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Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs Quelea

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

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

From
$72/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Q

Quelea

Religion

Simple free presentation software for churches and worship

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Quelea 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.; Quelea quelea is 100% free open source software with no paid tier or vendor support contract
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Quelea covers Lyric Display.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elvanto and Quelea actually diverge.

Attributes where Elvanto and Quelea differ
AttributeElvantoQuelea
Starting price$72/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by planopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Mac, Linux
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Quelea

  • Lyric Display
  • Bible Verses
  • Theme Support
  • Song Library
  • OpenLyrics Format
  • Web Remote
  • Theme Editor
  • Plugin Support

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 Quelea
  • A church outside the United States wanting a management system that was not designed solely around American church practicenot Quelea
  • A congregation replacing spreadsheets for service planning, song rotation and CCLI reportingnot Quelea
  • A church that wants management and online giving on one invoice rather than integrating two vendorsnot Quelea

Quelea

  • 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.

Quelea

  • Quelea is 100% free open source software with no paid tier or vendor support contract

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

Quelea

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • All features
    • No cost
    • Community development

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 Quelea if

  • You need lyric display.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
  • You also want bible verses.
Quelea review

Questions people ask

Is Elvanto or Quelea better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month and Quelea at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elvanto or Quelea?
Quelea has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $72/month for Elvanto and Free for Quelea.
Does Elvanto or Quelea run on more platforms?
Elvanto runs on Web, iOS, Android. Quelea runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use Quelea for free?
Yes. Quelea 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 Quelea is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that Quelea cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. Quelea covers Lyric Display, Bible Verses, Theme Support, Song Library.

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.

Quelea: Is Quelea free?

Yes, Quelea is completely free church projection software with no paid tiers or premium features. It is 100% free and open source.

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.

Quelea: Are there any costs associated with using Quelea?

There are no costs, subscription fees, or feature limitations based on payment. All features including stage view, video backgrounds, mobile lyrics view, multilingual support, and Bible integration are free.

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.

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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