Temple Tools review (2026)
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.
Quick facts
- Published price
- Full CRM $370/mo
- Est. annual, 150 hh (billing tier)
- $4,440
- Est. annual, 400 hh (billing tier)
- $4,440
- Setup / onboarding
- Comparison table on /pricing lists Temple Tools onboarding fee as 'Free' (vs. '$5000+' claimed for ShulCloud).
- Payment processing
- Stripe Connect; FAQ: 'The fee is set by Stripe Connect, at an industry-standard rate of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.' Disputes handled in a Stripe Connect dashboard.
- Target size
- Any; flat price regardless of size
- Region
- Not stated (USD pricing)
- Company
- Not stated on templetools.com · since Not stated; copyright © 2026
Score: 66.0/100
Computed by the published rubric from the feature evidence below. 70% of feature fields verified.
Documented strengths
- 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¢).
Documented limitations
- 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.
- No independent review footprint found; the only comparison data is the vendor's own, and it contains unverified claims about ShulCloud.
- Company details (location, founding, team) are sparse on the site.
Our take
Temple Tools is the clearest pricing proposition in the market: one plan, $370 a month, unlimited users and congregants, 10,000 newsletter sends a month, payments through Stripe Connect at a published 2.9% plus 30 cents, onboarding listed as free, a 30-day trial and a 30-day refund policy. For a congregation of 300 households that would otherwise land in ShulCloud's Premium or Enterprise tier plus extras, the arithmetic is attractive. For a congregation of 80 households it is the most expensive option on this site.
The documented feature set covers the core: membership, dues billing, a member portal, donations, yahrzeits, events, school programs, newsletters and a website builder. What is not documented matters for some buyers: a Hebrew calendar with zmanim, honors and gabbai tools, cemetery records, SMS, and a data export or API. Those are open questions, not absences, and a demo should settle them in ten minutes. QuickBooks appears only as a one-word table cell.
Two cautions. First, there is no independent review footprint at all, no Capterra, G2 or Software Advice listing, so the only comparative material is the vendor's own. Second, that material includes a comparison table pricing ShulCloud at $420 a month with $5,000-plus onboarding and describing it as built in the 1990s; ShulCloud's own page lists $161.99 to $464.99 and no onboarding price. We do not use any vendor's statements about a competitor as evidence, and buyers should not either. The company also publishes little about itself: no address, no founding date, one founder named by first name.
Temple Tools pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annualized | Limit | Includes | Excludes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full CRM | $370 | $4,440 | Unlimited congregants; unlimited users | '100% of features included', unlimited users, unlimited congregants, 10,000 newsletter sends/mo, collect payments, support included. | Nothing stated; newsletter sends capped at 10,000 per month (overage not priced). |
Pricing model: flat monthly. Terms: 30-day free trial; 30-day refund policy. No contract length or annual discount stated.. The /pricing page also carries a vendor-authored comparison table putting ShulCloud at '$420/mo' and '$5000+' onboarding, with qualitative rows such as 'Sluggish. Built in the 90s'. This is marketing, not independent data: ShulCloud's own page lists $161.99/$313.99/$464.99 and no public onboarding price. The FAQ states 'Are there scenarios where ShulCloud is better? Frankly, no.' Source: https://templetools.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-12 (vendor-page). Prices exclude payment-processing fees unless stated.
Feature coverage, with evidence
"Yes" means we found the capability described on a vendor page (linked). "Partial" means limited, add-on or third-party. "Not verified" means we could not find it documented; it may exist. Ask the vendor.
