Softwr

Religion · head to head

IconCMO vs Realm

IconCMO logo

IconCMO

Religion

Comprehensive church and organization management software

From
$50/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Realm logo

Realm

Religion

Church management and engagement platform by Community

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IconCMO membership and accounting are priced as two separate subscriptions, so a church needing both pays for both; Realm realm is deprecated. MongoDB Realm documentation redirects to MongoDB Atlas pricing. No Realm-specific pricing published. Realm was MongoDB's mobile and edge database platform.
  • They diverge on capability: IconCMO covers Member Management, Realm covers Member Directory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IconCMO and Realm actually diverge.

Attributes where IconCMO and Realm differ
AttributeIconCMORealm
Starting price$50/monthOn request
PlatformsWeb, DesktopWeb, IOS, Android
Founded19852012

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 IconCMO

  • Member Management
  • Financial Management
  • Volunteer Coordination
  • Facility Management
  • Accounting Packages
  • Email Systems
  • Reporting Tools
  • Desktop support

Only in Realm

  • Member Directory
  • Group Management
  • Online Giving
  • Communications
  • Email Integration
  • Event Management
  • Mobile App
  • IOS support

Both cover

  • Payment Processing
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

IconCMO

  • Church membership and attendance recordsnot Realm
  • Donation tracking and contribution statementsnot Realm
  • Fund accounting for a congregationnot Realm
  • Event registration and child check-in on the Premium tiernot Realm
  • Bulk email to membersnot Realm

Realm

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

Where each one falls short

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

IconCMO

  • Membership and accounting are priced as two separate subscriptions, so a church needing both pays for both
  • The Basic membership plan at $50 a month includes a single user
  • Communications and email statements start at the Standard plan at $75 a month, capped at 2,000 emails a month and 5 users
  • Event registration, check-in and document storage require Premium at $125 a month
  • Accounts payable and receivable are gated to the Premium accounting tier at $45 a month

Realm

  • Realm is deprecated. MongoDB Realm documentation redirects to MongoDB Atlas pricing. No Realm-specific pricing published. Realm was MongoDB's mobile and edge database platform.

Pricing, plan by plan

IconCMO

$50/month
  • Membership & Donation - Basic$50/month
    • 1 User account
    • Membership tracking
    • Attendance tracking
  • Membership & Donation - Standard$75/month
    • 5 Users
    • All Basic features
    • Communications
  • Membership & Donation - Premium$125/month
    • Unlimited Users
    • Unlimited Emails
    • All Basic and Standard features
  • Accounting - Standard$35/month
    • 1 User
    • General Ledger
    • Banking

Realm

On request
  • Essential$99/month
    • Basic features
    • Up to 500 members
  • Complete$299/month
    • All features
    • Unlimited members
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose IconCMO if

  • You need member management.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want financial management.
IconCMO review

Choose Realm if

  • You need member directory.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want group management.
Realm review

Questions people ask

Is IconCMO or Realm better?
Neither clearly leads. IconCMO starts at $50/month and Realm at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IconCMO or Realm?
IconCMO starts at $50/month and Realm at On request.
Does IconCMO or Realm run on more platforms?
IconCMO runs on Web, Desktop. Realm runs on Web, IOS, Android.
What is IconCMO best used for?
IconCMO is most often used for church membership and attendance records, donation tracking and contribution statements, fund accounting for a congregation, event registration and child check-in on the premium tier. Of those, church membership and attendance records and donation tracking and contribution statements are not what Realm is typically brought in for.
What can IconCMO do that Realm cannot?
IconCMO covers Member Management, Financial Management, Volunteer Coordination, Facility Management. Realm covers Member Directory, Group Management, Online Giving, Communications. Both handle Payment Processing, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IconCMO: What is the lowest price for Icon CMO Membership & Donation package?

The Basic Membership & Donation plan costs $50/month for 1 user account and includes membership tracking, attendance tracking, donations tracking, and support. Alternatively, you can bill annually at $550/year.

Source
Realm: Is Realm still available?

Realm appears to be deprecated or consolidated into MongoDB's other offerings. Documentation pages redirect to MongoDB Atlas without specific Realm information.

Source
IconCMO: How many users are supported in each Icon CMO tier?

Membership & Donation tiers support 1 user (Basic, $50/month), 5 users (Standard, $75/month), or unlimited users (Premium, $125/month). Accounting packages support 1 user (Standard, $35/month) or 5 users (Premium, $45/month).

Source
Realm: What happened to Realm pricing?

Realm no longer has published pricing. The product was MongoDB's mobile and edge database platform but has been discontinued or merged into other MongoDB services.

Source
IconCMO: What add-on services are available for Icon CMO?

Icon Systems offers Icon Bookkeeping starting at $500/month, Icon Payroll starting at $40/month, and SMS Text Messaging ranging from $20 to $300/month depending on message volume (500 to 10,000 texts per month).

Source
Share

Related pages

More on IconCMO

More on Realm

Keep looking

Other head to heads