# FellowshipOne Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is FellowshipOne the right Church Management solution for you? Explore 140 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/230779/Fellowship-One/reviews --- FellowshipOne 3.4 (140) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/230779/Fellowship-One/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of FellowshipOne Ease of use 3.1 Customer Service 3.4 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Comprehensive church operations platform 83% positive reviews out of 64 Most reviewers indicate church management centralizes member data, streamlines communication, and simplifies organizing ministries and events. Complex and confusing reporting tools 71% negative reviews out of 38 Most reviewers describe reporting as overly complicated, difficult to customize, and frustrating when retrieving specific information. Outdated and unintuitive interface 85% negative reviews out of 26 Most reviewers report the user interface feels cluttered, hard to navigate, and lacks user-friendly design and modern features. ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 140 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Luis B. Physical Security Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "We utilize Fellowship One as our main database for records." April 30, 2018 5.0 Pros I love the functionality of the system. I like that it is web based so you don't need a server or special app on your computer to use. Anywhere you have internet you can use it! If you utilize it to its potential there is a ton of data you can store but most importantly you can run reports to pull that data. The report function is amazing, you can pull exactly what you are looking for exactly the way you want it. Cons I wish there was an activity log to track who makes what changes. We have a large number of users and its sometimes hard to know what information has been altered and if it should have been altered by that person. I know you can give permissions to users but having the log would add a great tool for administrators to use. Review Source SR Susan R. Database Administrator Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to Use - Great features" March 26, 2020 4.0 Overall - this has been a great church management software. Data is easy to enter and profile information is easy to view at a glance. There is a bit of a learning curve with reporting, but that is to be expected with any software that is new to you. Pros Customer service is great - you can speak to a real human being and problems are solved quickly. The custom attributes are a helpful feature and the ability to create your own shareable people lists is also a very good. Web forms are easy to create; Insights feature is a major plus. Cons The major drawback is that mass texting is not included in the Premier version. Also, assimilation process is lacking some functionality. iOS check has some challenges. Alternatives considered [Planning Center](https://www.capterra.com/p/76708/Planning-Center/)[Servant Keeper](https://www.capterra.com/p/276838/Servant-Keeper/)[ChurchStaq](https://www.capterra.com/p/211982/ChuchStaq/) Reason for choosing FellowshipOne Overall appearance, cost, functionality, reporting, customer service Switched from [Elexio Community](https://www.capterra.com/p/117170/Elexio-Database/) Elexio Deluxe phased out Review Source Bradley S. Systems and Software Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Robust functionality but older processing and interface." March 20, 2018 3.0 I would like to say that even though I gave this product 3 stars in every field, I give it the neutral review because it has so much potential to be better. I think right now F1 is in a place of a possible explosion of great things? But it's going to take a revamping of old processes and implementing new ones. The biggest benefits is that it's a database which helps us to manage our needs as a congregation and keep account of how we value our team members who serve. Pros What I like most about F1 is the SQL database interactions and the ability to pull information on any person in our congregation by the fields on their account. This is hugely helpful when pulling statistics of who attended events, paid their tithes, who has pastoral notes, and so much more. I think the other thing that I enjoy most is that this is truly a one stop shop in regards to what's needed for ministries. You can do anything from background checks to childcare for events based on the manageable forms. You can create contacts for specific staff or titles within your organization to receive information on congregants based on options they choose from visitor cards. Cons What I least like about this software is that even though it has so many features, it's almost too much to navigate when you first get into it all. Trying to train a new person on staff with the amount of information overload is a bit daunting. Granted not everybody will be doing the same functions within the program, but to be able to upkeep this database, you almost need a person solely devoted to making sure the data that's entered is correct. I would also say that the knowledge base needs a revamp with more clear information on what the actual functions of the database are, including an admin-like knowledge base with deeper understanding of how data transactions are made. Some things are just kind of ambiguous and unclear as to how the transfer of data happens. