The software you use is a service––it’s the backbone of many of the things you do, and you want something that not only works, but can serve you: saving time, effort, and money.
When asking around, people may suggest Google Apps free services, and it seems like every nonprofit is using it. As you do your research, you may decide that it’s great and will meet all your needs. But if you decide that Google just isn’t the right fit for you, there are some options available.
If you're looking for a Google alternative, you might feel out of luck when it comes to fulfilling your church communications needs. But you still have other options. With a little extra research and a trick or two here and there, you can find a great software that’s perfect for your church.
We’ve done the research for you! The following is a list of low-cost alternatives to Google that can be integrated into your current church software. Find the features and combination of tools to suit your needs.
Office 365: Google’s Main Competitor
One of the most robust alternatives to Google Apps is Office 365. Office 365 offers its software for free or at a “significant discount” if your church qualifies for the Microsoft Product Donations program for nonprofits. To get started, they’ve partnered with TechSoup Validation Services to make registration as simple as possible.If you’re eligible for the discounted rate, it would cost you around $5.00 user/month.
With Office 365 you can get:
- Anywhere access
- File sharing
- HD video conferencing
- Business-class email
- Unlimited users on-call
- Office web apps
- And much, much more.
Office 365 has an impressive menu of services. Whatever your nonprofit status may be, it might be worth taking a look. Best case scenario is you get some free or discounted software!
If you don’t qualify for this status, the cost for Office 365 starts at $5 per user per month.
Free or Low-Cost Software and Tools
Below, is a list of different all-in-one softwares and stand-alone tools that you can use together to make the perfect blend for all your software needs. While free tools are often prime examples of “you get what you pay for,” with a bit of tweaking, you can get a lot of use from them. But otherwise, if you choose to invest in your software to streamline your process, they are also lower-cost.
All-In-One Options
A lot of Zoho users like this software for its simplicity. For small businesses (or churches) who aren’t too interested in being overly complicated or cutting edge, this could be the operating system for you. Their website outlines the wide variety of apps you can add to make your own “custom” software to help you handle your finance, inventory, CRM, campaigns, email, chat, and much more. Not to mention, it’s totally free!
Bitrix24 is one of the more popular alternatives to Google, and it starts free for up to 12 employees and 5GB of space. Adding more online storage is a breeze, too (an extra 100GB is only $25/month). What I like about this platform is that it offers tools for task management, document sharing, and even time tracking for business (church) communications. A lot of users talk about how they love the workflows Bitrix24 offers to handle employee activity, social media integration, and fun things like badges as a motivational tool.
Zimbra is a groupware product that consists of both client and server components for easy email collaboration. According to many user reviews, the free edition will do everything you need if you’re a small-yet-growing church.
While their website doesn’t offer direct pricing information, you can request a custom quote based on your specific needs. However, I did a little poking around on the internet, and I speculate that it is one of the less expensive options if you do get a quote.
Document Sharing and Project Management
We’re highlighting two main document sharing and project management platforms: Basecamp and Teamwork. Choosing one over the other all comes down to a matter of preference, because both platforms offer many of the same things from messaging and file sharing, to assigning tasks and managing due dates.
Each of them offer a different user experience. Basecamp offers a seemingly simpler, more user-friendly platform, but Teamwork has a long list of integrations and “extra” features like time tracking, sub-tasks, and task prioritization that Basecamp doesn’t have. Try them out and see which one makes more sense for your church.
For the budget-conscious, you can also try Trello, a free project management software with fewer features so you’re unlikely to be overwhelmed. You can add “power-ups” to your Trello account as you need them.
P.S. We dive deeper into all of these church communications tools in our free eBook, Church Communicator’s Survival Guide: 7 Tools to Use Everyday.
Stand-Alone Church Communications Tools
Email Tools
There are tons of options out there for businesses on a budget or those looking for an alternative to Google.
Here’s our list of email apps we recommend that you check out. Many of these can be easily integrated into whatever software or platform you’re currently using.
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Rackspace
- Fast Mail
- Outlook Apps
- Apple Mail (For our Mac lovers!)
Chatting Tools
Communication can be easy-peasy. We’ve listed some of our favorite chatting and conference call tools. The best part about all of these is that there is a free option for small groups and teams!
- Slack
- HipChat
- Skype for Business
- Uber Conference (Up to ten participants are free!)
- WebEx
- Zoom
- Join.me
Calendar Tools
Google Calendar isn’t the only calendar option for your church staff. While each calendar app serves the same fundamental purpose––scheduling out time commitments and sharing them––some have different perks than others. Here are a few you might consider:
File Sharing Tools
Whether you need to share a document, video, sound file, having a file sharing tool to use among your church team is essential to keep things transparent and easily passed from person-to-person. Instead of Google Drive, you might want to consider one of these:
