TL;DR:
- Elvanto is an Australian-built church management platform founded in 2010 and acquired by Tithely in November 2018
- Strong service planning, volunteer rostering, and a clean interface make it a solid mid-tier ChMS
- Pricing is per active adult, starting around $19/month for small churches, with a $149 one-time setup fee
- The free trial is generous: full access for up to 20 active adults with no time limit
- Best fit for small-to-medium churches in Australia, NZ, the UK, or anywhere that values worship planning without Planning Center’s price tag
What Is Elvanto?
Elvanto launched in 2010 out of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Founder Ben Sinclair built it as a modern, approachable alternative to the enterprise-heavy church management tools that dominated the market at the time. The platform quickly gained a following in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK before expanding to churches in 45+ countries.
Unlike most church management software, which is built in California or Texas for a North American audience, Elvanto came out of Australia. That origin shapes the product in meaningful ways: the design sensibility is cleaner, the pricing is tied to active members rather than flat fees, and the team has always understood that “global” means more than just the United States.
The platform covers all the core church management functions: people and member records, service planning, volunteer scheduling, groups, children’s check-in, online giving, and communication tools. It’s not as deep as Planning Center in any one area, but it covers the full range in one product at a reasonable price.
The Tithely Factor
On November 14, 2018, Elvanto was acquired by Tithely. Founder Ben Sinclair joined Tithely as EVP of Product. Elvanto continues to operate at elvanto.com as a distinct product within the Tithely portfolio.
This matters for a few reasons.
What it means for existing users: Elvanto is actively maintained and has continued to receive updates under Tithely’s ownership. It hasn’t been abandoned or folded into another product. If you signed up for Elvanto, you’re still using Elvanto.
What it means for the roadmap: Tithely’s broader product strategy now influences where Elvanto goes. Tithely also owns Breeze (now marketed as Tithely Church Management), so there’s some natural overlap in the portfolio. The long-term product direction is worth tracking if you’re making a multi-year decision.
What it means for integrations: Tithely’s giving platform integrates naturally with Elvanto, which was already using Stripe. The acquisition hasn’t created friction, and the giving tools remain solid.
One note on competitors: Elvanto and UCare are two entirely separate companies. UCare (ucarehq.com) is an independent Australian ChMS founded in 2006 by Des Browne. The two products have no relationship to each other, and Elvanto did not rebrand to UCare. They are competing products that both happen to be based in Australia.
Key Features
Service Planning
This is where Elvanto earns its reputation. Service planning is one of the platform’s strongest areas, and it’s considerably better than what you get from Breeze (none) or most flat-rate ChMS platforms.
What’s included:
- Build full service run sheets with songs, items, notes, and attachments
- Schedule worship team members and send automated reminders
- CCLI/SongSelect integration for auto-reporting song usage (no manual submissions)
- Attach chord charts, lyrics, and media files to individual service items
- Volunteer availability management with conflict detection
- Track song history and usage frequency across services
The CCLI auto-reporting is a genuine time-saver for worship teams that are currently filing reports manually. If your church uses CCLI, this feature alone has practical value.
Volunteer Rostering
Elvanto uses the Australian term “rostering” for what Americans call scheduling, and it’s one of the strongest features in the product.
- Create rosters for any team or ministry area
- Set volunteer availability windows and preferences
- Auto-schedule based on availability and rotation rules
- Send reminders via email or SMS
- Handle swap requests between volunteers
- Track service history per volunteer
For churches that coordinate volunteers through group texts and spreadsheets, moving this into Elvanto can save hours every week.
People Management
The member database covers the standard set:
- Profiles with contact details, family connections, custom fields, and notes
- Households with family relationship mapping
- Groups for small groups, ministry teams, and classes
- Custom fields for church-specific tracking
- Activity timeline showing interactions, attendance, and giving per person
- Advanced search with filters to find specific segments
- CSV import/export for data migration
It’s comparable to Breeze’s people management. Planning Center People goes deeper, especially with workflows and automation, but Elvanto covers what most small-to-medium churches need.
Children’s Check-In
Elvanto includes children’s check-in functionality on the Pro tier:
- Name tag printing with security codes
- Allergy and medical alerts
- Self-service kiosk mode
- Family check-in across multiple children
Basic check-in is available on lower tiers. The kiosk and group messaging features are Pro-only.
Online Giving
Giving runs through Stripe:
- Credit and debit card processing
- Recurring donations
- Multiple giving funds (tithes, general, missions, building fund, etc.)
