# Parish Data System Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Parish Data System Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Church Management products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/2678/PDS-Church-Office --- # Parish Data System Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider’s website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Parish Data System ## What is Parish Data System? Trusted by over 9,000 parishes, schools, and dioceses worldwide, Parish Data System is the top choice for Catholic software and services. Our integrated church, school, and diocesan solutions enable accurate data management, increase communications, and empower growth within Catholic organizations. Access to data 24/7 makes it easy for all PDS users to work from home or on the road. PDS is the top choice because it was built by Catholic experts for Catholic organizations. ## What is Parish Data System used for? [Church Management](https://www.capterra.com/church-management-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 15 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price $72 Per User, Per Month Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Parish Data System?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.acstechnologies.com/&name=Parish Data System) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Parish Data System 2.7 (15) VS. [4.7 (1,137)](https://www.capterra.com/p/76708/Planning-Center/reviews/) Starting Price $72 per user, per month Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 2.3 (15) Ease Of Use 4.4 (1,137) Value For Money 2.2 (9) Value For Money 4.5 (794) Customer Service 3.2 (10) Customer Service 4.6 (727) ## Parish Data System alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (160)](https://www.capterra.com/p/184192/Chmeetings/reviews/) Starting price $12.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 99% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.7 (20)](https://www.capterra.com/p/10008520/Gracely/#reviews) Starting price $19.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.9 (74)](https://www.capterra.com/p/149636/One-Church/reviews/) Starting price $58.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 100% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.8 (671)](https://www.capterra.com/p/158103/Clearstream/reviews/) Starting price $29.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 99% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/2678/PDS-Church-Office/alternatives/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Membership Management 4.5 (2) 50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Database of members to track personal information of individuals and families Donation Management 4.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track/record financial donations made by members, along with the issuance of tax receipts/documents Online Giving 5.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Outlet for members and visitors to submit donations electronically Volunteer Management 4.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage volunteer information and direct volunteer resources Attendance Tracking Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups Built-in Accounting Accounting functionality within the system, not requiring integration with third-party tools Parish Data System 17 features Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups Accounting functionality within the system, not requiring integration with third-party tools Secure process of tracking children during activities Track/record financial donations made by members, along with the issuance of tax receipts/documents Schedule and manage the logistics of activities and other gatherings Comprehensive list that contains information and details of all the members associated with a particular organization or group Online gateway through which members can access/update personal information Database of members to track personal information of individuals and families Access software remotely via mobile devices Manage and support multiple locations Online calendar of upcoming events/activities viewable to members and visitors Outlet for members and visitors to submit donations electronically Track commitments to donate in the future Organize members and schedule recurring small group meetings Manage volunteer information and direct volunteer resources Built-in website builder or integration with third-party site Coordinate and schedule the flow of services, plan musical selections, and assign team members Features 2.6 (15) 2.6 Based on 15 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 2.2 (9) Free Trial Basic $72.00 Value for money 2.2 (9) 2.2 Based on 9 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.2 (10) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.2 (10) 3.2 Based on 10 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 2.7 Based on 15 reviews Filter by rating 5(2) 4(2) 3(4) 2(3) 1(4) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent MM Maxine M. Bookkeeper Religious Institutions ### "Bookkeepers Dream" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 30, 2024 Absolutely love it - very easy to use and learn. Pros Love the reports and bank reconciliations and the On Demand program. Cons Sometimes it freezes up - not sure if it is the internet or the program since I use On Demand Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DP Dan P. Marketing Marketing and Advertising ### "I like PDS and would recommend it." 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 July 30, 2021 In the last several months we have been able to gather more data and make it more useful for the parish since we utilize more features. Pros The easy process of weekly donations and parishioner data is very important to our church. Overall this is a good software for a small to medium size parish. Cons Notes tracking is lacking. There is no way to insert a note that will stay without it having the potential of it being deleted. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MD Matthew D. Director of Ministries Religious Institutions ### "Parish Data Systems needs major overhaul" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 October 5, 2020 We are not happy with this software and are currently looking to change. It seems to have been a solution in at one time, but is built on an older platform that doesn't upgrade well. It needs a major overhaul. There are many other church management systems out that does so much more these days. Pros PDS holds parishioner data and donation contributions. It is uniquely Catholic in design, and holds Sacramental information. It is organized by family, rather than individual (like Catholic churches organize records). If you have questions, someone is available by phone to help solve issues. Cons PDS isn't reliable. We lost cell phones data once and had to use a backup to restore. Another time the user levels permissions just changed, so all employees could see financial giving, and not just the accountant. It is not user friendly and buttons are in odd places. Data is not organized well and not all data can be pulled in reports like we would like them. When we run reports of the whole parish, the report often crashes and takes forever to run. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MG Mari G. Administrative Assistant Religious Institutions ### "Disatisfactory" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 September 16, 2020 Pros I felt like the easiest thing to do, to be really honest was logging into the system. Cons I don't even know where to begin with what types of issues I had with PDS Church Office. It seemed like I had an issue with something everyday. Switched from [Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT](https://www.capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/) Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VM Vicki M. office manager Non-Profit Organization Management ### "PDS Church Office" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 September 16, 2020 Great experience with recording information but the reports were not easy to use. Pros PDS Software was very reliable. We did not have much down time at all. Cons It wasn't geared toward a Catholic Church. Its excellent software for protestant churches, but it falls short for what we need to record our Sacraments etc. Reasons for choosing Parish Data System We now use ParishSoft. It is a Catholic Based software. Reporting is easier for our church. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AH Angela H. Accounting Assit Religious Institutions ### "Good to record name & phone and make reports." 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 November 19, 2019 Hard to use. Pros Easy to enter information, had many fields to enter info into. Cons Other than a data base this software does not do much more. Pulling a report is hard and sending emails is not easy. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. KN Kevin N. Analyst Financial Services ### "Limited and Awful Database" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 November 10, 2019 I do not recommend PDS for the reasons above. It can get the job done only if you have a very low bar set for what you want the software to accomplish. Pros PDS is most likely one of the worst software programs I have used. I was able to use it for basic (but clumsy) reports, but that is the best thing I can say about it. Cons The data input is clumsy and not intuitive. The reports are absolutely the worst. There is the capability to run reports, but the process of selecting fields, building, and running a report is terrible. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Financial & Stewardship Coordinator Religious Institutions ### "Update Parish Data Systems" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 May 28, 2019 Pros So many features for census software for a catholic church, you can build keyword reports, financial record keeping is simple and customer service is so easy to use when you have on demand. Cons Update reporting so that you can build a pivot table, app does not offer an online directory and the overall look to the program is close to that of an out dated AS400 program. Would love Realm but product is not ready for a diocese. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. EN Elizabeth N. Director of Communications Religious Institutions ### "Clunky, Poor Reporting" 2.0 Overall Rating 2.0 2.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 2/10 February 5, 2019 There are much better Church/Registration Software Systems out there. We are certainly looking to move to a different system. Pros PDS Church Office efficiently collects and organizes data. Other than that, I can't recommend it. Cons The reports are terrible. There are literally hundred of fields to choose from, many of which are the same field worded differently (i.e. Father name, Father full name, Head name, Member 1 name...). All adults input into the system are either "Mother" or "Father" regardless of marital status or actually having children. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AS Alexander S. Parish Receptionist Religious Institutions ### "PDS Church Office: There's probably something better" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 December 16, 2018 It works, but it's slow. Pros It does compile all of our members' data and make it searchable. It syncs up via the cloud. Cons It takes forever to start up. It is clunky to navigate and feels like old, dated software. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/2678/PDS-Church-Office/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)