Criterion	What we look at
Value for price	Verified price vs. what you get; hidden add-ons; fees vs. alternatives.
Ease of use	Sourced user reports on volunteer/staff learning curve.
Support	Third-party support ratings and repeated support complaints.
Contract fairness	Contract length, auto-renewal, cancellation, lock-in and data export.
Features for churches	Church-specific workflows (check-in, giving statements, scheduling, CCLI…), and reported bugs.

Rules

• Every sub-score is justified by evidence linked on the tool page (user reviews, forums, official pricing pages). We don't invent data.
• Minimum evidence: we only score a tool once we have at least four sourced points (any mix of pros and problems) from at least two different sources. A tool with mostly positives or mostly problems can still be rated, but every known problem is shown in its "Watch out for" box. If a tool has some sourced evidence but falls short of that bar, or we found fewer than 20 user reviews in total, we still score it but show a flag next to the stars: "⚠️ Limited reviews: N review(s) found across all sites". N is counted honestly: the review count on the largest third-party listing we cite (Capterra, Software Advice and GetApp share one review pool, so they count once) plus one for each other separate source we cite (a forum thread or article counts as one, even if it contains several opinions). Treat flagged scores as provisional. Tools with no sourced evidence at all show "Not yet rated".
• Videos: some tool pages embed YouTube reviews or walkthroughs. We only pick independent creators: no vendor channels, nothing disclosed as sponsored by the vendor, and no templated affiliate "review" channels. We check each video exists and can be embedded, and it must be published within about 2 years. Creators who promote their own courses or agencies are labelled. Videos don't affect scores and load from YouTube only when you press play.
• Third-party averages (Capterra, G2, Software Advice) are shown separately with review count, link and date. They are not mixed into our score.
• Every tool page has a prominent "Known issues / watch out for" box. We never soften cons for vendors, affiliates or sponsors, and payment never affects a score.
• Alpha software (e.g. ArtCraft apps) is not scored until it ships a stable release.
• Scores are re-checked when prices or reviews change. Last full review: 2026-10-22.

Currently rated (61)

Tool	Score
ChMeetings	★★★★½ 4.4/5
Churchteams	★★★★½ 4.4/5
Church Center App	★★★★½ 4.3/5
Planning Center Giving	★★★★½ 4.3/5
Planning Center	★★★★ 4.2/5
Church Online Platform	★★★★ 4.2/5
KidCheck	★★★★ 4.2/5
Blue Letter Bible	★★★★ 4.2/5
Flocknote	★★★★ 4.1/5
Givelify	★★★★ 4.1/5
Tithe.ly Sites	★★★★ 4.1/5
WorshipTools Presenter	★★★★ 4.1/5
FreeShow	★★★★ 4.0/5
Text In Church	★★★★ 4.0/5
Clearstream	★★★★ 4.0/5
ChurchSuite	★★★★ 4.0/5
PEX	★★★★ 4.0/5
ChurchTrac	★★★★ 3.9/5
Planning Center Check-Ins	★★★★ 3.9/5
IconCMO	★★★★ 3.9/5
Donorbox	★★★★ 3.9/5
Rock RMS	★★★★ 3.8/5
BoxCast	★★★★ 3.8/5⚠️ Limited reviews: 8 reviews found across all sites
EasyWorship	★★★★ 3.8/5
Givebutter	★★★★ 3.8/5
Zeffy	★★★★ 3.8/5
PowerChurch Plus	★★★★ 3.8/5
Nucleus	★★★½ 3.7/5
Resi	★★★½ 3.7/5
ProPresenter	★★★½ 3.7/5
MediaShout	★★★½ 3.7/5
One Church Software	★★★½ 3.7/5
Proclaim	★★★½ 3.7/5
OBS Studio	★★★½ 3.7/5
Vanco	★★★½ 3.7/5
CCLI Church Copyright License	★★★½ 3.7/5
Breeze	★★★½ 3.6/5
Tithe.ly	★★★½ 3.6/5
Subsplash Giving	★★★½ 3.6/5
Tithe.ly Church App	★★★½ 3.6/5
SimpleTexting	★★★½ 3.6/5
StreamYard	★★★½ 3.5/5
vMix	★★★½ 3.5/5
Realm (ACS)	★★★½ 3.4/5
Elvanto	★★★½ 3.4/5
Clover Sites	★★★½ 3.4/5
Servant Keeper	★★★½ 3.4/5
EffectCraft (ArtCraft)	★★★½ 3.4/5
MinistryPlatform	★★★½ 3.4/5
PhotoCraft (ArtCraft)	★★★½ 3.3/5
LightCraft (ArtCraft)	★★★ 3.2/5
FilmCraft (ArtCraft)	★★★ 3.2/5
QuickBooks Online	★★★ 3.2/5
Logos Bible Software	★★★ 3.2/5
Subsplash App	★★★ 3.1/5
Mailchimp	★★★ 3.1/5
Ekklesia 360	★★★ 3.1/5
Constant Contact	★★★ 3.1/5
Pushpay	★★★ 2.9/5
Church Community Builder (Pushpay)	★★★ 2.8/5
Vimeo	★★½ 2.7/5