RollCall

RollCall is a self-service attendance tool for organisations that need a clear record of who arrived and, if needed, who left. Its free plan makes it a sensible starting point for a single group of up to 30 members; larger groups need to weigh the paid plan against a notable Planning Center sync limitation.

Overview

Members check themselves in by typing their name at a screen, selecting a match and confirming arrival. Leaders can follow arrivals live, while new people can register at the door and be added to group records. Optional sign-out records departure times and shows leaders who is still on site and how long each person stayed. That combination is more useful than a simple headcount for youth programmes, events and other groups where knowing who remains matters.

Check-in can run at a shared screen or through a QR code or link opened in a phone browser. Duplicate protection helps guard against repeat check-ins. During brief internet dropouts, the device continues taking check-ins and syncs them when the connection returns, so a short interruption need not stop arrivals being recorded.

Key features

Leaders get attendance visibility as people arrive, with session history for reviewing past meetings. The Planning Center integration imports people and check-in history and can add newly registered RollCall members back to Planning Center. However, RollCall check-ins do not sync back. Groups that need attendance captured in RollCall to appear in Planning Center should look elsewhere or plan around that one-way flow.

RollCall says group data is stored on Google Firebase in Sydney, Australia, encrypted in transit and at rest, with group databases isolated through security rules. It says it does not sell member data or use it for advertising. The company operates from Christchurch, New Zealand, under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. Free users receive email support; Pro users get priority support, currently provided directly by the founder.

Pricing

RollCall Free costs nothing and covers one group with up to 30 members, unlimited leaders, full check-in and kiosk mode, optional sign-out, leader portals, member profiles, session history, CSV import and export, and email support. It is a substantial way to run a small group's attendance without a subscription. The cap has a specific consequence: above 30 members, check-in and registration keep working, but reports and the full member list lock until the group upgrades or returns to 30 active members.

RollCall Pro is $9.99 a month at the launch price, billed $9.99/month; the standard price is $19.99/month. Yearly billing is $107.89 a year. Pro includes 150 members, then charges $9.99 per extra 50, and allows unlimited groups. It adds full reports and attendance charts, a session planner and activities bank, streak tracking, custom colours and wording, and priority support. Pro is the fit for organisations that have outgrown the free cap or need reporting across multiple groups; the extra-member increments and standard monthly price matter as membership grows.

A 14-day trial is available. Those who stay on Free give up Pro's reporting, planning, tracking and customisation tools, as well as unlimited groups; for a single small group focused on check-in, those omissions may be an acceptable trade.

Platforms

RollCall is available on Android, iOS and the web. Phone-browser check-in through a QR code or link means members can use mobile access without relying only on a shared kiosk screen.

Who it's for

RollCall suits churches, youth groups, sports clubs, community organisations and programme or event leaders who want self-service arrival recording, live visibility and optional sign-out. Its offline behavior and free allowance make it practical for small groups, while Pro's unlimited groups and reports better suit organisations with broader tracking needs. It is less suitable for a workflow that depends on RollCall attendance automatically flowing back into Planning Center.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Free covers one group and up to 30 members with unlimited leaders, sign-out, kiosk mode and CSV import/export, so a small group can run a complete basic attendance workflow at no subscription cost.
• Pros: Sign-out records departure times and who remains on site, adding useful accountability for programmes where arrivals alone are not enough.
• Pros: Brief outages do not halt check-ins; the device syncs recorded attendance when connectivity returns.
• Cons: Free groups above 30 active members lose access to reports and the full member list, even though check-in and registration continue.
• Cons: Planning Center sync is not two-way for attendance: RollCall check-ins do not return to Planning Center.
• Cons: Pro's standard monthly price is $19.99/month, and additional members are charged in blocks of 50, which can raise costs as a group grows.

Alternatives

Small Group Management Software is a useful comparison point if RollCall's attendance-first approach does not cover the wider needs of a small group.

Choose Church Central Cloud if its free plan's 10-member allowance, single branch, 500 one-time emails and 2 GB storage suit a smaller church operation better than RollCall's attendance-focused free tier. Consider Planning Center if its free Calendar, People and Services options better match your church's broader workflows; RollCall's integration imports from it, but does not send RollCall check-ins back.

TimelyChurch may fit groups that want a free allowance up to 100 people, rather than RollCall's 30-member threshold. Trellis is another option to compare for unlimited members, groups and staff on its paid plan, priced at $35 a month, with an additional $10/month per staff account.

Arbor is an alternative for readers seeking a mobile app for solo or group spiritual routines. ChurchCMS may suit organisations looking for self-hosted church software with six core modules and no usage limits on its free self-hosted plan. ChurchSoftware.com Groups is worth comparing for eligible 501(c)(3) organisations seeking a free church-management option. GroupVitals offers a free tier for 0–5 groups, with text messaging excluded, which may suit a group-count-based need rather than RollCall's member-count threshold.

Verdict

Choose RollCall for a small or growing group that needs self-service check-in, live attendance and optional departure tracking, especially if a free single-group plan or offline resilience matters. Pro adds useful reporting and multi-group capacity, but the 30-member Free restriction and one-way Planning Center attendance sync are strong reasons to look elsewhere when those limits conflict with how the organisation manages records.