What is ShulCloud?
The most widely used synagogue management platform in North America, explained for a board member who has just been handed the renewal.
The product
ShulCloud is a cloud-based synagogue management system: a database of households and members with billing and receivables, online payments, donations and campaigns, yahrzeit tracking, a Jewish calendar with zmanim, High Holiday seating, honors and gabbai tools, cemetery records, religious school management, events, email, a member portal, an administrator mobile app and a template-based public website. It is sold in three tiers, and the lowest tier omits the billing and payments functions. Our full ShulCloud review lists every documented feature with the vendor page behind it, and the pricing explainer reconciles the figures in circulation.
Who owns ShulCloud
ShulCloud was built by RustyBrick, a New York web development firm, and has served synagogues since about 2012. It is now one of the Shulware brands, alongside Mitzvah Tools, Congregation Connect and the Kesef Accounting service. News reporting from 2020 and 2021 identified Shulware as part of Togetherwork, a private-equity-backed group of membership-software companies that also acquired Chaverware and jVillage; the vendor's own pages do not name the parent. Chaverware's domain now redirects to ShulCloud.
How much it costs
Published monthly prices, verified on 2026-10-12, are $161.99 (Standard, without billing), $313.99 (Premium, with billing) and $464.99 (Enterprise, adding fundraising and school), with about five percent off on annual billing. A $97.99 Premium rate is offered at signup to shuls under 100 accounts with email-only support. SMS, the member app, QuickBooks sync and data imports are paid extras, and onboarding is charged but not priced publicly.
Is ShulCloud a CRM?
In the sense synagogue administrators mean, yes: it holds the household and member records, communication history, giving and billing, and drives email and the member portal. It is not a general-purpose sales CRM, and congregations with a large development operation sometimes pair it with a donor system.
The 2020 outage
On the eve of Yom Kippur 2020, during the pandemic's streamed services, ShulCloud websites and email went down for many congregations. The parent company's chief executive acknowledged planning mistakes in press coverage at the time. Administrators quoted in that coverage split between criticizing the response and crediting the recovery. It remains the most cited single event in discussions of the product.
How secure is ShulCloud?
The vendor describes online payments by card and ACH through third-party processors, and its terms address data access and post-termination download windows. It does not publish a security certification on the pages we read. Ask the vendor for its current security documentation, hosting location and breach-notification commitment; those questions are in our vendor question list.
Frequently asked questions
How many synagogues use ShulCloud?
The vendor's homepage claims over 1,600; news coverage in 2020 cited about 1,200. Both are vendor-sourced figures.
Can a synagogue leave ShulCloud?
Yes. The features page says data can be exported at any time, and the newer platforms document migration from it. Export everything before giving notice and read the migration checklist.
Where do I log in to ShulCloud?
Each congregation has its own ShulCloud website address, usually the synagogue's own domain, and members log in there. This site is independent and has no access to any congregation's account; contact your synagogue office.