Church Digital

For churches · Comparison

Church Digital vs Ministry Designs

Ministry Designs sells church websites built from design kits, with the first build included free. Its pricing page lists two plans: Site, a do-it-yourself plan at $97 a month, and Site Management at $247 a month, where their team makes the updates. Churches of the Nazarene in the USA and Canada also get a partner package at $25 or $55 a month, with an optional $27 a month add-on for a set number of updates. This page puts those plans next to ours. Ministry Designs prices and terms here are from their own pages, checked October 22, 2026.

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Side by side

Church Digital and Ministry Designs, line by line.

Pricing and terms are taken from each vendor’s publicly listed pages. If anything looks stale, point it out and we’ll update it.

 Church DigitalMinistry Designs
When billing startsOn website plans, your first payment is the day your new site goes live, after you’ve approved it.Ask Ministry Designs in writing
Launch date in writingOnce we have what we need from you, your new site is live within 14 days, or your first month is on us.Their team builds it from your current content "within 3 weeks" (Nazarene page); no remedy stated
If you cancelIf you ever go, you keep a complete copy of your site and your content, and we help you move your domain.Terms 5.02: you "shall still be charged the fee for the remaining term"; no refunds (5.03)
Monthly$120–$297/mo, published$97/mo DIY, $247/mo managed; Nazarene plans from $25/mo
Setup feeNoneNone listed; website build included
ContractNo contract — cancel anytimeOne-year term on managed; the DIY plan says no contracts, but Terms 5.02 set a one-year minimum
Who builds itWe do — custom design, built for youTemplate-based; you pick a theme
Custom designCustomTemplate
SupportA human replies within 1 business day — published SLAVendor support from their team

Positioning

Looking for a Ministry Designs alternative for your church website?

Ministry Designs sells church websites built from design kits: pre-built page layouts and blocks that a church customizes. Its pricing page lists two plans. Site, at $97 a month, is do-it-yourself after their team does the first build. Site Management, at $247 a month, adds their design team making unlimited content updates. Since January 2026 it has also been a preferred website partner of the Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada Region, with packages at $25 and $55 a month for Nazarene churches.

Who they're built for: churches with a staff member or volunteer who will keep the site current inside a design kit, and Nazarene churches looking for a low monthly cost. The managed plan serves churches that want the updates done for them and are comfortable with a one-year term.

Who they're not really built for: churches that want a design made from scratch around their church. Their management page says the service "does not include a fully custom site from scratch". A design made for one church, with updates done for you month to month, is the gap Church Digital is built to cover.

Cost

The actual cost math.

Numbers carry the dates we checked them in 2026. Pricing moves — confirm rates with the vendor before you commit.

Ministry Designs publishes its prices on its own pages (checked October 22, 2026). On ministrydesigns.com/pricing: Site at $97 a month and Site Management at $247 a month, with a free website build on every new account. On nazarene.ministrydesigns.com, for Nazarene churches in the USA and Canada: Starter at $25 a month (up to 10 pages) and Advanced at $55 a month (unlimited pages), each with a free buildout, plus an optional Website Management add-on at $27 a month and an optional one-time Full SEO Package at $247.

Year one on each: Nazarene Starter $300, or $624 with the management add-on; Nazarene Advanced $660, or $984 with it; Site $1,164; Site Management $2,964. On terms, their pages differ. The Site plan and the Nazarene builder page say no contracts, Site Management states a one-year term, and Terms 5.02 set a one-year minimum on membership subscriptions that renews at the regular, non-promotional price. Ask which applies before you sign.

Church Digital's website plan is $120 a month, or $90 at the founding rate for as long as you stay, with no setup fee: $1,440 a year at full price, or $1,080 at the founding rate. On website plans, your first payment is the day your new site goes live, after you’ve approved it. Routine updates are included. Against the Nazarene package and the Site plan, the difference in the monthly is the work after launch: on those plans your team makes most changes, and with us we do.

Hosting is included on both sides. Their builder page lists hosting, SSL and backups, and our plan includes hosting.

Feature comparison

Feature comparison, with the tradeoffs.

