Benevolate vs ShulHub (2026)
Two synagogue management options compared on verified pricing, Jewish-specific workflows, billing depth, communications, migration and independent evidence.
Quick answer
- Price: Benevolate: Quote-based: monthly core platform fee + a per-transaction fee on every payment except checks; premium modules priced separately. ShulHub: Standard $99/mo; Professional ('Most Popular') $150/mo; Enterprise $180/mo.
- Membership, dues and money: Benevolate leads (17.0 vs 10.5 of 20 points).
- Communications and engagement: ShulHub leads (11.0 vs 14.0 of 15 points).
- School and events: Benevolate leads (10.0 vs 7.5 of 10 points).
- Data portability and migration: Benevolate leads (10.0 vs 5.5 of 10 points).
- Pricing transparency: ShulHub leads (5 vs 15 of 15 points).
- Overall: Benevolate 63.0/100 · ShulHub 62.5/100
Pricing side by side
Benevolate
- Synagogue Core (custom quote): · Not stated; quote depends on number of households, modules, implementation needs, migration complexity and website requirements · CRM, membership, donations, payments, forms, events, member portal, reporting, API access, yahrzeits, lifecycle, facilities
Setup: Implementation scoped per organization (data migration, configuration, training, payment setup, go-live support); no amounts published.. Processing: Stripe. /pricing states '2.2% + $0.30' for the nonprofit edition and says synagogue rates are 'in the quote'. The sample ledger on /feature/payments shows ~2.9-3.0% on card and $0.00 on ACH, which is illustrative, not a published rate. Who bears the fee is not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
ShulHub
- Standard: $99/mo · Unlimited members, users & subscribers · Mobile-friendly website builder, hosting, SEO, calendar & zmanim widget, CMS, premium themes, forms, Google Analytics, social integration, user permissions, member management (CRM), member directory, accept donations, event management, automation system, email & SMS campaigns (SMS needs add-on), SMS keywords, visitor messages, ShulBoard.
- Professional ('Most Popular'): $150/mo · Unlimited · Everything in Standard plus multi-language support, ShulShmooze (ShmoozeBoard & WhatsApp), online member payments, resource booking, billing system, accounting software integration, financial & member reporting, gabbai management, kibbudim management, yahrzeit management.
- Enterprise: $180/mo · Unlimited · Everything in Professional plus ShulGift gift campaigns, event seating management, Rabbi Workspace (pastoral care).
Setup: 'No Setup Fees, No Contracts, and No Surprises' (pricing page).. Processing: Not stated on the pricing page; terms refer to an unnamed third-party payment processor. SMS and email 'at our low rates' with no figures.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Feature by feature
| Capability | Benevolate | ShulHub |
|---|---|---|
| Membership & household records | Yes 'Households and history'; relationships tied to people. | Yes Member Management (CRM), directory, custom fields; all tiers. |
| Yahrzeit tracking & reminders | Yes Yahrzeits listed in synagogue Core; /synagogues: 'Yahrzeit, cemetery, and lifecycle' module. | Partial Yahrzeit Management is Professional and Enterprise only (not Standard). |
| Hebrew calendar integration | Not verified Not mentioned; Hebrew-date conversion for yahrzeits not described. | Partial Calendar & zmanim widget in all tiers; a full Hebrew-date engine is not described. |
| Dues, billing & receivables | Yes 'Dues, invoices, payments, open balances'; staff see 'which households still have a balance'. | Partial Billing system and invoicing from Professional up; automatic invoices and reminders per accounting page. |
| Online payments | Yes Stripe card and ACH; recurring payments. | Partial Online member payments from Professional up; donations accepted in all tiers. Processor and fees not published. |
| Donations, pledges & campaigns | Partial Gifts post to funds, GL and households; annual campaign category shown; pledges not described on pages read. | Partial Accept donations in all tiers; DAF integrations mentioned on homepage; Fundraising Campaigns is a paid add-on; ShulGift is Enterprise. |
| General ledger / fund accounting | Partial Each revenue category maps to a chart-of-accounts line and deposit bank; journal export. Not positioned as a full GL. | No Syncs to external accounting software; no native GL described. |
| QuickBooks integration | Yes Journal sync posts journal entries, invoices and deposits to mapped QuickBooks banks incl. Undeposited Funds clearance. | Partial Real-time sync with QuickBooks, Zoho Books, FreshBooks; Professional and Enterprise only. |
| Religious school management | Yes Premium module: enrollment, attendance, billing, family communication; Jacksonville Jewish Center case. | Partial ShulSchool is a paid add-on on any plan. |
| Events & registration | Yes Tickets, RSVPs, volunteers, QR check-in. | Yes Advanced event management in all tiers. |
| High Holiday seating | Partial 'Registration, seats, and the household that reserved them stay together'; High Holiday seating per se not named. | Partial Event seating management is Enterprise only. |
| Honors, aliyot & gabbai tools | Not verified Not mentioned. | Partial Gabbai and kibbudim management from Professional up. |
| Cemetery management | Yes Cemetery is a Premium module; lifecycle module holds 'dates and rituals'. | Not verified Not mentioned anywhere on the site pages read. |
| Website / CMS | Partial Website hosting is a Premium module; CMS depth not described on pages read. | Yes Website builder, CMS, hosting, SEO, 100+ premium themes in every tier — the platform's foundation. |
| Email & newsletters | Yes Email campaigns and newsletters using household lists. | Yes Email campaigns and segmentation in all tiers; rates not published. |
| SMS / texting | Yes Homepage: SMS 'using the same household lists'. | Partial SMS campaigns and keywords require the SMS Messaging add-on (own textable number); price not published. |
| Member self-service portal | Yes 'A portal on the same record'. | Yes Payments, donations, seat reservations, profile updates. |
| Mobile app | Not verified No native app mentioned. | Yes Separate iOS/Android admin and member apps per homepage and compare page. |
| API / data export | Yes 'API access' in synagogue Core; detailed journal CSV export. | Partial Compare page claims export 'at any time without restrictions'; no API or export tool described; terms do not describe an export process. |
| Automation & workflows | Partial 'AI & automation' page and 'Ask Benevolate' query feature linked; details not read. | Yes Advanced automation system / lifecycle journeys in all tiers. |
Evidence links for every cell are on the individual review pages: Benevolate, ShulHub.
Rubric scores
| Group | Benevolate | ShulHub | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish-specific workflows | 10.0 | 9.0 | 20 |
| Membership, dues and money | 17.0 | 10.5 | 20 |
| Communications and engagement | 11.0 | 14.0 | 15 |
| School and events | 10.0 | 7.5 | 10 |
| Data portability and migration | 10.0 | 5.5 | 10 |
| Pricing transparency | 5 | 15 | 15 |
| Independent customer evidence | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 63.0 | 62.5 | 100 |
Benevolate: strengths / limitations
- 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
- Visible in the synagogue-executive market (NAASE 2026 Platinum sponsor)
- No published synagogue prices; everything is a quote
- Thin synagogue track record by its own account (four synagogues worked with directly)
- Hebrew calendar, honors/aliyot and a mobile app are not mentioned
- SOC 2 report not yet issued; no third-party reviews
ShulHub: strengths / limitations
- 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.
- Published security page and multilingual UI.
- 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.
- 'No contracts' on the pricing page sits alongside auto-renewal, no-partial-refund and 30-day-notice language in the Terms.
- No cemetery module described; no independent user reviews found anywhere.
- Payment processor and processing fees not published.
Full reviews: Benevolate · ShulHub · all comparisons