Rakefet Online vs Shulspace (2026)
Two synagogue management options compared on verified pricing, Jewish-specific workflows, billing depth, communications, migration and independent evidence.
Quick answer
- Price: Rakefet Online: RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1) $149/mo; RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS $90/mo. Shulspace: Quote only.
- Jewish-specific workflows: Shulspace leads (14.0 vs 16.0 of 20 points).
- Membership, dues and money: Rakefet Online leads (16.5 vs 15.0 of 20 points).
- Communications and engagement: Shulspace leads (9.5 vs 13.0 of 15 points).
- School and events: Rakefet Online leads (10.0 vs 2.5 of 10 points).
- Data portability and migration: Rakefet Online leads (8.0 vs 0.0 of 10 points).
- Pricing transparency: Rakefet Online leads (15 vs 5 of 15 points).
- Independent customer evidence: Rakefet Online leads (5 vs 1 of 10 points).
- Overall: Rakefet Online 78.0/100 · Shulspace 52.5/100
Pricing side by side
Rakefet Online
- RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1): $149/mo · not stated ('Unlimited seats for members, donors, admins and office') · Basic data migration (import/classify members, family relationships, donors, events, yahrzeits, journal entries, chart of accounts and opening balances); billed annually; 'On Year 2 Upgraded to an Existing User'
- RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS: $90/mo · not stated · Current RakefetOnline user plan; billed annually; 'Existing User Deal Options Available'
Setup: Homepage says sign-up involves a 'one-time setup fee & subscription' but no amount is published; the pricing page lists none. Basic data migration is included in the new-user plan.. Processing: Credit card and ACH processing with recurring payments via Member Portal; integrations named: Stripe, PayPal, PayQuiq, Venmo (two versions of the page list different ones). Processor fees not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Shulspace
- Standard: · unlimited transactions, members and admins · Invoicing, customizable public donation/info website, custom campaigns, yahrzeits, family members, member portal, kibbud tracker, SMS, automated collections, document/SMS/email editors, template library, reporting center, kiosk integration, QuickBooks integration
- Enterprise: · unlimited · Everything in Standard plus multi-processor support, custom CRM forms, custom fields, tasks and reminders, seating, advanced campaign management; marked 'coming soon': membership tracking, event management, enterprise reporting, website builder, blog, shiurim/videos
- Small shul discount: · shuls with up to 40 members · Discounted pricing; amount not published
Setup: not stated. Processing: Choice of payment processors (multi-processor support on Enterprise); kiosk/unattended in-person payments; fees not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Feature by feature
| Capability | Rakefet Online | Shulspace |
|---|---|---|
| Membership & household records | Yes Members, children, family relationships, committees, notes, attachments, profile pictures, new member/renewal forms. | Partial Member relationship management and family members in Standard; 'membership tracking' is an Enterprise feature marked coming soon. |
| Yahrzeit tracking & reminders | Yes Yahrzeits, mourners, memorial plaques, yizkor book reports, printed/emailed notices mixing Jewish and Gregorian dates. | Yes Yahrzeits included in Standard. |
| Hebrew calendar integration | Yes Automatic Hebrew date conversion, weekly Torah portions and Haftarot, Google Calendar integration. | Partial Vendor page lists 'automated announcements and schedules' and a shul display; the Sept 2024 sponsored DansDeals post describes zmanim and schedule updates by email/text. No general Hebrew-calendar module described on the vendor page. |
| Dues, billing & receivables | Yes Member/donor billing, global billing, recurring payments, member ledgers, receivables reports, printed or emailed statements. | Yes Invoicing, subscriptions, automated collections (help center: 'Create and Send an Invoice', 'Add a subscription'). |
| Online payments | Yes Credit card and ACH, recurring payments via Member Portal; Stripe/PayPal/PayQuiq/Venmo named. | Yes Integrated payment processing, choice of processors, in-person unattended/kiosk payments. |
| Donations, pledges & campaigns | Partial Donation payment forms and donor giving tracking; 'School and Fundraising' listed on rakefetonline.com. Pledges not explicitly mentioned. | Yes Custom campaigns, pledge and donation cycle, public donation website; advanced campaign management on Enterprise. |