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Communications Director and Online Campus Director Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Infinite customizability, clunky interface, regular errors" July 16, 2019 4.0 FellowshipOne is a bit frustrating but overall very good! Pros FellowshipOne is king for church management software. Cons It's a bit of a catch-22 because it's the absolute best software, but it has its fair share of errors and reports that are just not attainable. Alternatives considered [Planning Center](https://www.capterra.com/p/76708/Planning-Center/)[ChurchStaq](https://www.capterra.com/p/211982/ChuchStaq/)[Rock RMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/141654/Rock-RMS/) Reason for choosing FellowshipOne Customizability, breadth of features, longevity in the market Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Systems and Software Manager Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fellowship One is Robust, but dated." October 9, 2018 4.0 Overall, we tend to see a huge benefit to our ministries by using this software, but in the future, we'll be looking to something more updated if we don't see a progressional change for F1. Pros The amount of functionality for F1 is incredible. We use it in so many ways for our different ministries, from small groups, attendance for services/serving, to tithing/finances and sending mass emails to specific groups of people, it covers a ton of bases. I like that this is a discipleship based software tool. We have to put our hands on almost every part of an account to make sure that we're intentional with the data we record. The security when fully implemented for check-in systems on Sunday services is impeccable. We have really made an effort to improve our security within the past few years and you can dig deep by using jobs that are connected to specific check-in activities and only people with specific assignments can check-in. It's very dialed in. Cons The software, while being functionality-wise amazing and broad? It lacks an updated style for the UI, while also using some outdated ways to process what you need. While requiring a hands-on approach to discipleship by having to change every little detail on an account, this can be so tedious and cumbersome to other tasks you might have. The learning curve is also a bit hefty, for users who don't understand systems or pick up understanding quickly? It can be very confusing at first. Review Source DT Deborah T. Office Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Worst program ever!" January 28, 2021 1.0 We aren't solving any problems with F1. In fact, it's creating problems for those of us who have to work with the program. It was supposed to be wonderful, helping us grow our community of believers, keeping our ministers up to date with the membership, etc., etc., etc. It hasn't helped with anything. Nada. Fellowship One doesn't create fellowship, but it will, however, create stress levels that will have you searching for Xanax. Save yourself the trouble and the expense and get another program. Pros The only positive I can say about this software is that I can look up addresses and phone numbers with relative ease. I could do this just as easily with a pictorial directory, and with a lot less headache. Cons There's not enough space for me to list my complaints about F1! It is by far the hardest program I've ever had to work with, and after three plus years, I still don't know how to get a decent report. When we signed up for the program, we were told that most churches have a "dedicated" F1 person, but "anybody can learn", right?! Wrong!! Thankfully we have a retired member of the church who understands databases and we are constantly having to call him for help. No one in the office gets this program. And trying to get help from the support staff at F1 is a joke. We don't even speak the same language, although we're all speaking English. I hate calling support because it's so frustrating. Unless you have someone in your office who understands databases, then don't waste your time and money. And never ask your secretary to take on this program. She or he already has enough on their plate. Switched from [Servant Keeper](https://www.capterra.com/p/276838/Servant-Keeper/) Fellowship One was supposed to be the best! It was supposed to help us move more into the digital age by connecting programs and apps, and blah, blah, blah, but that hasn't worked because we can't even get beyond the basics! This is a very expensive program, so we're putting out major bucks for very little gain. Review Source KS Kenton S. Director of Operations Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "FellowshipOne" June 9, 2020 2.0 No one on our team likes anything about FellowshipOne. Pros I find it clunky and poor at best. It does accomplish the basics. Cons Customer service is non-responsive and poorly informed. The system has become antiquainted. Reason for choosing FellowshipOne Unknown Switched from [Shelby Arena](https://www.capterra.com/p/175655/Arena/) It was made before my time on staff. I would not have made this switch. Review Source Lauren L. Creative Coordinator Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Really needs a facelift" September 6, 2018 2.0 Fellowship One is a great, in-depth church management software. We wish that Fellowship One was more user friendly though. It's very complicated and not intuitive. Reports should be as complicated at it is. And their software could definitely used a facelift. We would switch to another software if it wasn't for the fact that we know it would be such a huge headache to switch after all the years we've been with them. Pros I like their new iPhone app that allows me to easily look up a member's information on my phone, but I wish I could do more from my phone rather just see their information. But it's a good start. Cons The Reports. They are not intuitive at all. They're super complicated and there are so many to go through. I appreciate the detail behind each one, but most of the times I just