The main difference between Text in Church and Tithe.ly is a) pricing, and b) functionality. Tithe.ly Messaging is a church texting service and email tool built for your church or ministry, while Text in Church is primarily a text messaging tool.
Let’s look at the core differences between these church messaging systems, as well as the best texting app for churches.
Text in church is a messaging tool that allows you to send text messages to regular attendees. For example, rather than send a dozen emails to congregants, you can send a dozen text messages to communicate more quickly and efficiently. Or, if you run a discipleship program at your church, you can use a text message to communicate with participants.
Text in church provides the following features:
The bottom line is that Text in Church provides most of the functionality you need to set up an efficient system for sending mass texts to your church family.
To text message people with Text In Church, you can import their contact information into their software tool. You can then follow up with contacts with a customized text message. Text In Church also offer a feature that pulls contact info from "digital connect cards" to help build your database.
Text In Church is expensive, and they don't always provide great customer support.
In one honest review, a customer claimed that Text In Church's support was "poorly lacking."
For churches that are looking for a text messaging solution that scales without a high cost, Text In Church isn't ideal.
Not only that, but Text In Church is not an all-in-one online solution. They provide only partial functionality for a church that wants to build a robust solution for administration teams and an easy-to-use solution for congregations.
There are plenty of texting apps for churches and Text in Church alternatives. But the best alternative to Text In Church isn't a set of complicated tools. It's a simple integration with church communication software that makes it simple to connect directly with your church members via text message. It also happens to be the best texting service for churches looking for a simple, affordable solution for connecting with church members.
Tithe.ly goes the extra mile by providing a text messaging feature as just one valuable layer in a web-based church communication software.
This wonderful tool provides a text messaging tool as well as text-to-give functionality. Church members can receive customized text messages from their church and give safely and conveniently from their mobile phones. If they want to give, they can use a credit card or debit card, and can give anywhere from a small minimum (such as $5) to hundreds of dollars (or more).
Tithe.ly's emphasis on fundraising tools makes it simple for anyone to give an excellent gift right on their mobile–and also enables tracking of gifts for admin.
Most importantly, Tithe.ly's text-to-give tool is cost-efficient. It's an ideal solution for busy church leaders who want an all-in-one solution that handles their text messaging needs without a ton of extra fees.
Tithe.ly's text messaging feature follows a process similar to Text In Church: Members can receive an automated text message sent directly to their phone and engage in a two-way text. As a solution for administration teams, this all-in-one solution is ideal. It makes it simple to send out church newsletter alternatives directly to recipients and integrates beautifully with Tithe.l'ys cloud-enabled church management software.
Next, Tithe.ly's text-to-give tool follows a simple process. Churches can provide their church members with a number to text and a special keyword to text (such as "GIFT"). Once the church members text the special code, they are generally taken to an external link where they can input their contact info and the amount they want to give. This two-way text makes it incredibly intuitive to make a gift.
With Tithe.ly's text messaging feature, you get two-way texting, automatic follow-up messages, unlimited keywords, and integration with your email campaigns (in fact, Tithe.ly's messaging feature covers both text messages and email campaigns). With this complete church management system, text messages can act as an alternative to your church newsletters or church bulletins, or they can run side-by-side your email campaigns.
Tithe.ly's texting tool gives church leaders a simple, convenient way to engage with church members and ask for donations while saving their church members valuable time. Tithe.ly doesn't come with a significant learning curve; anyone that knows how to text can use the tool.
Compared to Text In Church, Tithe.ly has a cost-efficient pricing model. For $19 a month, you get unlimited contacts, unlimited emails per month, and unlimited keywords. After your included 500 messages per month, additional text messages cost just $10 per 500 text messages (see more information on pricing below). That makes Tithe.ly ideal for small church plants to the largest churches.
Finally, Tithe.ly also focuses on one of the most important aspects of text messaging in church: giving and generosity. Text In Church doesn't necessarily put emphasis on giving, but Tithe.ly wants to help churches harness the power of texting to empower countless people to give. Tithe.l'y suite of fundraising tools make it intuitive to increase giving via a simple solution for congregations.