Five places where the two providers actually differ — not a checklist of features, but how each one handles the work in practice.

Design and customization

Ministry Designs

Ministry Designs builds from design kits: pre-built layouts and blocks. On the Site plan your team can customize every block in their builder. On Site Management you choose from their pre-built layouts, and their management page says the service "does not include a fully custom site from scratch". The Nazarene Starter package includes 3 Nazarene design kits, and Advanced adds 12 more.

Church Digital

Church Digital designs each site around the specific church: your story, your building, your people. There is no kit library to pick from, so the finished site is not shared with other churches on the same plan.

If you want a known starting point and a quick build, a design kit does that. If you want a site that looks like only your church, a custom design does.

Updates after launch

Ministry Designs

It depends on the plan. On the $97 Site plan and the Nazarene Starter and Advanced packages, your team makes the updates, with training and unlimited support. The Nazarene $27 a month add-on covers weekly sermon uploads plus 5 event and 5 content updates a month. Site Management at $247 a month includes unlimited content updates with a 24-hour turnaround.

Church Digital

Routine updates are included in our plan: sermons, events, photo refreshes, staff and ministry pages. You send the change, we make it, and nobody on your team has to learn an editor.

The question is who keeps the site current after launch, and how many changes a month the plan covers.

Performance and SEO basics

Ministry Designs

On-page SEO is included on the Site plan and on both Nazarene packages. Site Management adds a full technical SEO buildout, image optimization and continued SEO maintenance. Nazarene churches can add a one-time Full SEO Package for $247.

Church Digital

Church Digital builds on a modern stack (Next.js, optimized images, structured data baked in by default) and the sites tend to score well on Core Web Vitals out of the box. Local business schema, FAQ schema where it makes sense, and clean semantic HTML come standard rather than as add-ons.

For a typical local-church search profile, the difference is small. It matters more if you're running ads, doing serious content marketing, or competing in a dense metro.

Integrations (giving, ChMS, calendaring)

Ministry Designs

Online giving and sermon, event and small group tools are part of every plan. Their management page says Ministry Designs "integrates with every major online giving provider and church management software at NO additional cost."

Church Digital

Church Digital embeds the tools the church already uses, such as Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Pushpay, RightNow Media and sermon players, into the design rather than moving you to a vendor-preferred stack.

For the standard church integration list, both are roughly equivalent. Ask either vendor specifically about anything unusual you depend on.

Terms and leaving

Ministry Designs

Support is included on every plan, and Site Management adds direct communication with their designers. On terms, their pages differ: the Site plan says "No Contracts, Cancel Any Time" and the Nazarene builder page says "Absolutely no contracts", while Terms 5.02 say "All membership subscriptions are a minimum of one (1) year" and charge the rest of the term if you cancel early. Site Management has a one-year term that starts at launch (Terms 5.05). The site is hosted on their platform.

Church Digital

Every plan is month to month. Cancel anytime from your account. If you ever go, you keep a complete copy of your site and your content, and we help you move your domain.

Before you sign anywhere, us included, get the term, the renewal price and what you keep if you leave in writing.

Common scenarios

Common scenarios, and how each one tends to land.

Concrete church profiles, the honest fit for each provider, and which way each one leans.

Church of the Nazarene in the USA or Canada with a volunteer who will keep the site current.

Ministry Designs

A strong fit. The Starter package is $25 a month with a free build from your current content, and your volunteer gets training and unlimited support.

Church Digital

Our plan costs more ($120 a month, $90 at the founding rate) because it includes the updates your volunteer would otherwise make.

Leans toward Ministry Designs

Church where nobody on staff wants to edit the website after it launches.

Ministry Designs

Site Management at $247 a month covers unlimited content updates, with a one-year term. On the Nazarene package, the $27 a month add-on covers weekly sermon uploads plus 5 event and 5 content updates a month.

Church Digital

Routine updates are included, so the site stays current without anyone on staff owning it. Every plan is month to month. Cancel anytime from your account.

Either could fit

Church that wants a distinctive design that reflects its own identity and city.