| General ledger / fund accounting | Yes Full AR/AP, general ledger with restricted funds, check writing, journal entries, bank reconciliation, budgeting, P&L/balance sheet/trial balance/audit reports. | No No native general ledger described; accounting handled via QuickBooks integration. |
| QuickBooks integration | Not verified Not mentioned on current vendor pages; UJA 2018 guide noted some customers pair Rakefet with QuickBooks or Sage. | Yes QuickBooks integration included in Standard. |
| Religious school management | Yes 'School Management' listed; religious school classes tracked in the database. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Events & registration | Yes Form builder for events and registrations; special event tracking. | Partial Event management is an Enterprise feature marked 'coming soon'. |
| High Holiday seating | Partial rakefetonline.com lists 'seating' among tracked data and 'High Holy Day planning' is cited; no dedicated seating-chart module described. | Yes Seating listed under Enterprise. |
| Honors, aliyot & gabbai tools | Partial 'Aliyot' tracked in the database per rakefetonline.com; no gabbai workflow described. | Yes Kibbud tracker; help center article 'Entering Aliyahs'. |
| Cemetery management | Not verified Not mentioned on vendor pages checked. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| Website / CMS | No No website builder; donation/payment forms embed in an existing website and API access is offered for external sites. | Yes Customizable public donation and info website provided free; full website builder/blog marked coming soon (Enterprise). |
| Email & newsletters | Yes Email templates, quick messages, scheduled emails, contact lists. | Yes Email editor, template library, automated announcements. |
| SMS / texting | Yes SMS templates and quick messages via Twilio integration. | Yes SMS software and SMS editor included in Standard. |
| Member self-service portal | Yes Members/donors view commitments, set up recurring payments, download receipts. | Yes Member portal included in Standard. |
| Mobile app | No Described as 'mobile friendly'; no dedicated app mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned. |
| API / data export | Yes Import/export and API access for external processes or websites. | Not verified Not mentioned on vendor site or help center. |
| Automation & workflows | Partial Scheduled emails and recurring billing; no general workflow engine described. | Yes Automated collections, reminders, announcements ('Watch it happen by itself'); tasks and reminders on Enterprise. |
Evidence links for every cell are on the individual review pages: Rakefet Online, Shulspace.
Rubric scores
| Group | Rakefet Online | Shulspace | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish-specific workflows | 14.0 | 16.0 | 20 |
| Membership, dues and money | 16.5 | 15.0 | 20 |
| Communications and engagement | 9.5 | 13.0 | 15 |
| School and events | 10.0 | 2.5 | 10 |
| Data portability and migration | 8.0 | 0.0 | 10 |
| Pricing transparency | 15 | 5 | 15 |
| Independent customer evidence | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 78.0 | 52.5 | 100 |
Rakefet Online: strengths / limitations
- 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
- Published pricing; basic data migration included for new customers
- Live US-based phone support with published hours
- Year-1 price ($149/mo) is substantially above the renewal price ($90/mo); both billed annually
- No website CMS; no dedicated mobile app
- Cemetery, QuickBooks integration and dedicated seating module not evidenced on current pages
- No independent review-site presence found
- Company location and ownership details not published
Shulspace: strengths / limitations
- Gabbai-oriented features (kibbud/aliyah tracker, announcements, zmanim display) rare in other systems
- Free public donation/info website included
- Unlimited members/admins/transactions on all plans; 14-day no-card trial
- Published security architecture (NIST-aligned, GCP, tokenized payments)
- No published prices
- Several Enterprise features (membership tracking, events, reporting, website builder) marked 'coming soon'
- No native accounting; relies on QuickBooks
- No independent reviews; only a sponsored post
- Religious school, cemetery, API/export not evidenced
Full reviews: Rakefet Online · Shulspace · all comparisons