Softwr

Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs OpenLP

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

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

From
$72/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenLP logo

OpenLP

Religion

Free, open-source presentation software for churches

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenLP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; OpenLP there is no standalone mobile app; the Android and iOS apps are remote controls for a desktop running OpenLP
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, OpenLP covers Presentation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elvanto and OpenLP actually diverge.

Attributes where Elvanto and OpenLP differ
AttributeElvantoOpenLP
Starting price$72/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by planopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Mac, Linux
FoundedUnknown2004

Identical on both: 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 Elvanto

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

Only in OpenLP

  • Presentation
  • Lyric Display
  • Media Playback
  • Bible Display
  • Theme Support
  • Plugin System
  • Custom Layouts
  • Scripture Integration

What people use each for

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

Elvanto

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

OpenLP

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

Where each one falls short

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

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.

OpenLP

  • There is no standalone mobile app; the Android and iOS apps are remote controls for a desktop running OpenLP
  • Only the most recent Fedora release and Debian unstable are supported on those distributions
  • The Flatpak build is experimental and the OpenLP team states it does not support its use
  • Requires macOS 10.15 or higher and Windows 10 or higher

Pricing, plan by plan

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

OpenLP

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Full features
    • No restrictions
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Elvanto if

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

Choose OpenLP if

  • You need presentation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
  • You also want lyric display.
OpenLP review

Questions people ask

Is Elvanto or OpenLP better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month and OpenLP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elvanto or OpenLP?
OpenLP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $72/month for Elvanto and Free for OpenLP.
Does Elvanto or OpenLP run on more platforms?
Elvanto runs on Web, iOS, Android. OpenLP runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use OpenLP for free?
Yes. OpenLP has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elvanto starts at $72/month.
What is Elvanto best used for?
Elvanto is most often used for a multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problem, a church outside the united states wanting a management system that was not designed solely around american church practice, a congregation replacing spreadsheets for service planning, song rotation and ccli reporting, a church that wants management and online giving on one invoice rather than integrating two vendors. Of those, a multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problem and a church outside the united states wanting a management system that was not designed solely around american church practice are not what OpenLP is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that OpenLP cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. OpenLP covers Presentation, Lyric Display, Media Playback, Bible Display.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

OpenLP: How much does OpenLP cost?

OpenLP is completely free to download, install, and use. Being open source means OpenLP is free forever with no licensing or subscription fees.

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.

OpenLP: Can I install OpenLP on multiple computers for free?

Yes, OpenLP can be downloaded, installed on multiple computers, and distributed to others at no cost.

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.

OpenLP: What platforms does OpenLP support?

OpenLP is free for Windows, Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD platforms with no platform-specific licensing costs.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Elvanto

More on OpenLP

Keep looking

Other head to heads