SimpleUpdates vs The Church Co
SimpleUpdates
simpleupdates.comThe Church Co
thechurchco.comSide by side
| Figure | SimpleUpdates | The Church Co |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 4 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 8.6 (#8) | 7.8 (#16) |
| Company history | Darryl Hosford founded the business as Hosford Web Service in 1995; the CMS later became SimpleUpdates.com and the company says it has operated online since 2005. | The About page says founder Paul Cox identified the need in 2015 and launched the first version a few months later. |
| Founded | 1995 | 2015 |
| Integrations | Documented integrations include Google Analytics, YouTube, Zoom, Facebook oEmbed, iTunes podcasting and social-media widgets. | The features page lists Planning Center, Tithely, Church Community Builder, Church Suite, Stripe, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize, Facebook, Intercom and Drift. |
| Product | SimpleUpdates Studio is a hosted website CMS and builder for creating and updating websites without coding. | The Church Co is a website builder and digital platform designed to help churches reach people and connect their communities. |
| Support | Support is offered by email with a stated one-business-day response target, scheduled calls and telephone numbers. | The company says its customer success team can help and offers training videos, webinars, articles and blog posts; the site also links to chat support. |
Plans
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
The Church Co
- Simple setupFree
- Essentials setup$299, paid once
- Tailored setup$799, paid once
- Custom setup$999, paid once
In their own words
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.
The Church Co
The Church Co is a website builder and digital platform for churches and ministries. Its drag-and-drop builder offers templates and custom pages, while built-in features cover sermons, events, forms, prayer requests, small groups, sermon notes, online giving, livestreams, and a member portal. A branded church app can sync content with the church website and present sermons, events, forms, prayer requests, giving, groups, and livestreams. A custom app requires the On-demand team and is unavailable on the basic or premium plan. Listed integrations include Planning Center, Tithely, Church Community Builder, Church Suite, Stripe, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize, Facebook, Intercom, and Drift. Planning Center can update events, registrations, groups, forms, giving, and sermons on the website automatically; online giving uses Stripe. The service runs on web, Android, and iOS and offers a 14-day trial. Setup options include a free Simple setup with a yearly subscription, plus one-time packages at $299.00, $799.00, and $999.00. The company offers customer success help, training materials, webinars, articles, and chat support.