ChurchCMS
8.3#2 in church event management softwareFrom $290 a yearFree planAndroidWebAPISelf-hosted
VisitChurchCMS vs CiviCRM
CiviCRM
7.5#6 in nonprofit membership management softwareFrom $15 a monthFree planWebAPIExtensionSelf-hosted
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | ChurchCMS | CiviCRM |
|---|---|---|
| Communications | Communication features include push, SMS and in-app messages, targeted announcements, birthday and anniversary greetings and daily scripture. | CiviMail supports targeted and personalized bulk emails, including rich HTML and text-only messages for Pro subscribers on Spark. |
| Events | Event management includes a shared calendar, registration, reminders, ministry groups, bulletins and Sunday-school registers. | Its event tools support registrations, configurable participant information, pricing, and automated communications. |
| Extensibility | The developer offering describes Laravel plugins, event hooks, Vue admin extensions, custom API routes, webhooks and OAuth2 integrations. | Community-created installable extensions add functionality, with CMS-specific directories for Backdrop, Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress. |
| Headquarters | Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India | San Francisco, California, United States |
| License | The software is released under the MIT open-source license and can be downloaded, used, modified, and shared without a license fee. | CiviCRM 2.x and later is licensed under GNU AGPL 3 with a CiviCRM Licensing Exception. |
| Security | Official material states SSL support, bcrypt password hashing, managed-hosting backups and security monitoring; it also claims GDPR-oriented data ownership. | CiviCRM publishes security advisories and provides instructions for subscribing to security notices and reporting suspected issues. |
| Support | Support is offered through email and WhatsApp, GitHub discussions/issues and optional installation or managed-hosting services. | Support options include documentation, Stack Exchange, community chat, events, release notes, bug reporting, and professional consulting. |
ChurchCMS plans
- Self-HostedFree
- Self-Host It YourselfFree
- Managed Hosting Monthly$29 a month
- Managed Hosting$29 a month
- Installation Service$99, paid once
- We Install It For You$99, paid once
CiviCRM plans
- CiviCRM (self-hosted)Free
- Spark Starter$15 a month
- Spark Essentials$30 a month
- Spark Pro$50 a month
Pick ChurchCMS if…
You want what its maker publishes above — check its page for the details.
Pick CiviCRM if…
You want what its maker publishes above — check its page for the details.