Socio Connect
Demo

Updated October 2026

Gloo alternatives, for churches.

Churches use Gloo for texting, email and AI on top of their database. The alternatives come in three kinds: another texting tool, messaging with a database, or one platform that holds the records.

Start free See plans and pricing

14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off

Who wrote this: Socio Connect, the care platform for churches, and one of the options below. We’ve put ourselves first because it’s our list; read it with that in mind. If a texting tool is all you need, we say so.

Harbor Point Church is an example.

Where Gloo fits

A layer on top of your database.

Gloo syncs contacts from the church database you already run, such as Planning Center, Church Community Builder or Rock RMS. It adds texting, email, keyword workflows and Ministry Chat on top. Its Free plan includes 500 texts and 500 emails a month, and Gloo+ is $49 a month for 5,000 of each, as of October 2026.

Churches look around for different reasons. Some send more texts than the free plan now covers. Some want replies to land beside the person’s record. Some are rethinking the database itself. Which of those is yours decides which kind of alternative to look at.

Read what changed in Gloo’s texting for the numbers.

Pick the kind of tool first. Then compare products of that kind.

$0

platform fee on giving, dues and tickets

$299

a month on Community, up to 750 active people

14 days

free on Community, no card

Start here

How to choose.

Each kind trades something different. Start with where your people records should live.

01

Texting-only tool

Swap Gloo for another texting tool

You get: The smallest change. Text In Church and Clearstream both connect to the church database you already run.

You trade: Your people still live in two places, and you keep both lists in step.

02

Messaging with a database

Messaging plus a database you keep

You get: Texts and email beside a church database. Flocknote Complete and Text In Church Plus include one, and Planning Center People can send texts.

You trade: Check what the database covers. Giving, check-in and events may still be separate tools.

03

One platform

One platform that holds the records

You get: People, groups, giving, check-in, events and messages on one record per person. Socio Connect is one of these.

You trade: A bigger move than swapping a texting tool. You bring your people over once.

Ranked

The Gloo alternatives, ranked.

Ranked by fit for churches that want fewer places to keep their people. Socio Connect is first because we wrote the list.

  1. 01

    Socio Connect

    Ready-made platform

    Best for: Churches that want their people, giving, check-in and messages on one record, not a texting layer on top of a database

    Pricing

    Free, then $99, $299 and $599 a month by active people; Enterprise priced to fit

    Socio Connect is the care platform for churches. Every person and household, group, gift, check-in and event lives on one record, with messages sent from the same place. The Assistant tells your team who needs them this week, and why, and drafts the note.

    Harbor Point Church is an example.

    Strengths

    • Texting from Messages, with a two-way text inbox: 500 texts a month on Foundation, 2,000 on Community and 5,000 on Complete
    • One record per person, in place of separate tools
    • Giving, dues and tickets to your own Stripe account, with no platform fee
    • Kids check-in, volunteers, courses and your website on the same record
    • The Assistant: who needs your team this week, with a reason for each name. Meet the Assistant
    • Published prices, and a 14-day Community trial with no card

    Trade-offs

    • Your own app in the stores is coming on Enterprise; today, members use the web
    • Built for organizations: creators selling courses may find a creator platform a closer fit
    • You bring your people over from a spreadsheet
    Read Socio Connect vs Gloo See plans and pricing
  2. 02

    Text In Church

    Church texting and email

    Best for: Churches that want texting, email and follow-up workflows, and a light database on its Plus plan

    Pricing

    Core from $30/month (up to 500 credits). With 1,250 credits: Core $35, Plus $45, Suite $60 a month. Large Church quoted

    Text In Church is a texting and email tool made for churches. Every plan has two-way texting, unlimited email, connect cards and automated workflows. Plus adds a church database with households.