need to find a simple report and finding is seems more difficult than it needs to be. Review Source Matt G. Product Development Engineer II Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Lot of options, but very expensive" July 29, 2019 4.0 We use F1 for nursery and class checkin as well as online giving. Our directory is housed within it also. It functions well, but some of the security features need locked down a little harder. Pros It seems to have everything that you need to run a church. Cons Its very expensive, at least the version I am using is. Review Source Kyle W. Ministry Coordinator Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "It can be powerful but not user friendly" January 24, 2018 2.0 Pros There is a lot the app can do and reports can give you a lot of data if it is needed. Sometimes too much. The form allow you to customize and that is nice. Cons So much but not easy to use. the customer service didn't help at all and finding th correct report was the worst part. Review Source WS Whitney S. Media Director Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Poor customer support" March 1, 2017 3.0 This company started out great and has gone downhill. In the past year, we spent months trying to get a response from the billing department on an issue. The woman who was assigned to our company did not respond in a timely manner and, when she did respond, gave us wrong information or did not answer the initial question. We even purchased wrong equipment because we were misinformed about what we needed. We also spent time leaving messages for our account rep, only to find out 3 weeks later that he no longer worked there and we had a new rep. We were not informed and our old rep's voicemail was still active. Our experience with F1 was very disappointing and we decided to leave. In order to cancel, you must give 60 days notice & pay 30% of each month left in your year, according to the contract. And, no matter when you turn in your cancellation paperwork, they don't run the cancellation until the end of the month. So, if your contract month begins on the 14th, you still have to pay because F1 runs the cancellation on the 31st, even if you turned it in at the beginning of the month. The only positive thing I can say is that F1 did let us out of our contract one month early, so we had a 30 day cancellation notice instead of 60. But, that was a small thing after so many months of problems. Pros The software is helpful and you can run reports from your database for many different needs. Check-in works well. Cons Customer support and especially the billing department caused us many problems. The software is expensive and the contract will nickel & dime you if you try to leave early. The software is expansive and a lot of setup & upkeep has to be done manually. Review Source MO Micah O. Groups Guy Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good at lots of things, but not the best at anything" February 1, 2018 4.0 We've moved away from F1 to Rock, and we couldn't be happier. Pros Excellent people-management system: the perfect church rolodex. Tracks finances well, handles basic check-in features, handles simple email communication, and has a very extensible reporting system. Cons Other than looking up people's contact info, it's not great at anything. You'll end up using third-party volunteer tracking (PCO integration would be a snap, but they won't do it), third-party finance partners (because their payment gateway is poor), third-party email clients (because their email system is poor), third party registration systems (because inFellowship is a nightmare from which you can never awake), and third-party groups sign-ups (ditto). This wouldn't be such a problem if the Fellowship One design team didn't refuse, as a matter of principle, to cleanly integrate with anyone who provides a competing product. Since almost any electronic service for churches is a competing product, that means F1 doesn't really integrate well with anyone. Review Source CV Cecilia V. Business Manager Used the software for: ### "F1 Database Review after 2 years" June 2, 2010 4.0 1\. It would be nice to have a representative come visit us either just after implementation or 1 year after. 2. It would be nice if there were packages for the different sizes of churches. We are about 450 people attendance with 5 paid staff people. Our needs are much different than the 10,000 weekly attendance churches. We have to learn everything even if we aren't using it in order to figure out what we need to know. If there was a package for training and online that would be awesome. 3, Customize reports by type of religion, size of church and their requirements. We do perochial reports yearly, so there could be standardized reports for the episcopal church to meet this requirement. Pros 1\. Has more functions than we would ever use, so we will never grow out of it. 2. Web hosted is great for us. \*we don't have to worry about mainting the software on our server. \*we can access it from anywhere we have internet. 3. Iphone Application is great for the priests. 4, Great for the parish to be able to see their information online. 5. Great for anyone to give money online. Cons 1\. Haven't been able to get the staff onboard fully to use it as well as intended. 2. Sign ups don't work that well. People are choosing to use google groups or other ways to share files and calendars. Groups 2.0 may help here. I just signed us up for that. 3. It would be nice to have a representative come visit us either just after implementation or 1 year after. 4. It would be nice if there were packages for the different sizes of churches. We are about 450 people attendance with 5 paid staff people. Our needs are much different than the 10,000 weekly attendance churches. We have to learn everything even if we aren't using it in order to figure out what we need to know. If there was a package for training and online that would be awesome. 