MemberDrive vs. Subsplash
Subsplash is an excellent church platform if you need a custom app, multi-platform streaming, and a bundled church engagement suite. If your primary need is fundraising — especially for capital campaigns or Bitcoin giving — the comparison looks different.
The honest comparison
Subsplash and MemberDrive are serving meaningfully different needs. Subsplash is a church engagement platform first — their flagship products are custom-branded church apps, Subsplash TV (streaming to Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV), and media hosting. Giving is how they bring churches in. The real product is the platform.
MemberDrive is a fundraising platform. We don't build church apps or host sermon libraries. Our depth is in pledges, matching gifts, peer-to-peer campaigns, and non-custodial Bitcoin — the tools that raise money, not the tools that manage church operations.
If your church needs broadcast capabilities and a full engagement suite, Subsplash is likely the better tool and this comparison will reflect that honestly. If your church needs a focused fundraising platform with capital campaign tools at a transparent, low price, the comparison flips.
Pricing Comparison
Subsplash does not publish full bundle pricing — all quotes are custom. Estimates below are based on third-party sources and church procurement reports.
| MemberDrive | Subsplash Giving (standalone) | Subsplash One (bundled) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Monthly fee | None | $0 | ~$300–$1,200/mo (est.) |
| Card transaction rate | 1% + Stripe (~2.2%–2.9%) | 2.99% + $0.30 | 2.3%–1.9% (GrowCurve) |
| ACH rate | 1% | 1% | 0.5% (GrowCurve) |
| Contract commitment | None | None | Multi-year reported |
| Annual cost on $100K raised (cards) | ~$3,350 | ~$3,140 | ~$2,050 + bundle cost |
Subsplash Giving standalone is marginally cheaper than MemberDrive on cards— their 2.99% combined rate is close to our 1% platform + 2.2% Stripe. For churches processing significant ACH volume, Subsplash's standalone rate advantage grows. GrowCurve (available to bundled customers) can bring card rates to 1.9%, making it meaningfully cheaper for high-volume churches.
However: Subsplash's bundle costs ($300–$1,200/month) are real and significant. For a church whose primary use of Subsplash is giving — and who isn't using the app, streaming, or media features — the bundle cost represents a significant premium for tools that aren't being used.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | MemberDrive | Subsplash |
|---|---|---|
| Online giving form | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recurring donations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pledge campaigns | ✓ Multi-year tracking | ✓ |
| Matching gifts | ✓ Native lead-donor engine | ✗ Not offered |
| Peer-to-peer / leaderboards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Donor self-service portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Member CRM | ✓ Basic | ◐ Via ChMS integrations |
| Member content / posts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email newsletter | ✓ Double opt-in | ✗ |
| Bitcoin (non-custodial) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Non-custodial funds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Text-to-give | ✗ | ✓ Included |
| In-app giving | ✗ | ✓ Within Subsplash church app |
| In-stream giving | ✗ | ✓ During live services |
| Custom-branded church app | ✗ | ✓ Their flagship |
| Subsplash TV (Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live streaming / media hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Small groups / messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| ChMS integrations (Planning Center, etc.) | ✗ | ✓ |
| No 501(c)(3) required | ✓ | ✗ Church-vertical only |
| Family-owned / independent | ✓ | ✗ |
◐ = partial support
Where Subsplash wins
If your church is broadcast-focused — live-streaming services, podcast library, multi-platform apps (Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV), branded church app — Subsplash is purpose-built for that use case and there's no direct competitor. Subsplash TV alone is a genuine product differentiator that we can't match without becoming a different company.
Their ChMS integrations (Planning Center, Rock RMS, Church Community Builder) are the standard ecosystem for established mid-to-large churches. If your church runs on Planning Center, Subsplash slots in cleanly.
Text-to-give and in-stream giving (donations during live service broadcasts) are also meaningful features for churches whose engagement model centers on services and media — we don't offer either.
Where MemberDrive wins
Pricing transparency. Subsplash One pricing is quote-only, with multi-year contracts reported by multiple third-party sources. MemberDrive is 1%, no contract, no bundle, no negotiation. For churches that have been surprised by escalating platform bills, clarity is genuinely valuable.
No multi-year contract. Subsplash reportedly requires 12–24 month contracts with early termination penalties. We're transaction-based with no commitment.
Matching gifts. Subsplash doesn't offer lead-donor matching campaigns. MemberDrive's matching engine — configurable multiplier, public progress tracking, automatic lead-donor invoicing — is built specifically for capital campaigns and annual fund drives. For a church running a building fund or debt-retirement campaign, this can meaningfully change what's possible.
Non-custodial Bitcoin. Subsplash has no crypto story. For Bitcoin-aligned faith communities — Reformed churches with sound-money sympathies, Catholic parishes interested in monetary alternatives, mission organizations operating in unstable currency regions — this is a genuine differentiator that Subsplash cannot offer.
Cross-purpose organizations. Subsplash is church-vertical-locked. If your church also runs a classical school, a mission organization, or an alumni association, Subsplash doesn't serve those. MemberDrive handles all of these under one platform at the same 1% rate.
No app dependency. When you cancel Subsplash, your church app disappears. With MemberDrive, your data exports cleanly and there's no platform-dependent app to lose.
Family-owned and independent. Subsplash is well-funded and growing. MemberDrive is independently operated, with no venture-backed pressure to expand into services your church doesn't need.
Who should choose what
Who should choose Subsplash
- →Mid-to-large churches that want a custom-branded app and multi-platform streaming (Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV)
- →Churches with active media ministries (sermon libraries, podcasts, live streaming as core engagement)
- →Churches doing $1M+/year in giving who benefit from GrowCurve's lower processing rates
- →Multi-site or multi-campus churches that need broadcast-grade infrastructure
Who should choose MemberDrive
- →Churches whose primary need is fundraising — especially capital campaigns, building funds, or matching gift drives
- →Bitcoin-aligned faith communities that want non-custodial, on-chain giving
- →Churches that don't need broadcast/streaming features and don't want to pay for them
- →Multi-purpose organizations (church + school + missions) that want one platform across all entities
- →Churches skeptical of multi-year contracts or vendor lock-in
Built for fundraising. Not for apps.
MemberDrive charges 1% with no bundle, no multi-year contract, and no streaming infrastructure you don't need — just matching gifts, pledges, peer-to-peer, and non-custodial Bitcoin for organizations serious about fundraising.
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