    Strengths

    • Two-way texting and unlimited email on every plan
    • Unlimited contacts, users and groups
    • Lists integrations with Planning Center, Church Community Builder, Rock RMS and others on every plan
    • Paying yearly saves 17%

    Trade-offs

    • Price rises with the message credits you choose
    • Texts over your plan’s credits cost 3 cents each
    • Voice broadcast starts on Plus; sending email from your own domain starts on Suite
  3. 03

    Clearstream

    Church texting and email

    Best for: Churches that text a lot and want to keep their current church database

    Pricing

    $35/month for 1,000 credits, up to $5,899/month for 500,000. 16% off paid yearly. 30-day free trial

    Clearstream is a texting and email tool for churches, with a texting inbox for replies, text-to-join keywords and workflows. It connects to the church database you already run.

    Strengths

    • A wide range of plans, from 1,000 to 500,000 credits a month
    • Incoming texts are free; only outgoing texts use credits
    • Lists integrations with Planning Center, Rock RMS, CCB/Pushpay and Breeze
    • Subaccounts from the $59 plan, for ministries or campuses

    Trade-offs

    • Monthly credits don’t roll over (extra credits you buy do)
    • Email is capped at 10,000 a month on the $35 plan and 30,000 on the $59 plan
    • Your people records stay in your church database, so it’s still two places
  4. 04

    Flocknote

    Messaging and database

    Best for: Churches and Catholic parishes that want unlimited email and texts with giving in the same tool

    Pricing

    Starter priced by church size: free for 0 to 40 members, $10/month for 41 to 50. Complete is Starter plus $75/month. Enterprise quoted

    Flocknote is church communication with online giving and signups. Starter covers email, texts, giving and signups. Complete adds a household database, attendance and donor management.

    Strengths

    • Unlimited email and unlimited standard texts
    • Online giving included on every plan
    • Complete adds a household database, attendance tracking and free data transfer

    Trade-offs

    • The price grows with your member count; check its calculator for your size
    • Longer texts and images need its SuperTexting add-on
    • Some extras, such as sacrament tracking, are made for Catholic parishes
  5. 05

    Planning Center People

    Database with texting

    Best for: Churches already on Planning Center that send occasional one-way texts

    Pricing

    People is free. Texts are $0.02 each, bought as credits

    Planning Center People is a free church database with reporting and communication. You can send texts from People by buying credits, with no monthly texting plan.

    Strengths

    • People is free, with an unlimited database and reporting
    • Pay only for the texts you send
    • Your records and your messages stay in the same database

    Trade-offs

    • Replies to texts sent from People are not received
    • For two-way texting, Planning Center lets you connect Clearstream or Text In Church
    • Groups, check-in, giving and other Planning Center products are priced separately
    Planning Center vs Socio Connect

Prices as published on each vendor’s own page, as of October 2026, in US dollars. Plans and prices change, so check theirs. Text In Church sets its price by the credits you choose; we quote its page’s default of 1,250 credits.

Moving over

Moving off Gloo.

Gloo syncs with your church database, so that database is where your records live. The move starts there.

Socio Connect vs Gloo, side by side · Gloo cut its free texts: your options · Moving from Planning Center, step by step

  1. 01

    Count the texts you sent last month, and list what else you use Gloo for. That tells you which kind of tool you need.

  2. 02

    Export People from the church database Gloo syncs with. For most churches that’s Planning Center.

  3. 03

    Check who agreed to receive texts before your first send from any new tool.

  4. 04

    On Socio Connect, import the file. You check the columns and duplicates before anything is saved. Then switch on texting, with 2,000 texts a month on Community.

Next step

Down to Gloo or Socio Connect?

Read Socio Connect vs Gloo. It sets the jobs, prices and data side by side, and says when to stay on Gloo. Our plans start at $99 a month, and Community is $299 with a 14-day trial and no card.

Decision

Socio Connect vs Gloo

Guide

Gloo cut its free texts. Here’s what churches can do.

Moving over

Moving from Planning Center

Facts as of October 2026, from each vendor’s own pages; prices and plans change, so check theirs. Sources: Text In Church pricing · Clearstream pricing · Flocknote pricing · Planning Center pricing · Texting in Planning Center · Gloo+ · Gloo free plan credits · Gloo People and sync.

Ready for one platform instead?

Plans from $99 a month, and we never take a cut of your giving. 14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off.

Start free See plans and pricing

Everything in one place.