ChurchDev vs Congregate
ChurchDev
churchdev.com
Congregate
congregateonline.comSide by side
| Figure | ChurchDev | Congregate |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.58/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 10 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 8.7 (#7) | 9.1 (#1) |
| Documentation | Customer testimonials describe a tutorial dashboard, instruction pages and videos for learning the system. | Support provides quick-start guides, feature documentation, tutorial videos, FAQs, launch instructions, and ticket support. |
| Founded | BBB records the business start date as August 20, 2012. | The Congregate service was launched in 2009. |
| Integrations | The live-streaming service supports streaming to church websites and social media, including Facebook and YouTube. | Congregate supports embedded or linked live-stream and online-giving providers and offers Google Analytics and Google Maps API settings. |
| Member directory | The optional directory provides member self-service, group or individual email, guest logins, members-only pages and CSV import. | The directory stores member contact details, photos, family relationships, groups, and custom fields. |
| Mobile app | ChurchDev includes a church mobile app for sermons, events and direct phone messages. | The native members app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android and includes member modules, directory, Bible, and sermon audio. |
| Privacy | Its privacy policy says sensitive payment information is sent over SSL and stored in its payment gateway provider’s database for recurring payments. | The privacy policy says collected information is not sold or rented and may be shared with service partners only as needed to provide services. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | Apple’s listing says the app has not received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview. | 3.9 out of 5 from 19 ratings |
| Rating on Google Play | The Our Church app was rated 4.4 out of 5 from 49 reviews on the opened listing. | 2.4 out of 5 from 20 reviews |
| Security | ChurchDev lists SSL hosting, password-protected pages, and nightly backups among plan features. | The service supports two-factor authentication for administrators and members. |
| Sermons | Plans support unlimited audio and video sermons with scripture and bulletin information. | Users can upload sermon media including MP3, PowerPoint, PDF, and YouTube links, with automatic podcast feeds and social sharing. |
| Support | ChurchDev advertises phone support Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern and 24/7 email availability. | Free technical support is included in every service plan, and the company says it responds to support tickets within 24 hours or less. |
Plans
ChurchDev
- Membership Directory$10 a month
- Domain registration or transfer$19 a year
- Domain Registration/Transfer$19 a year
- Do It Yourself$29 a month
- Done Exclusively for You$29 a month
- Done for You$29 a month
- Webmaster services$30, paid once
- Webmaster services as needed$30, paid once
- Live Streaming Small$39 a month
- Live Streaming Medium$79 a month
Congregate
- Virtual Library$10 a month
- Sermon Transcriptions$15 a month
- Economy$20 a month
- Members Only$20 a month
- Text Messaging$25 a month
- Voice Messaging$25 a month
- Classic$45 a month
- Self-Hosted WordPress$55 a month
- Unlimited$55 a month
- Congregate-Hosted WordPress$70 a month
In their own words
ChurchDev
ChurchDev provides website design, hosting and management services for churches. Its CMS includes a drag-and-drop builder for people without coding skills, with plans listing unlimited pages, storage, bandwidth, sermons, blog posts and podcasts. Church features include calendars, event registration, prayer requests, volunteer signups, online giving and staff directories. The included mobile app lets members watch sermons, view events and receive messages. An optional member directory supports password-protected access, member self-service, guest logins and CSV import. Live streams can reach church websites and social media such as Facebook and YouTube, but streaming plans require an active ChurchDev website and allow 10 to 50 hours monthly. Stripe processes online giving at 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, with no ChurchDev markup. Website plans start at $29 a month; some include one-time setup charges. Other listed prices include a 10.00 USD monthly membership directory, 19.00 USD annual domain registration and streaming plans from $39 a month.
Congregate
Congregate is a church management platform that combines a church website, member management, and leadership tools. Member features include a directory, attendance tracking, visitor registration and follow-up, and a leadership CRM. Communications include email, premium SMS, and premium text-to-speech voice messages. Its worship scheduler assigns positions and volunteer tasks, with support for blockout dates, replacements, confirmations, and reminders.
Churches can upload sermon media in formats such as MP3, PowerPoint, PDF, or YouTube links; the platform can create podcast feeds and support social sharing. The native members app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android, and includes member modules, a directory, Bible, and sermon audio. Congregate says more than 30 modules are included in each service plan. Plans include a public website and mobile app at $20/mo for Economy, while Members Only is also $20/mo and omits the public website and email accounts. Standard plans carry a one-time $499 setup fee, discounted by $50 for churches with fewer than 50 members. Free technical support is included, with ticket responses stated as within 24 hours or less. The site offers a free test drive but gives no duration. The service runs on web, Android, and iOS.