Side by side
Assemblea vs ChurchCMS
Both stand on church volunteer management software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Choose Assemblea if your congregation wants member records, giving, events and finances alongside a member portal and church-focused import tools. Its Free plan has limits on members, users, yearly finance and giving entries, and storage; larger congregations can consider Starter at $19 a month or Pro at $49 a month.
Visit Assemblea
Choose ChurchCMS if your church wants broad management tools with a free, unlimited self-hosted plan or needs managed hosting and onboarding. Look elsewhere if your church does not want to host software itself and the $29 monthly managed plan does not suit its budget.
Visit ChurchCMSThe facts
| Assemblea | ChurchCMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Yes |
| Runs on | Web | Android, API, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Starter: $19 a month | Managed Hosting Annual: $290 a year |
| Plans published | 3 | 10 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | assemblea.app | churchcms.app |
| On church volunteer management software | #5 of 30 | #1 of 30 |
Assemblea: what it does well
- Links member profiles to families, church acts and roles.
- Supports child check-in with printed security codes.
- Imports from four named church platforms or generic CSV.
- Members can manage recurring gifts and volunteer shifts.
- Includes field-level encryption and a tamper-evident audit trail.
What to know first
- Free plan is limited to 50 members and 2 users.
- Free plan caps finances and giving at 50 entries a year.
- Online donations incur a 1% platform fee plus Stripe processing fees.
ChurchCMS: what it does well
- Free self-hosted plan includes all six core modules and Android app.
- No usage limits or per-member charges.
- MIT license allows use, modification, and sharing without a license fee.
- Giving supports recurring donations and four named payment providers.
- Managed hosting includes daily backups, SSL, and email support.
What to know first
- Self-hosted churches are responsible for hosting the software on their server.
- Managed Hosting costs $29 per month.
- Payment providers set transaction fees.
Alternatives to Assemblea Alternatives to ChurchCMS The whole list