Ministry Designs

Ministry Designs starts from a design kit, and its management page says the service "does not include a fully custom site from scratch". On the Site plan, your team can customize every block.

Church Digital

Church Digital is built around this. Each site is designed for the church rather than chosen from a kit.

Leans toward Church Digital

Board that wants month-to-month terms and a written answer on what the church keeps if it leaves.

Ministry Designs

Ask Ministry Designs in writing which term applies. Their Site plan says no contracts, but Terms 5.02 set a one-year minimum that renews at the regular price and charges the rest of the term if you cancel early. Site Management has a one-year term.

Church Digital

Every plan is month to month. Cancel anytime from your account. If you ever go, you keep a complete copy of your site and your content, and we help you move your domain.

Leans toward Church Digital

Switching

Switching from Ministry Designs: what it actually involves.

Leaving Ministry Designs starts with the term. Terms 5.02 renew a subscription automatically "at a price equal to the current regular, non-promotional price" unless you cancel before the renewal date, and if you cancel mid-term "you shall still be charged the fee for the remaining term". Terms 5.04 say to cancel with a support ticket at ministrydesigns.help that includes your Ministry Designs ID, at least one business day before your next billing date. Check your renewal date first.

The site is hosted on their platform, so plan the move as a new build. Copy out page text, images, sermon audio and video links, and event details before you cancel, and ask Ministry Designs which export options they offer. Keep the old site running until the new one is built and checked.

The domain is the simple part if it is registered in the church's name. Their FAQ offers three ways to connect: point your name servers or a CNAME at their server, or transfer the domain to them. Confirm where yours is registered and whether your email runs through the same name servers before you switch.

Honest fit

When each one is the right pick.

Pick Ministry Designs when

When Ministry Designs is the better fit

  • You lead a Church of the Nazarene in the USA or Canada and someone at church will keep the site updated. The Starter package is $25 a month, and their team builds the site from your current content at no build cost.
  • You lead a Nazarene church and want help with some updates at a low monthly. A $27 a month add-on to the package covers weekly sermon uploads plus 5 event and 5 content updates a month.
  • A staff member or volunteer wants to build and edit the site directly. The $97 Site plan includes a 20-page website build, unlimited pages, and their library of design kits and blocks.
  • You want unlimited content updates with a 24-hour turnaround and a one-year term works for you. That is their $247 Site Management plan.

Pick Church Digital when

When Church Digital is the better fit

  • Nobody on staff wants to own the website after launch. Routine updates are included in our plan, month to month: you send the change, we make it.
  • You want a design made around your church rather than chosen from a design kit.
  • You want nothing to pay before launch. On website plans, your first payment is the day your new site goes live, after you’ve approved it.
  • You want to keep the site if you leave. If you ever go, you keep a complete copy of your site and your content, and we help you move your domain.

Bottom line

The bottom line.

Choose Ministry Designs when you lead a Nazarene church and a volunteer will keep the site current (the Starter package is $25 a month), when your team wants to edit a design-kit site on the $97 Site plan, or when you want unlimited updates on Site Management and a one-year term works for you. Choose Church Digital when you want a design made for your church, routine updates done for you on a month-to-month plan, nothing to pay until the site is live, and a complete copy of your site if you ever leave.

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Setup fees

What they don't tell you

The monthly sticker isn't the whole price once a setup fee lands on top.

VendorSetup fee
ReachRight$2,000 setup fee*
Clover Sites~$1,000 build fee
Church Plant Media$499 setup fee
Church Digital$0, ever

*waived only with a 12-month contract

Useful next reads

Keep reading on Ministry Designs and the alternatives.

Two or three picks from our church insights and tools — sized for someone comparing vendors, not someone who already signed.

Insight

Read: custom church website vs template (when each makes sense)

When a template is enough, when custom earns its cost, and the honest middle path.

Insight

Read the 2026 church website cost breakdown

The real DIY, mid-tier, and custom-build numbers — with the hidden costs counted.

Pillar

Read: online giving for churches — overview

The plain-language overview of how online giving works for churches — fees, platforms, and how it connects to your website.

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