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Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs SermonAudio

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

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

From
$72/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SermonAudio logo

SermonAudio

Religion

Free sermon hosting and distribution platform for churches

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SermonAudio 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.; SermonAudio app requires reconfiguration after restart and resets items to default ordering
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, SermonAudio covers Sermon Hosting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elvanto and SermonAudio actually diverge.

Attributes where Elvanto and SermonAudio differ
AttributeElvantoSermonAudio
Starting price$72/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by planUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
FoundedUnknown2005

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 SermonAudio

  • Sermon Hosting
  • Podcast Distribution
  • Audio Transcription
  • Analytics
  • Podcast Platforms
  • Website Integration
  • Email Distribution
  • Social Media Sharing

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

SermonAudio

  • 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.

SermonAudio

  • App requires reconfiguration after restart and resets items to default ordering
  • Bookmark search functionality sometimes returns no results due to app bugs
  • Mobile app limited to iOS and Android without web-based access for church administrators

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

SermonAudio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the SermonAudio review.

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 SermonAudio if

  • You need sermon hosting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want podcast distribution.
SermonAudio review

Questions people ask

Is Elvanto or SermonAudio better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month and SermonAudio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elvanto or SermonAudio?
SermonAudio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $72/month for Elvanto and Free for SermonAudio.
Does Elvanto or SermonAudio run on more platforms?
Elvanto runs on Web, iOS, Android. SermonAudio runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use SermonAudio for free?
Yes. SermonAudio 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 SermonAudio is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that SermonAudio cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. SermonAudio covers Sermon Hosting, Podcast Distribution, Audio Transcription, Analytics.

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.

SermonAudio: Is SermonAudio free for listening to sermons?

Yes, the sermon library of nearly 3 million audio and video sermons from conservative Christian churches is free to access. However, churches and ministries that want to broadcast their own sermons must pay a subscription fee.

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.

SermonAudio: What is the cost for churches to broadcast sermons on SermonAudio?

SermonAudio offers a flat-fee subscription model at $29.95/month, with smaller ministries potentially eligible for financial aid through a third-party scholarship program.

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.

SermonAudio: What platforms does SermonAudio support for accessing sermons?

SermonAudio supports native apps across a wide range of devices, including iOS, Android, and web browsers, allowing access to sermons anytime, anywhere.

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.

SermonAudio: Does SermonAudio provide offline access to downloaded sermons?

Yes, the app supports offline download capabilities, allowing you to download sermon audio or video and access them even without an internet connection.

Source
SermonAudio: What integrations does SermonAudio offer?

SermonAudio integrates with Logos Bible Software, Blue Letter Bible, Biblearc, and Church Plant Media, enabling seamless distribution and organization of sermon content across platforms.

Source
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