| Capability | Status | Notes and evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Membership & household records | Yes | Account/family management, member directory, membership status. source |
| Yahrzeit tracking & reminders | Yes | Linked to family members, automatic anniversary calculation, calendar entries. source |
| Hebrew calendar integration | Not verified | Not mentioned on homepage, pricing or features pages read; yahrzeit anniversary calculation implies Hebrew-date handling but no calendar/zmanim feature is described. source |
| Dues, billing & receivables | Yes | Automated recurring dues billing and reminders, overdue balances, charges and refunds, income forecasts. source |
| Online payments | Yes | Stripe Connect; 2.9% + 30¢ per FAQ; cards never stored by Temple Tools. source |
| Donations, pledges & campaigns | Partial | Shareable donation link, recurring donations, saved payment info. Pledges and campaign pages not described. source |
| General ledger / fund accounting | No | Tracks donations, dues and expenses; no GL or fund accounting described. source |
| QuickBooks integration | Not verified | Comparison table row 'Quickbooks Integration' reads 'Included' for Temple Tools, but no feature page describes it. source |
| Religious school management | Yes | Student programs, classes, camps, parent signup forms. source |
| Events & registration | Yes | Calendar, recurring events, self-registration, High Holiday tickets. source |
| High Holiday seating | Yes | Assigned seating for events; HH tickets. source |
| Honors, aliyot & gabbai tools | Not verified | Not mentioned. source |
| Cemetery management | Not verified | Not mentioned. source |
| Website / CMS | Yes | Drag-and-drop, mobile-friendly website builder. source |
| Email & newsletters | Yes | Newsletters; 10,000 sends/month included. source |
| SMS / texting | Not verified | Not mentioned. source |
| Member self-service portal | Yes | Members manage accounts, donations, registrations. source |
| Mobile app | Partial | FAQ: mobile-responsive web app; no native app described. source |
| API / data export | Not verified | CSV import described; export/API not described. source |
| Automation & workflows | Partial | Automated recurring billing, reminders and recurring events; no general workflow builder described. source |
Migration
Documented import sources: ShulCloud, Chaverware, spreadsheets (CSV).
Assistance: 'Full data migration from ShulCloud', step-by-step onboarding and staff training, custom configuration (ShulCloud Transition Program page).
Fees: Onboarding listed as free; migration from ShulCloud described as handled by Temple Tools.
source
Support & security
Channels: direct customer service (per transition page), guides, how-to videos. Hours: Not stated. Training: Guides, videos, onboarding and staff training; FAQ says the system can be learned 'in about a day'.. source
Security: Homepage says payments run on Stripe and Temple Tools never stores credit cards. Comparison table labels security 'Enhanced' with no certification named. source
What independent sources say
Individual experiences, not survey data. Review platforms are sparse in this niche; treat counts under 20 as anecdotes.
- Capterra / G2 / Software Advice / GetApp. No listing for Temple Tools found on 2026-10-12 (searches returned ShalomCloud and generic 'temple management' pages instead). source
- Reddit r/Judaism thread 1es7kmu (read via archive). The thread discusses ShulCloud only; Temple Tools is not mentioned. source
Questions to ask Temple Tools before you sign
- Does it include a Hebrew/zmanim calendar, gabbai/honors tracking, cemetery records or SMS?
- Is QuickBooks integration real and how does it sync (the only mention is a one-word table cell)?
- What happens above 10,000 newsletter sends per month?
- Is there an annual plan or discount, and a minimum term?
- How many congregations use it, and can references be provided?
Alternatives to Temple Tools
| Product | Published price | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easyshul | Standard (congregations with more than 150 families) $349/mo | 80.5/100 | compare |
| 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 | 78.5/100 | compare |
| Rakefet Online | RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1) $149/mo; RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS $90/mo | 78.0/100 | compare |
| MyShul | Standard $179/mo; Premium $310/mo; Enterprise ('most popular') $460/mo | 75.0/100 | compare |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Temple Tools cost?
$370 a month for the full system with unlimited users and congregants, verified on the vendor pricing page 2026-10-12. Payment processing is Stripe Connect at 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Onboarding is listed as free. No annual discount or minimum term is published.
Does Temple Tools migrate data from ShulCloud?
Yes. A dedicated transition program page describes full data migration from ShulCloud, onboarding, staff training and configuration, and the site also names Chaverware and spreadsheets as sources.
Is Temple Tools cheaper than ShulCloud?
It depends on size and tier. Against ShulCloud Premium with annual billing (about $3,579 a year) Temple Tools costs about $4,440 a year but includes items ShulCloud charges extra for, and against Enterprise (about $5,301) it is cheaper. Against the $97.99 small-shul offer or Standard, it is far more expensive. Build the comparison on your own household count and modules.
Sources
- https://templetools.com/
- https://templetools.com/pricing
- https://templetools.com/about
- https://templetools.com/shulcloud-transition-program
- https://templetools.com/features/finances
- https://templetools.com/features/newsletters
- https://www.shulcloud.com/plans (for checking the comparison claims)
Spotted an error? Vendors and users can request a correction; we re-verify and note the change.