Congregate vs Lazarus
Congregate
congregateonline.comLazarus
lazarus.sacnis.comSide by side
| Figure | Congregate | Lazarus |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $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 | 10 | 1 |
| Spec score · Church Directory Software | 8.9 (#6) | 7.0 (#38) |
| Intended users | Congregate describes its service as built for local churches and their visitors, members, and leaders. | The product is presented for parishes, including clergy, office staff, treasurers, and parish councils. |
| Maker | Congregate is a product and service provided by DP Media Group, LLC. | SACNIS lists Melbourne, Australia as its location and provides [email protected]; the opened pages do not state a founding year. |
| Member directory | The directory stores member contact details, photos, family relationships, groups, and custom fields. | The directory lets parishes search families and members and manage household details. |
| Support | Free technical support is included in every service plan, and the company says it responds to support tickets within 24 hours or less. | The product page describes ongoing support as parishes scale their digital operations. |
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.
Lazarus
Lazarus has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.