5. Too many reports. Review Source DD Debbie D. Fellowship One Coordinator Used the software for: ### "Great Product! Can't wait to see what's next!!" June 22, 2010 4.0 I have seen tremendous growth and improvement in Fellowship One over the past 4 years. The staff at Fellowship Tech are extremely hardworking and committed to meeting the needs of churches. Many go above and beyond and that is the "heart" of FT. I am excited about what is yet to come! Pros \*The trainings are easy to understand and can be viewed over and over \*Addition of Best Practices and examples of processes is very helpful. Less of a learning curve when you have the benefit of other's experience. \*We can see who's attending (or no longer attending), who's serving, who's giving and how (if) they're growing spiritually. \*We can provide necessary follow-up care for our congregants based on information in their profile. \*We are using Groups 2.0 beta and it's amazing. We will be able to connect more people into groups than ever before. Can't imagine trying to do this using a spreadsheet! \*FT encourages customer suggestions and feedback. Beta testing opportunities give churches the ability to have a voice in product functionality. \*Yearly conference is a great way to learn, connect, and generate user enthusiasm. Cons \*Finding reports takes time \*Merging duplicates from new accounts is tedious & takes many steps to complete. \*Would like to see more advanced trainings available online (i.e.: Adv activity set-up) \*I wasn't here for the implementation (2005) and have rated the implementation review based on staff feedback. The process has changed since then and I'm sure has improved but I'm giving honest feedback based on our experience. \*Ease-of-use is getting better but we would like F1 to be more intuitive especially for the non-tech pastors. \*F1 is not integrated with Planning Center and our worship team info is not consistently up-to-date. Review Source KS Katie S. Ministry Software Coordinator Used the software for: ### "Fellowship One Benefits are Limitless!" June 29, 2011 4.0 Before we began using Fellowship One, our church was comprised of many data silos. These silos were formed due to the inaccuracy and difficulty of use of our previous system. Fellowship One offered us a wonderful tool that was easy for our staff to use, and allowed us to break down the silos and put our data all in one area. Event Registrations and Check-In are utilized heavily here at CSPC. Through my discussions with other churches, this system is great for all sizes - from the start-up church plants to mega size churches. Fellowship One is a wonderful tool that helps churches do ministry better! The only true limitation of this system is in the users of the system or how a church utilizes it for their ministries. Pros \-Much more than just a database -Electronic check-in for any activity & secure check-in for children's events -Email communication to anyone or any group in system -Online registrations and online giving that ties to database records -Ability to tag records to allow for easy searches later (spiritual gifts, first time visitors, etc.) -Member portal (InFellowship) offers online church directory, groups interaction and searches, and profile editing. -Easy background check processing through the system that also adds requirement to individual records. -Vast reporting library as well as easy to use query function -Top of the line customer support -A company that actually listens and responds to customers' issues, requests and ideas -Gives churches the tools to reach out and connect to their members in ways unheard of before. Cons \-Contributions module lacking in area of audit trail (this is on their radar) -Reports sometimes hard to find due to size of report library. This issue is being handled with the creation of core reports that combine numerous reports into one all-encompassing report. Review Source LS Lorie S. Business Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "You Need to be a Computer Genius to use the software!" November 17, 2016 2.0 I used Fellowship One for about 5 years. You would think that after that long I would have a grasp on using the software. I didn't, and not for the lack of trying. Even took a week long certification class! the system is so complicated and not user friendly at all. Pros Not much. It tracks finances better than people. Cons Reporting is the worst! I would labor for an hour to get the data I needed. Sometime I would just give up and find a work around to get what I needed. It was so frustrating. Even after taking a certification class, one whole week I might add, we were given a "dedicated" account representative. It would take a day or tow to get help with reports or other needs. Review Source JSA J. Scott A. Technology Manager Used the software for: ### "F1 at The Village Church in Texas" June 29, 2011 4.0 As things stand right now with what is available today, if your church is looking for a very good, if not great, Church Management System Fellowship One is the system you want. The old adage, "You get what you pay for" applies with a SaaS product you are no longer supporting a server and software yourself or trying to develop something on your own. Having said that the company's "development to production agility" needs improvement as there are still things that need to be done on the congregation facing side of this system that hopefully will be taken care of in the very near future and make F1 one of the most complete systems available. Pros Excellent implementation team! F1 software has delivered what they