 from 1 review. | 4.0 out of 5 from 3 reviews |
| 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 security page describes two-factor authentication, role-based access, TLS in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, and audit logging. |
| Support | The support centre says its team normally responds within one working day. | The security page provides support by email at [email protected] and by phone at (239) 219-0929, and says the company completes security questionnaires. |
| What it does | AltarDesk is a church and charity management platform combining member records, Gift Aid, rotas, safeguarding, giving and communications. | VolunteerBadge combines FCRA-regulated volunteer background screening with volunteer records, compliance management and nonprofit program tools. |
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
VolunteerBadge
- Free management toolsFree
- Free management toolsFree
- Best Bulk Value$3.75, paid once
- Pay As You Go$5, paid once
- Starter Pack$45, paid once
- Enterprise Volume$200, paid once
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.
VolunteerBadge
VolunteerBadge combines volunteer management with background screening governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), for nonprofits, churches, and other volunteer organizations. Its free management tools cover volunteer-hour tracking, compliance rosters, grant-ready PDF and CSV reports, and automated re-screening alerts. A $5 check includes national criminal and sex-offender searches, federal watchlists, biometric identity verification, address history, and human review of high-confidence records. Checks require a standalone FCRA disclosure and signed authorization; the platform also provides an adverse-action workflow with notices and a waiting period. Listed connectors include Planning Center, Bloomerang, Little Green Light, Breeze ChMS, Better Impact, Rosterfy, Assemble, CERVIS, and Zapier. A documented REST API and webhooks are included without a monthly API fee. The service is available on Android, iOS, and the web. Listed safeguards include two-factor authentication, role-based access, TLS in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, and audit logging. VolunteerBadge says it does not sell volunteer or organization data. Its $5 database check is not a substitute for a fingerprint check when one is required by a state, licensor, or insurer.