Best synagogue software for religious school management
A school module is only useful if tuition lands on the same family statement as dues and the roster talks to the membership record. We score what each vendor documents, not what the demo implies.
Quick answer
- Easyshul — Standard (congregations with more than 150 families) $349/mo (≈$4,188/yr at 300 households). Cloud synagogue management platform covering membership CRM, billing and payments, giving, events, education, QuickBooks/Sage integration and pastoral-care workflows, priced at a flat monthly rate for congregations over 150 families.
- Benevolate — Quote-based: monthly core platform fee + a per-transaction fee on every payment except checks; premium modules priced separately. McKinney, Texas-based CRM and operations platform sold to nonprofits, museums and synagogues, whose synagogue edition covers membership, dues, yahrzeits, school, events, a member portal and QuickBooks journal sync.
- Rakefet Online — RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1) $149/mo; RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS $90/mo (≈$1,080/yr at 300 households). Cloud-hosted synagogue database, billing and full accounting system from Rakefet Unlimited, with an on-premises Rakefet for Windows option.
What a real school module looks like
Enrollment by a parent through the portal, class and teacher rosters, attendance, emergency and allergy information, and tuition that appears on the family statement alongside dues, with the same payment plans and the same year-end letter. Anything less is an events module with a different label. We score what each vendor documents publicly; where a vendor advertises "school management" without describing these pieces, the status reads partial and the review's open questions tell you what to ask in the demo.
Preschools and camps are a further step: daily schedules, pick-up authorizations and licensing paperwork. Few synagogue platforms handle those natively, and a congregation with a licensed preschool should ask specifically.
The shortlist
| # | Product | Published price | Est. annual at 300 households | Score | Evidence | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easyshul | Standard (congregations with more than 150 families) $349/mo | $4,188 | 80.5/100 | High confidence | Primarily 150+ families; separate program for smaller shuls |
| 2 | Benevolate | Quote-based: monthly core platform fee + a per-transaction fee on every payment except checks; premium modules priced separately | — | 63.0/100 | High confidence | Not stated. |
| 3 | Rakefet Online | RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1) $149/mo; RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS $90/mo | $1,080 | 78.0/100 | High confidence | not stated (UJA 2018: ~600 customers worldwide, self-reported) |
| 4 | Temple Tools | Full CRM $370/mo | $4,440 | 66.0/100 | Medium confidence | Any; flat price regardless of size |
| 5 | ShulCloud | Standard ('ShulCloud without Financials') $161.99/mo; Premium ('ShulCloud with Financials') $313.99/mo; Enterprise ('The Complete ShulCloud') $464.99/mo; Small-shul Premium rate (signup checkbox) $97.99/mo | $3,579.49 | 78.5/100 | High confidence | All sizes; signup form has a sub-100-account rate |
| 6 | ShulHub | Standard $99/mo; Professional ('Most Popular') $150/mo; Enterprise $180/mo | $1,800 | 62.5/100 | High confidence | Any; unlimited members in every tier |
Easyshul
Cloud synagogue management platform covering membership CRM, billing and payments, giving, events, education, QuickBooks/Sage integration and pastoral-care workflows, priced at a flat monthly rate for congregations over 150 families.
- Highest third-party rating among the five (4.9/5 on 8 Capterra reviews, recent 2025-2026) with consistent praise for support responsiveness.
- Full billing/receivables, payments and QuickBooks/Sage integration included at one price, plus email, SMS and seating.
- Free imports from Rakefet, Chaverware and MM2000 with onboarding.
- Flat $349/mo plus processing fees regardless of size above 150 families; sub-150 pricing is not published.
- No website CMS (relies on Wix/Squarespace/WordPress/Weebly integration) and no native member app yet.
Benevolate
McKinney, Texas-based CRM and operations platform sold to nonprofits, museums and synagogues, whose synagogue edition covers membership, dues, yahrzeits, school, events, a member portal and QuickBooks journal sync.
- Genuine accounting mapping (category -> COA -> deposit bank) with QuickBooks journal sync
- API access included in Core; both email and SMS on household lists
- Security page is candid about SOC 2 status rather than claiming it
- No published synagogue prices; everything is a quote
- Thin synagogue track record by its own account (four synagogues worked with directly)
Rakefet Online
Cloud-hosted synagogue database, billing and full accounting system from Rakefet Unlimited, with an on-premises Rakefet for Windows option.
- Built-in full double-entry accounting (AR/AP/GL, restricted funds, bank rec) rather than relying on QuickBooks
- Integrated Jewish calendar with Torah portions and Google Calendar sync
- API plus import/export; unlimited users
- Year-1 price ($149/mo) is substantially above the renewal price ($90/mo); both billed annually
- No website CMS; no dedicated mobile app
Temple Tools
Synagogue CRM with dues billing, member portal, donations, yahrzeits, events, school programs, newsletters and a drag-and-drop website builder, sold as a single flat-rate plan.
- Single all-inclusive price ($370/mo) with unlimited users and congregants, a 30-day trial and a 30-day refund policy stated on the vendor page.
- Onboarding listed as free; ShulCloud migration program with hands-on data transfer.
- Published processing rate (Stripe Connect 2.9% + 30¢).
- Flat rate means small congregations pay the same as large ones.
- Several synagogue-specific areas are not documented: Hebrew calendar/zmanim, honors/gabbai, cemetery, SMS, data export/API.
ShulCloud
Cloud-based synagogue management suite combining a member database, accounts receivable, website/CMS, scheduling, communications and a member portal, sold in three tiers.
- Broadest published feature list of the five: yahrzeits, zmanim-driven scheduling, HH seating, gabbai/kibbudim, cemetery, school, campaigns, website/CMS all on one platform.
- Transparent monthly and annual list prices on the vendor site.
- Largest installed base claimed (1,600+ shuls), so peers and consultants familiar with it are easier to find.
- Standard tier excludes billing, payments and statements — the financial core most synagogues buy the software for.
- Several items are paid extras on top of the tier price: SMS, member mobile app, QuickBooks/Sage sync, data imports.
ShulHub
All-in-one synagogue platform built around a website builder, with CRM, billing, donations, email/SMS, automation, gabbai tools, seating and apps, sold in three monthly tiers with no setup fee or contract.
- Lowest entry price of the tiered vendors ($99/mo) with no setup fee and unlimited members/users in every tier.
- Website builder with many themes, email, automation, member and admin mobile apps included from the base tier.
- Professional tier at $150/mo includes billing, online payments, accounting sync (QuickBooks/Zoho/FreshBooks), gabbai/kibbudim and yahrzeits.
- Standard tier is essentially a website + CRM: no billing, online member payments, yahrzeits, gabbai tools or accounting sync.
- School management, fundraising campaigns and SMS are unpriced add-ons; event seating and pastoral workspace need Enterprise.