ChurchDev vs SimpleUpdates
ChurchDev
churchdev.comSimpleUpdates
simpleupdates.comSide by side
| Figure | ChurchDev | SimpleUpdates |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.58/mo | $20/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 9 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 8.7 (#7) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Content tools | The plans list unlimited pages, storage, bandwidth, sermons, blog posts, and podcasts. | The builder includes blogs, galleries, a form builder, collections, and custom HTML and CSS. |
| Founded | BBB records the business start date as August 20, 2012. | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Mooresville, North Carolina, United States | The company says it operates remotely around the United States and lists a mailing address in Gentry, Arkansas. |
| Integrations | The live-streaming service supports streaming to church websites and social media, including Facebook and YouTube. | Documented integrations include Google Analytics, YouTube, Zoom, Facebook oEmbed, iTunes podcasting and social-media widgets. |
| 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 end-user payment information is passed to the payment processors customers choose and is not collected or stored by SimpleUpdates. |
| Product | ChurchDev provides hosted church website design, management and publishing services aimed at congregations. | SimpleUpdates Studio is a hosted website CMS and builder for creating and updating websites without coding. |
| Security | ChurchDev lists SSL hosting, password-protected pages, and nightly backups among plan features. | The terms allow HTTPS certificates for custom domains, while the current plans advertise SSL. |
| Support | ChurchDev advertises phone support Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern and 24/7 email availability. | Support is offered by email with a stated one-business-day response target, scheduled calls and telephone numbers. |
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
SimpleUpdates
- STARTERFree
- Basic$24 a month
- PRO$37 a month
- Growth$39 a month
- Premium$59 a month
- Basic$240 a year
- Growth$399 a year
- PRO$399 a year
- Premium$599 a year
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.
SimpleUpdates
SimpleUpdates Studio is a hosted website builder and content management system for creating and updating websites without coding. Its visual editor uses drag-and-drop controls and offers more than 36 elements and 200 ready-to-use icons; the company advertises more than 100 templates. Content tools include blogs, galleries, a form builder, collections, and custom HTML and CSS. The free Starter plan is free and includes unlimited pages and storage plus SSL, with limited features. Pro costs $37 a month for one website and includes unlimited pages and storage, SSL, up to two domains and three email addresses, and all Pro layouts, blocks, and elements. Paid website plans include free personal calls and support for technical questions. The pricing page lists contact form app integration, while legacy CMS update notes document Stripe integration for store payments and forms. SimpleUpdates says it does not collect or store end-user payment information; that information is passed to the payment processors customers choose. The service is web-based and serves commercial and nonprofit clients, including businesses and ministries. The company says Darryl Hosford founded it as Hosford Web Service in 1995, before it became SimpleUpdates.com as the CMS was developed.