said it could deliver in response to our RFP. Support is responsive. Communication has been good. We have the benefit of many Active Network/Fellowship Tech employees attending and in membership at The Village. No server or site to manage is great (obviously that is a big part of what we pay for) Functionality is really good. Access to the data via API is great and getting better with every new API realm. Cons Implementation Team could have been more assertive with some suggestions and less with others. Though F1 has delivered it has not delivered at the level we had hoped for, specifically public facing via weblink where the UX has left a lot to be desired. The back-end functionality is great but the interface needs a makeover now. Support though responsive has been dismissive with some of our requests and we have experienced some delays on what we consider a pretty serious request. Review Source AS Amy S. Administrative Asst. Religious Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Not What We Thought It Would Be When They Sold it to Us" November 14, 2018 3.0 While it seems to have a lot of potential and it sounded great when they sold us our subscription, using the system has been frustrating and difficult on many levels. Helpful and kind customer service is available, but too much of it is required to make it effective. Pros It is fairly easy to add people (members/profiles) into the system, which is the driving force of the program. Cons It's a clunky, hard to understand system once you get past the initial member profile input. The reports are a BEAST to format and run, and sometimes they seem impossible. Review Source DW Dan W. Campus Pastor Used the software for: 2+ years ### "F1 is an outdated tool that gets in the way of discipleship. " June 21, 2017 2.0 It keeps track of info for us. Pros It's better than nothing. I appreciate being able to see a person or household quickly but find that the at-a-glance value is very low. Cons Does not facilitate discipleship in this century. You need an updated UI/UX. F1 would greatly benefit from automated assimilation processes, etc. Review Source dT david T. Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Keep it up! " March 25, 2019 5.0 Pros The software is very dynamic in what it can do. There isn't a system out there that has the reporting capabilities of FellowshipOne. Cons With any Enterprise software solution, you need to invest in training and learning the system. I do wish some areas were a little more intuitive but it appears F1 is fixing it with some of their 'F1 Assist' features. Review Source JD Josh D. Pastor Religious Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Fellowship One Fell Behind The Times" April 18, 2020 3.0 I haven't used FellowshipOne since January 2018, but at that time, the software was not only expensive compared to alternatives, but felt old and not very user friendly. Pros The software provided the ability to track and manage multiple data points such as membership data, contributions, Kids Check-in, and more Cons The user interface seemed really old in its format. The reports featured required technical support almost every time. Reason for choosing FellowshipOne We switched from FellowshipOne as soon as we identified and tried a better software. Review Source TB Tracy B. Operations Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "F1" July 20, 2019 3.0 Pros This software has frequent updates. It seems like they are really trying to improve. Cons This software does not have a user friendly reporting. Review Source CK CK K. Operations Religious Institutions Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Stay Away" March 27, 2018 1.0 We don’t even know where to start to describe our massive disappointment with this product. From poor customer service, useless training, horrific report system, sales person persuaded to upgrade to iOS hardware, when their app is still being developed.... there’s not one Sunday that our check in line works smoothly. Their solution? No solution. We regret we did not read these comments before signing that agreement. We are writing in here in hopes to prevent some one else make the same mistake. Cons \- Reports: unfriendly, useless fields - Service: no follow up, there’s never a solution, just apologizes.... - check in app: forced to use Bluetooth, still on testing mode... we have 10 devices we invested that simply do not work. - database: unfriendly to use - forms: very basic, unfriendly to use - Add On: literally most that you get included into any other software, in FO it’s an add on, which they only tell you afterwards.... Had to pay for ONE user to train on how to enhance reporting options. - Giving Platform: unfriendly, no comment line Review Source SW Sarah W. Children's Director Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fellowship One is one of the best ways to organize church data and metrics." April 25, 2018 4.0 Pros F1 is easy to use and understand and provides us with clear data that we can use to organize people, groups, and church growth. Cons Reporting did not always give us information in a way that was easy to view. Spreadsheets did require some manipulation once they were run. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer IT Systems Admin Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Staple for a generation" May 17, 2018 4.0 Pros We've used this software for a decade. There are nooks and crannies all over for any and every configuration you could want. Cons It shows it's age. These guys have been around the block a few times. You can't find a more experienced company in this market. If you want the "new hotness" look elsewhere, but if you want stability and experience, here you go. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.