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Religion · head to head

ChurchDesk vs Elvanto

ChurchDesk logo

ChurchDesk

Religion

Church management and member portal platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

Church management with strong volunteer rostering, now owned by Tithe.ly

From
$72/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ChurchDesk all subscription plans carry a one time setup fee of 655 GBP per parish for onboarding and training; Elvanto tithe.ly owns both Elvanto and Breeze, two overlapping church management systems, and has directed most recent product investment towards Breeze and giving, so Elvanto buyers are betting on a product that is maintained rather than actively advanced.
  • They diverge on capability: ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ChurchDesk and Elvanto actually diverge.

Attributes where ChurchDesk and Elvanto differ
AttributeChurchDeskElvanto
Starting priceOn request$72/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by plan
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Religion).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ChurchDesk

  • Member Portal
  • Announcements
  • Event RSVP
  • Volunteer Coordination
  • Email Integration
  • Calendar Systems
  • Giving Platforms
  • Mobile App

Only in Elvanto

  • Volunteer rostering
  • Service planning
  • People and groups
  • Child check-in
  • Online giving
  • Forms and event registration
  • Multi-site support
  • Church website and app

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ChurchDesk

  • Member managementnot Elvanto
  • Donation trackingnot Elvanto
  • Event planningnot Elvanto
  • Volunteer schedulingnot Elvanto
  • Communicationnot Elvanto

Elvanto

  • A multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problemnot ChurchDesk
  • A church outside the United States wanting a management system that was not designed solely around American church practicenot ChurchDesk
  • A congregation replacing spreadsheets for service planning, song rotation and CCLI reportingnot ChurchDesk
  • A church that wants management and online giving on one invoice rather than integrating two vendorsnot ChurchDesk

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ChurchDesk

  • All subscription plans carry a one time setup fee of 655 GBP per parish for onboarding and training
  • Multi-Parish support is only available by contacting sales on the Small, Medium and Large plans
  • Payment Terminal add-on costs 456 GBP per year on top of the Basic through Medium plans

Elvanto

  • Tithe.ly owns both Elvanto and Breeze, two overlapping church management systems, and has directed most recent product investment towards Breeze and giving, so Elvanto buyers are betting on a product that is maintained rather than actively advanced.
  • The advertised monthly price excludes card processing on donations, which for a church taking most giving online is the larger of the two costs and is set by the payment provider, not the licence.
  • The interface is functional but dated relative to Planning Center, and volunteer-facing screens draw complaints from occasional users who only log in to accept a roster.
  • Reporting is adequate for attendance and giving summaries but weak for pastoral care analysis and cohort tracking, so larger churches export to spreadsheets.
  • Support is documentation-and-ticket based with no phone line on the standard plan, which is difficult for a volunteer administrator troubleshooting check-in on a Sunday morning.

Pricing, plan by plan

ChurchDesk

On request
  • Starter$99/month
    • Basic features
    • Up to 500 members
  • Plus$299/month
    • All features
    • Unlimited members
    • Advanced portal

Elvanto

$72/month
  • Church Management + Giving$72/month
    • Full church management modules
    • Volunteer rostering and service planning
    • Child check-in
  • Church Management + Giving + Custom App$119/month
    • Everything in the base plan
    • Branded church mobile app
    • Push notifications

Which should you pick?

Choose ChurchDesk if

  • You need member portal.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want announcements.
ChurchDesk review

Choose Elvanto if

  • You need volunteer rostering.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want service planning.
Elvanto review

Questions people ask

Is ChurchDesk or Elvanto better?
Neither clearly leads. ChurchDesk starts at On request and Elvanto at $72/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ChurchDesk or Elvanto?
ChurchDesk starts at On request and Elvanto at $72/month.
Does ChurchDesk or Elvanto run on more platforms?
ChurchDesk runs on Web, Mobile. Elvanto runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is ChurchDesk best used for?
ChurchDesk is most often used for member management, donation tracking, event planning, volunteer scheduling. Of those, member management and donation tracking are not what Elvanto is typically brought in for.
What can ChurchDesk do that Elvanto cannot?
ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Announcements, Event RSVP, Volunteer Coordination. Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ChurchDesk: What is ChurchDesk's pricing structure?

ChurchDesk offers four subscription plans billed annually: Basic at £54/month, Small at £97/month, Medium at £140/month, and Large at £239/month, excluding VAT.

Source
Elvanto: Is Elvanto still being developed?

It is maintained and sold to new customers, but Tithe.ly also owns Breeze and has prioritised that product and its giving tools. Ask the vendor directly what is on the Elvanto roadmap before a multi-year commitment.

ChurchDesk: What is included in ChurchDesk plans?

All tiers include the same core modules: Calendar, People, Forms, Website, Workflows, and Finance, plus attendance tracking, payments, booking enquiries, and studio access.

Source
Elvanto: What does it really cost?

$72 a month for management plus giving, or $119 with a branded app, plus payment processing on every donation charged by the provider. Budget the processing rate as the main variable cost.

ChurchDesk: What setup costs does ChurchDesk charge?

ChurchDesk charges a one-time setup fee of £655 per parish for 'Upstart & Training,' which covers initial configuration and onboarding.

Source
Elvanto: Is it better than Planning Center for rostering?

For availability handling, clash detection and swap requests it is genuinely competitive. Planning Center is stronger on service and worship team workflow and has a larger integration ecosystem.

ChurchDesk: What ChurchDesk add-ons are available?

Add-ons include Studio (£57/month), Cookies & Analytics (£10/month), Additional Websites (£36/month), and Payment Terminal (£456/year for smaller plans). The Large plan includes one Payment Terminal.

Source
Elvanto: Can we migrate our data out?

Yes, exports are available, but rebuilding rosters, forms and check-in configuration in a new system is manual work regardless of the export.

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