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Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs Ministry Brands

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

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

From
$72/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ministry Brands logo

Ministry Brands

Religion

A church software holding company whose current product is the Amplify module suite

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Ministry Brands the legacy acquired brands and Amplify are different software, so a church buying Shelby or Fellowship One today is buying a product line that is not receiving the development investment.
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Ministry Brands covers Amplify People.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elvanto and Ministry Brands actually diverge.

Attributes where Elvanto and Ministry Brands differ
AttributeElvantoMinistry Brands
Starting price$72/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month by planquote

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Ministry Brands

  • Amplify People
  • Amplify Giving
  • Amplify Accounting
  • Amplify Websites and Streaming
  • Background screening
  • Amplify Service Planning

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

Ministry Brands

  • A church that wants member records, giving, website and streaming from one vendor with one loginnot Elvanto
  • A congregation needing fund accounting that understands restricted funds rather than a general ledger adapted from business softwarenot Elvanto
  • Running volunteer background checks under a child protection policy without a separate screening vendornot Elvanto
  • A denominational office standardising several congregations on one records and giving platformnot 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.

Ministry Brands

  • The legacy acquired brands and Amplify are different software, so a church buying Shelby or Fellowship One today is buying a product line that is not receiving the development investment.
  • Nothing is publicly priced at any level, so churches cannot compare modules against single-purpose competitors without running a full sales process.
  • Ministry Brands processes the giving, so the transaction rate is a large and negotiable part of the cost that is easy to overlook while comparing module subscriptions.
  • Module count creates upsell pressure, and churches often sign for a bundle then use three or four modules while paying for the rest.
  • Moving from a legacy brand onto Amplify is a full data migration with its own cost and risk, which weakens the argument that staying inside the family is the low-effort choice.

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

Ministry Brands

On request
  • Amplify$undefined/year
    • Modules bought individually or bundled
    • Priced by church size and modules selected
    • Giving processed by Ministry Brands at a negotiated transaction rate
  • Legacy products$undefined/year
    • Shelby Systems, Elexio, Fellowship One, easyTithe and others
    • Supported for existing customers
    • Not the go-forward investment line

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 Ministry Brands if

  • You need amplify people.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want amplify giving.
Ministry Brands review

Questions people ask

Is Elvanto or Ministry Brands better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month and Ministry Brands at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elvanto or Ministry Brands?
Elvanto starts at $72/month and Ministry Brands at On request.
Does Elvanto or Ministry Brands run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Ministry Brands is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that Ministry Brands cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. Ministry Brands covers Amplify People, Amplify Giving, Amplify Accounting, Amplify Websites and Streaming.

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.

Ministry Brands: What do I actually buy from Ministry Brands?

Amplify, sold as modules. The older acquired brands are still supported but are not what new customers are sold.

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.

Ministry Brands: Is pricing published?

No. Everything is quoted by church size and module selection, and the giving transaction rate is negotiated separately.

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.

Ministry Brands: Are Shelby and Fellowship One discontinued?

They are supported but not the go-forward line. Ask for written end-of-support commitments before renewing.

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.

Ministry Brands: Is Amplify Equip the same as Faithlife Equip?

No. Amplify Equip is an AI sermon preparation module. Faithlife Equip was a separate product that has been discontinued.

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