Cardova vs Congregation Connect (2026)
Two synagogue management options compared on verified pricing, Jewish-specific workflows, billing depth, communications, migration and independent evidence.
Quick answer
- Price: Cardova: Starter plan ('Popular') $80/mo; Pro plan $160/mo. Congregation Connect: Quote only.
- Membership, dues and money: Cardova leads (15.0 vs 9.0 of 20 points).
- Communications and engagement: Cardova leads (10.0 vs 8.0 of 15 points).
- School and events: Congregation Connect leads (5.0 vs 7.5 of 10 points).
- Pricing transparency: Cardova leads (15 vs 5 of 15 points).
- Overall: Cardova 58.5/100 · Congregation Connect 42.0/100
Pricing side by side
Cardova
- Free plan: · up to 100 community members/contacts; 1 administrator · Essential features, basic reporting/analytics, basic chat and email support
- Starter plan ('Popular'): $80/mo · up to 500 members/contacts; 2 administrators · $80/mo billed monthly or $72/mo billed annually ($864/yr); free data transfer to Cardova, advanced reporting/analytics, priority chat and email support
- Pro plan: $160/mo · unlimited members/contacts; 5 administrators · $160/mo billed monthly or $144/mo billed annually ($1,728/yr); advanced custom fields, audit log and data history, high-priority chat/email support
Setup: None stated; 'free data transfer' on annual paid plans.. Processing: Pricing table shows 'Platform fees 0% to 5%' on all tiers; processor and card fees not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Congregation Connect
No published price (quote).
Setup: not stated. Processing: not stated. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Feature by feature
| Capability | Cardova | Congregation Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Membership & household records | Yes Individual profiles, households/family units, lifecycle from prospect to alumni, community groups, member self-updates. | Yes Constituents, members, donors, groups, households with a '360° view'. |
| Yahrzeit tracking & reminders | Partial Directory page: tracks 'lifecycle events with native support for the Hebrew calendar'; yahrzeit lists/notices not described explicitly. | Yes Yahrzeit listed in the 'Connected Synagogue' feature set. |
| Hebrew calendar integration | Yes 'Native support for the Hebrew calendar' for lifecycle events. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Dues, billing & receivables | Yes Memberships with automated renewals, reminders, tiered access and reports; invoicing/AR ledger not described. | Not verified Billing/statements not described on the vendor page; donations tracked. Kesef can run AR as a service. |
| Online payments | Yes Donations, membership and ticket payments online; platform fee 0-5%. | Not verified Online forms are an add-on; payment processing not described. |
| Donations, pledges & campaigns | Yes One-time and recurring donations, dedicated funds, giving reports, campaigns; pledges not mentioned. | Yes Donations, fundraising, donor tracking. |
| General ledger / fund accounting | No No accounting module described. | No No native GL; QuickBooks integration offered as an add-on (2018 guide: QuickBooks and Sage 50). Kesef provides bookkeeping as a service. |
| QuickBooks integration | Not verified Not mentioned. | Yes QuickBooks integration listed as an add-on. |
| Religious school management | Not verified Not mentioned. | Partial Classes and students tracked; no dedicated school/tuition module described. |
| Events & registration | Yes Events & ticketing with attendance and reporting. | Yes Events listed; Planning Center Online Resources add-on for rooms/resources. |
| High Holiday seating | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Honors, aliyot & gabbai tools | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Cemetery management | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Website / CMS | Yes 'Community website' tooling. | Not verified Not mentioned (no website builder described). |
| Email & newsletters | Yes Communication hub: announcements, event updates, automated occasion messages. | Yes Marketing automation and email marketing add-on. |
| SMS / texting | Partial Pricing table row 'Text individual community members' (plan-dependent); no bulk SMS described. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Member self-service portal | Partial Members can update their own profile and household information; full portal scope not described. | Yes Congregant portals listed as an add-on. |
| Mobile app | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned (Salesforce mobile availability not claimed on page). |
| API / data export | Partial Pricing comparison table includes 'API' and 'Export' rows; details not published. | Partial Salesforce platform: 'extendable by Force.com admins'; standard Salesforce APIs/exports implied but not stated. |
| Automation & workflows | Yes Automatic receipts, renewal reminders, weekly reports; 'Automated workflows' row in plan table. | Yes Marketing automation; Salesforce workflow customization. |
Evidence links for every cell are on the individual review pages: Cardova, Congregation Connect.
Rubric scores
| Group | Cardova | Congregation Connect | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish-specific workflows | 7.0 | 6.0 | 20 |
| Membership, dues and money | 15.0 | 9.0 | 20 |
| Communications and engagement | 10.0 | 8.0 | 15 |
| School and events | 5.0 | 7.5 | 10 |
| Data portability and migration | 5.5 | 5.5 | 10 |
| Pricing transparency | 15 | 5 | 15 |
| Independent customer evidence | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 58.5 | 42.0 | 100 |
Cardova: strengths / limitations
- Free tier and transparent low pricing
- Modern directory with household and lifecycle modelling, Hebrew-calendar support
- Automation of renewals, receipts and reports
- Free data migration on annual plans
- Very new vendor with no reviews, customer counts or published location
- No accounting, QuickBooks, school, seating, honors or cemetery features evidenced
- Platform fee of up to 5% on top of processor fees
- Boilerplate copy on pricing page suggests an early-stage site
Congregation Connect: strengths / limitations
- Full Salesforce CRM extensibility and reporting
- Suited to large, staff-rich congregations
- Backed by Shulware/Togetherwork with Kesef bookkeeping available
- No published pricing; per-user Salesforce licensing on top of support packages (2018)
- Requires Salesforce-savvy staff
- Small installed base (~50 in 2018)
- Billing, seating, honors, cemetery not evidenced on vendor page
Full reviews: Cardova · Congregation Connect · all comparisons