AltarDesk

Overview

AltarDesk serves church administrators with member records, donor statements, schedules and safeguarding tools. Members can update their own details, view rota duties, give and access giving statements through the portal and app, reducing the need for administrators to handle each of those interactions.

UK-specific Gift Aid and Charity Commission governance modules distinguish its stated focus. The product also supports renewal tracking, record storage, mobile access and multiple locations. Churches outside the UK may find the UK governance emphasis less relevant, though the core member and giving tools remain pertinent.

Key features

Giving and administration

Paid plans include Gift Aid and GASDS management, direct HMRC claim submission and contactless giving. Bank statement imports support Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Monzo, while Stripe processes member card payments. Together these functions suit churches that need giving administration and reconciliation in the same system; they are not included in the free plan.

Data and security

Member and giving records are held in UK data centres, while sermon audio and video stay in the church’s own Google Drive. That separation is useful for churches already using Drive for media, but means those files are not stored with the member records. AltarDesk says it uses TLS 1.3 for connections, AES-256 encryption for stored data, and row-level security to isolate organisation records. It says it does not sell church data, share it with advertisers or train AI models on it, and identifies itself as UK GDPR compliant and ICO registered under ZC117860.

The pricing page says a real person usually answers questions the same day; security support goes to the team that builds the product. That is a relevant assurance for administrators handling sensitive records, though it is not a guarantee of a response time.

Pricing

AltarDesk has a free plan and a 30-day trial. The free plan costs £0.00 per free and covers up to 15 people with 500 MB of storage. It is a useful starting point for a small congregation, but a church at the cap cannot add people until it moves to a higher plan. AltarDesk says it charges no surprise overage fees.

• Up to 75 people: £17.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. Includes 2 GB storage, one giving device and 500 marketing emails per month. This is the entry paid tier and raises the member cap substantially, but churches should check whether the single device and email allowance are sufficient.
• 76–125 people: £25.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. Fits congregations above the first paid tier’s 75-person ceiling.
• 126–200 people: £35.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. This tier provides room for a larger member list.
• 201–500 people: £69.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. It is the listed option for churches managing several hundred people.
• 501–1,000 people: £99.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. It covers a larger congregation without moving to the top tier.
• 1,000+ people: £199.00 per month, billed monthly; pay monthly or annually. This is the listed tier for the largest member lists.

The higher tiers are differentiated by people managed; the up-to-75 tier is the one with stated storage, giving-device and marketing-email allowances. Churches choosing a larger tier should confirm that its storage and other allowances match their needs before committing. The 30-day trial gives a defined period to assess fit before choosing a plan.

Platforms

AltarDesk is available on Android, iOS and the web, giving administrators and members mobile as well as browser access.

Who it's for

AltarDesk is a strong fit for UK churches that want member self-service, rota visibility, giving statements and paid-plan Gift Aid and governance functions within one church-management product. Its free tier can suit a small church willing to work within 15 people and 500 MB. It is a weaker fit for a church that will quickly exceed that cap or needs more storage than its chosen tier provides.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Members can update details, view duties and statements, and give through the portal and app, sharing routine interactions with congregants rather than leaving them all to administrators.
• Pro: Paid plans combine Gift Aid and GASDS handling, HMRC submissions and contactless giving, with bank imports from five named UK banks.
• Pro: UK-hosted member and giving records, stated encryption and organisation-level isolation address important concerns for sensitive church records.
• Con: The free plan stops at 15 people and 500 MB; reaching the member cap prevents adding people until upgrading.
• Con: The up-to-75 paid tier specifies one giving device and 500 marketing emails monthly, which may constrain churches that need more of either.
• Con: Sermon audio and video stay in the church’s Google Drive rather than alongside the member and giving records.

Alternatives

Planning Center is worth considering if its free Calendar plan for one room, People plan with unlimited database and reporting, or Services plan for five team members better matches the church’s immediate needs.

POINT may suit a church prioritising volunteer signups and scheduling, with its free offering also covering event, contact and group management, messaging, reminders and time tracking.

VolunteerBadge is another option for free volunteer management tools with unlimited admin users; background checks cost extra.

VolunteerReady may fit organizations seeking a free plan without volunteer, opportunity or seat caps, or a Starter plan at $49.00 per month.

AlignMint is an alternative for eligible organizations with up to $100K in annual donations seeking a free plan with one user and 10 GB storage.

ChurchSoftware.com Groups may appeal to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations seeking a free-forever church management plan with no fees or trial.

Faith Teams offers a free account for up to 100 active people, subject to activating Online Giving within 30 days of sign-up.

Get Connected by Galaxy Digital is an option for organizations seeking custom pricing not based on volunteer count.

For a focused comparison of screening tools, see Church Background Check Software.

Verdict

Choose AltarDesk if your church wants member self-service, UK giving administration and church records in one platform, and its people-based tiers fit your congregation. Its clearest strengths are the member portal and the paid-plan Gift Aid workflow; the main reasons to look elsewhere are the strict free-plan cap, limited stated allowances at the entry paid tier, or a need for more clearly specified storage at larger sizes.