Tithe.ly can be used as a standalone solution for administration teams to send text messages, or it can be used as an all-in-one, customizable solution for helping every church department to thrive.
At first glance, the services might seem similar. Both Text In Church and Tithe.ly allow you to send messages to individuals and groups in your church community, and both are designed specifically for churches. But there are a few important things you should know before making this important decision.
For example, Tithe.ly’s monthly fee is just $19, and the first 500 messages are included at no additional cost. With Text in Church those same 500 messages will cost you—gulp!—$37!
But what if your church needs more texts per month? Tithe.ly Messaging still saves you money. At just $10 per 500 text messages (after the first 500), 1,000 messages will cost you just $29, compared to Text in Church’s $67 price tag.
Even if you end up sending 2,500 texts a month, Tithe.ly still has the competition beat on price—$59 versus Text in Church’s $97. Text in church pricing should be affordable!
If you’re already a Tithe.ly customer or in need of a new digital giving solution, Tithe.ly Messaging simply can’t be beat. Because Tithe.ly is a complete church management system, it's intuitive and seamless to make changes. Update contact information in one application, and your changes flow automatically into other parts of the Tithe.ly ecosystem. That means you’ll never have to worry that you’re texting someone using an out-of-date mobile number.
Tithe.ly Giving also offers advanced features for giving with a text message, making it a much more powerful tool for engagement with generosity. As a church community builder, Tithe.ly is unparalleled in terms of functionality.
Standalone products like Text in Church can’t do that, so it will be up to your team to keep tabs on updates and manually enter new information across every system you use. Whew! It’s exhausting just to think about.
Plus, you can pull in content from Tithe.ly Media right into your messages and email blasts, customize your messages with information from your church's database in Tithe.ly People, and more.
And speaking of integration, since you’re shopping for Messaging software, now might be the time to consider Tithe.ly All Access. This one subscription offers all of Tithe.ly’s amazing products—Giving, Sites, Church App, Events, Church Management, and yes, Messaging—for just one, low monthly price.
Whether you need to send a weekly email newsletter to inform your church about upcoming events, or stay in touch with your people and volunteers, Tithe.ly Messaging is a robust email platform as well as text messaging service. Create beautiful looking and effective email blasts using easy to use and fully customizable templates that don't require you to be a designer. Most churches using Tithe.ly Messaging find that they dont need additional email platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
Text in Church doesn't offer these types of robust email features.
Our user interface was honed by the knowledge we’ve gained as a leader in the digital church giving space.
At Tithe.ly, our goal is to provide technological solutions that help churches focus on what matters most—making disciples. The less you have to think about your messaging software, the better, so with Tithe.ly Messaging we designed a simple-to-use menu that gets out of your way and lets you get on with the work of ministry.
If you're looking for a standalone feature for sending mass texts in church, Text In Church is a viable option for you. It provides helpful features and comes with decent functionality.
Even as a standalone feature, Tithe.ly is still a more cost-efficient solution than Text In Church. For just $19 a month, you can save time building relationships and send up to 500 messages per month.
And if you're looking for an intuitive church management software that handles all your communication/administrative/planning/market needs, Tithe.ly is a great solution.
Text In Church costs $37 per month for 500 text messages, and Tithe.ly costs $19 per month for 500 text messages. Even if you send up to 2,500 text messages per month, Tithe.ly is still the more cost-effective solution for congregations.
Here are some real church reviews of what church admin and leaders are saying about this flexible software management solution.
"They have always been the best bang for your buck, the most feature-rich platform, and bar none the best customer friendly staff around." – Russ C.
"This tool is so great for both the Church and the member who is tithing. It's clean, easy to use and you can tell that a ton of investment went into the UI." – Sean C.
"They provide multiple ways to give, great set up service, and you can literally be up and running in minutes. Integration into your website is a breeze and the app is easy and friendly to use." – Danielle K.
Both Text in Church and Tithe.ly Messaging will get the job done, but Tithe.ly Messaging has some clear advantages. So, before making your decision, examine your budget and your strategy for messaging. Then choose the product that will work best for you.
