Congregate vs Ministry Designs
Congregate
congregateonline.comMinistry Designs
ministrydesigns.comSide by side
| Figure | Congregate | Ministry Designs |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $10/mo | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 10 | 0 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 9.1 (#1) | 7.2 (#21) |
| Integrations | Congregate supports embedded or linked live-stream and online-giving providers and offers Google Analytics and Google Maps API settings. | The company says the builder works with major online giving providers and church management software at no additional cost. |
| Intended users | Congregate describes its service as built for local churches and their visitors, members, and leaders. | The company presents its tools and services as resources for churches and ministries. |
| Purpose | Congregate is a church management platform combining a church website, member management, and leadership tools. | Ministry Designs describes Omega as a church website builder designed for users without technical skills. |
| Security | The service supports two-factor authentication for administrators and members. | The privacy policy says the website is regularly scanned for vulnerabilities and malware, sensitive information is encrypted using SSL, and transactions are processed by a gateway provider rather than stored or processed on its servers. |
| 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 site lists a Help Hub, email support, and contact options, and says its team can help with domain changes and launch. |
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.
Ministry Designs
Ministry Designs has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.