- Giving statements for tax purposes
- Standard Stripe transaction fees apply
One honest note on scope: Elvanto’s giving is US/AU/UK-friendly, but there’s no multi-currency flexibility beyond what Stripe natively supports, no mobile money, and no WhatsApp-linked payment flows. For churches in English-speaking Western markets, it works. For churches in Africa or South Asia, the same gaps exist here as with every other Western-built ChMS.
Communication
Elvanto handles email and SMS communication to individuals and groups. There’s no WhatsApp integration. For churches where the congregation primarily communicates on WhatsApp, this is a real limitation worth noting before committing.
Elvanto Pricing in 2026
Elvanto uses per-active-adult pricing across three tiers: Essential, Standard, and Pro. Annual billing provides a discount.
There is a one-time setup fee of $149. This covers onboarding support and account configuration.
Approximate monthly pricing (billed annually):
| Active Adults | Approx. Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Up to 50 | ~$19/month |
| Up to 100 | ~$32/month |
| Up to 200 | ~$52/month |
| Up to 500 | ~$89/month |
| Up to 1,000 | ~$130/month |
| 1,000+ | Custom pricing |
Tier differences:
- Essential: Core people management, giving, basic communication
- Standard: Adds service planning, rostering, groups
- Pro: Adds check-in kiosks, group messaging, API access
Free trial: Unlimited use for up to 20 active adults, no time limit. This is one of the more generous trial structures in the ChMS market. You can run your church on the trial indefinitely if your congregation is small enough, which gives you real-world evaluation time without a ticking clock.
What Elvanto Gets Right
1. Service Planning Without Planning Center’s Price
This is the practical case for Elvanto. If your church needs worship planning, your realistic options are Planning Center Services (modular pricing, starting at $15/month per app and climbing from there) or Elvanto (included in Standard and Pro). For churches that want decent service planning without locking into Planning Center’s per-app model, Elvanto fills the gap at a lower total cost.
It’s not as deep as Planning Center Services. But for most churches running weekly services without a full production team, it’s enough.
2. CCLI Integration Is a Real Time-Saver
The SongSelect integration handles CCLI reporting automatically. If your worship team currently logs song usage manually at the end of each month, moving to Elvanto eliminates that entirely. It’s a small thing that people who’ve done it manually will genuinely appreciate.
3. The Interface Is Clean and Approachable
Elvanto doesn’t look like software from 2008. The interface is modern, navigation is logical, and most tasks are reachable in two or three clicks. For churches without dedicated tech staff, this matters. A clean interface reduces training time and increases actual adoption.
4. The Free Trial Is Genuinely Useful
Most free trials are 14 or 30 days with a countdown clock creating pressure to decide. Elvanto’s trial gives you full access for up to 20 active adults with no expiration. A small church can run an actual evaluation, not a rushed demo. Larger churches can test the platform with real data before committing.
Where Elvanto Falls Short
1. The $149 Setup Fee Is Unusual
Most ChMS platforms don’t charge a one-time setup fee on top of the subscription. Elvanto does. At $149, it’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s worth factoring into your year-one budget, especially when competitors like Breeze and Planning Center don’t charge to get started.
2. Per-Person Pricing Climbs at Scale
The per-active-adult model is fair for small churches. It gets expensive as you grow. A 500-person church pays around $89/month at Elvanto, which is comparable to Breeze at $72/month flat. But Breeze charges $72/month for unlimited people. A 1,000-person church on Elvanto pays around $130/month, while Breeze stays at $72.
If your church is growing quickly, the pricing math shifts over time.
3. No WhatsApp Integration
Elvanto communicates via email and SMS. There is no WhatsApp integration. For churches in Australia, the UK, or the US, this is manageable. For churches in any market where WhatsApp is the primary communication channel, this is a real gap that affects your actual ability to reach people.
4. The Ecosystem Is Smaller Than Planning Center
Elvanto integrates with Stripe, CCLI/SongSelect, and Mailchimp. That’s the core list. Planning Center has a much broader ecosystem: ProPresenter, Zapier, QuickBooks, and dozens of third-party tools. If you rely on specific integrations, verify compatibility before committing to Elvanto.
Elvanto vs. the Competition
| Category | Elvanto | Breeze | Planning Center | ChurchTrac |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Based in | Australia (Tithely) | USA (Tithely) | USA | USA |
| Pricing model | Per active adult | Flat rate | Per app, per tier | Per active adult |
| Setup fee | $149 one-time | None | None | None |
| Cost at 200 people | ~$52/month | $72/month | $50-150/month | ~$15/month |
| Cost at 500 people | ~$89/month | $72/month | $100-200+/month | ~$30/month |
| Service/worship planning | Good | None | Best in class | Basic |
| Volunteer scheduling | Excellent | Basic | Good | Basic |
| CCLI integration | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Member database | Good | Good | Excellent | Good |
| Online giving | Good (Stripe) | Good (US) | Good (US, CA, AU, NZ) | Good |
| Check-in (kiosks) | Pro tier | Included | Best in class | Included |
| No | No | No | No | |
| Free trial | Unlimited/20 adults | 30 days | Free limited tier | Free tier |
| API access | Pro tier | No | Yes | Limited |
The short version:
- Choose Elvanto if you want service planning and volunteer rostering without paying for Planning Center, and per-person pricing works for your size.
