Our advantages
Congregate provides the best value.
By consolidating your public website, member features, and leadership tools, you no longer need separate service providers.
No longer pay for a separate website platform, website hosting service, member directory service, text messaging, voice messaging/phone tree service, attendance taking service, and more. Congregate includes all of these services and over 30+ features catered to local churches at one low price.
No contracts or commitments
There are absolutely no contracts or commitments of any kind.
Use your own domain name
Keep your current website address and use it with Congregate.
Change plans or cancel anytime
Congregate is billed month-to-month and you can change service plans, add/remove services, or cancel at anytime.
Keep your existing data
Using our built-in tools, copy your page content, sermons, directory, etc. to your new Congregate site.
Multiple themes, templates, designs
Choose to use nearly any WordPress theme or any of the built-in themes in the Congregate CMS. Change themes, designs, styles at any time.
Use WordPress or Congregate CMS
Choose to use WordPress to build, design, and manage your site's pages or use the built-in Congregate CMS to do the same.
Price lock guarantee
If you keep your service active, your current service plan’s cost will never increase.
Free mobile apps
We offer free iOS, Android, and web apps for all of your members and leaders, including the popular Congregate Members app.
Free upgrades and updates
Congregate is constantly being updated and improved with new features and technologies.
Website hosting included
Your website hosting, media storage, email hosting, and SSL certificate are all included in our standard service plans.
Free technical support
Congregate includes free technical support, documentation, 24/7 support chatbot, and tutorial videos.
Exclusive onestone.com discounts
Enjoy exclusive savings at One Stone Biblical Resources (church supplies, bibles, books, etc.) reserved only for Congregate clients.
Why choose Congregate?
The following provides a comparison to typical WordPress websites (which are not using the Congregate for WordPress plugin), other church CMS platforms, and generic online website builders.
| Congregate | Generic WordPress Sites* Not using Congregate for WordPress | Other Church CMS Sites* | Generic Builder Sites* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-Time Setup Fee | $299-$499 | $0** | ~$500+** | $0** |
| Monthly Service/Hosting Fee | $20-$55/mo | ~$10-$25+** | ~$60-$295+** | ~$10-25+** |
| Small Church Setup Fee Discount | ✓ | |||
| Contract/Commitment | No contracts. No commitments. | Possible hosting commitments | Possible service commitments | Possible hosting commitments |
| Change Plans Anytime | ✓ | Depends on provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| Price Lock – Your Price Will Never Increase | ✓ | |||
| Use Your Domain Name | ✓ | Depends on provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free SSL (Secure https:// Website) | ✓ | Depends on provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Email Accounts | ✓ | Depends on provider | ✓ | |
| Free Technical Support Included | ✓ | Depends on provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| Exclusive OneStone.com Discounts | ✓ | |||
| Free Mobile Apps | ✓ | Depends on provider | ||
| Multiple Templates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth | Included in our Unlimited Plan | Depends on provider | (Included only at higher service levels) | |
| Unlimited Pages | ✓ | ✓ | (Included only at higher service levels) | ✓ |
| No Programming Knowledge Required | ✓ | Some knowledge required | ✓ | ✓ |
| No Regular Updates, Patches, etc. to be Installed | ✓ | Must continually update core/plugins/themes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile Friendly, Responsive Design | ✓ | Depends on WordPress theme | ✓ | ✓ |
| Platform Designed Specially for Churches | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Church-Related Modules Built-in | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Virtual Library – a Congregate Exclusive | ✓ | N/A | N/A | |
| Automated Text Message Reminders | ✓ | N/A | ||
| Automated Voice Telephone Call Reminders | ✓ | N/A | ||
| Group Email Messaging | ✓ | N/A | (Unlimited included only at higher service levels) | |
| Public Sermons/Podcasts | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Public Calendars/Events | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Public Pages and Files | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Public News and Blogs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Public Articles and Bulletins | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Website | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Sermons | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Calendars/Events | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Pages and Files | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Photo Galleries | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only News and Blogs | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Only Articles/Bulletins | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Directory | ✓ | (must install third-party plugins) | ✓ | |
| Member Attendance Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Worship/Volunteer/Visitor Assignments Generator | ✓ | |||
| Group Text and Voice Messages | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Group MMS Messages | ✓ | Depends on provider | ||
| Sermon Transcriptions (Audio-to-Text) | ✓ | |||
| Automated Job/Volunteer Reminders | ✓ | |||
| Local Church Visitor Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Visitor Information Collection, QR Code | ✓ | Depends on provider | ||
| Leadership CRM | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Digital Member Photo Wall Display | ✓ | |||
| Weekly Activity Recap Email | ✓ | |||
| Hymn and Song Tracking | ✓ | |||
| Bible Class/Sunday School Tracker | ✓ | |||
| Finance/Contribution Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Member Interests Finder | ✓ | |||
| Church Library/Resource Inventory Manager | ✓ |
*This comparison is to be used as a generic guide only; not every feature omission or inclusion will represent each and every competitor.
**Competitor pricing is for estimation purposes only; contact each competitor for up-to-date and specific pricing/terms.
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