Assemblea vs Parish Scribe

Assemblea is web-based church management software for member records, giving, events, attendance, and finances, designed around evangelical and Protestant congregations. Member profiles can link families and record church acts and roles. Event tools support attendance check-in, named guests, child check-in with printed security codes, and a public calendar with an iCal feed. A guided importer has presets for exports from Planning Center, Breeze, ChurchSuite, and ChMeetings, plus a generic CSV option. Members can use a password-free magic link to update profiles, view giving, manage recurring gifts, confirm volunteer shifts, join groups, and browse events. Online donations go directly to the church’s Stripe account; Assemblea charges a 1% platform fee plus standard Stripe processing fees. The maker says data is hosted in the European Union, encrypted, and GDPR compliant. Security controls include field-level encryption for sensitive notes and prayer requests, granular permissions, and a tamper-evident audit trail. Churches can export, restrict, or erase an individual’s data using built-in tools. The responsive product works on phones and tablets without installation. The Free plan costs nothing; paid plans are Starter at $19/mo and Pro at $49/mo.

Parish Scribe is a web platform for parish scheduling and administration, describing itself as suitable for Catholic and Christian parishes and usable by any denomination. Its modules—RotaScribe, MemberScribe, CouncilScribe, and GivingScribe—can operate separately or together. The scheduling tools account for volunteer availability, serving frequency, and role preferences when generating assignments. Administrators manage assignments and family groups, while volunteers maintain their own availability and preferences. Email and SMS reminders cover assignments, services, and substitution requests, and personal feeds can sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar. Coordinators can import a roster or invite volunteers, create service templates, and generate schedules with one click. The free plan costs nothing, supports up to 20 volunteers and unlimited events, and needs no credit card. Paid plans start at $25/mo. SMS reminders and auto-scheduling are available after upgrading.