Churchly vs Congregate
Churchly
churchly.com
Congregate
congregateonline.comSide by side
| Figure | Churchly | Congregate |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $10/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 10 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 8.0 (#14) | 9.1 (#1) |
| Integrations | The pricing page names Stripe, Mailchimp, Planning Center giving, and SubSplash sermon series player as integrations. | Congregate supports embedded or linked live-stream and online-giving providers and offers Google Analytics and Google Maps API settings. |
| Privacy | The privacy policy says Churchly uses commercially acceptable measures to protect personal information but cannot guarantee absolute security. | The privacy policy says collected information is not sold or rented and may be shared with service partners only as needed to provide services. |
| Security | Churchly includes a free SSL certificate for every account and says it secures the website and submitted forms. | The service supports two-factor authentication for administrators and members. |
| Support | Churchly says customers can reach a real person for help and that staff may handle simple tasks for them. | Free technical support is included in every service plan, and the company says it responds to support tickets within 24 hours or less. |
Plans
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
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.