- Choose Breeze if you want the simplest possible setup and flat-rate pricing, and you don’t need worship planning.
- Choose Planning Center if you have a full worship production team and need the deepest feature set available.
- Choose ChurchTrac if you want the most affordable starting point, including a free tier.
Who Should Use Elvanto
Elvanto is a good fit for:
- Small-to-medium churches (50-500 active adults) that want service planning as part of their ChMS
- Churches with active worship teams that use CCLI and want automatic reporting
- Australian, NZ, and UK churches that prefer a product built outside the US
- Churches with volunteer-heavy operations that need solid rostering tools
- Churches that want to consolidate service planning and member management into one platform
- Churches willing to pay a setup fee upfront in exchange for an active, supported product
Elvanto is not a good fit for:
- Large churches (1,000+) where per-person pricing adds up significantly
- Churches that need WhatsApp as a primary communication channel
- Churches that need extensive third-party integrations beyond Stripe, CCLI, and Mailchimp
- Churches in Africa, Latin America, or South Asia where mobile money is the standard giving method
- Churches looking for advanced multi-step workflow automation
- Churches that want to avoid a setup fee to get started
The Verdict
Elvanto is a solid, well-designed church management platform that fills a specific gap in the market: service planning and volunteer rostering at a price that doesn’t require Planning Center’s modular budget. For churches in the 100-500 active adult range that want worship team coordination built into their ChMS, Elvanto is a legitimate contender.
The Tithely acquisition hasn’t hurt the product. Elvanto continues to operate as a distinct product, the features are actively maintained, and the CCLI integration remains one of the better automatic reporting implementations in the space.
The main cautions: the $149 setup fee is unusual, per-person pricing can grow expensive at scale, and the integration ecosystem is smaller than Planning Center’s. If you’re a large church or heavily dependent on third-party tools, verify the fit before committing.
Our recommendation:
- If you’re a small-to-medium church that needs service planning without Planning Center’s cost, start with Elvanto’s unlimited free trial and see if it covers your workflow.
- If you’re a larger church comparing Elvanto to Breeze, run the per-person math for your actual size. At 500+ adults, Breeze’s flat rate may be the better deal even without service planning.
- If you’re evaluating Planning Center vs. Elvanto, the decision usually comes down to how complex your worship production is. Planning Center Services goes deeper. Elvanto is more affordable and covers most of what smaller teams actually need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elvanto still active in 2026?
Yes. Elvanto continues to operate at elvanto.com as part of Tithely’s product portfolio. It was acquired by Tithely on November 14, 2018, but continues as a distinct product. Founder Ben Sinclair joined Tithely as EVP of Product at the time of acquisition.
Is Elvanto the same as UCare?
No. Elvanto and UCare are two completely separate, unrelated companies. UCare (ucarehq.com) is an independent Australian church management platform founded in 2006 by Des Browne. Elvanto was founded in 2010 by Ben Sinclair and acquired by Tithely in 2018. The two products compete in the same market but have no corporate, historical, or product relationship.
How much does Elvanto cost?
Elvanto uses per-active-adult pricing starting around $19/month for up to 50 adults, billed annually. There is a one-time $149 setup fee. A 200-person church pays roughly $52/month, and a 500-person church pays around $89/month. Feature access depends on your tier: Essential, Standard, or Pro.
What is Elvanto’s free trial?
Elvanto offers full platform access for up to 20 active adults with no time limit. This is more generous than the typical 14- or 30-day trial. Small churches can evaluate the platform at their own pace, and any church can use it to test real workflows before committing.
Does Elvanto work for churches outside Australia?
Yes. Elvanto serves churches in 45+ countries. It works well in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Support for CCLI/SongSelect is available in regions where CCLI operates. However, there is no WhatsApp integration and no mobile money support, which limits its practical usefulness in markets where those are the dominant communication and payment channels.
How does Elvanto compare to Planning Center?
Planning Center is deeper in most areas, especially worship production and workflow automation. Elvanto is more affordable and puts service planning, rostering, and member management in a single product without per-app pricing. For churches with smaller worship teams and moderate admin needs, Elvanto often covers 80-90% of what Planning Center offers at a lower total cost.