Holy Insights vs. Vitals.church: Which Church Metrics Dashboard Is Right for You?
Two church metrics dashboards. Different AI capabilities, different sweet-spot churches, different pricing models. This is the honest side-by-side, including the parts where Vitals is the better choice, so you can make the call that fits your church.
Short answer: for one campus, Holy Insights Core ($40/mo) costs less than Vitals ($50/mo) and MAX ($80/mo) costs more. Holy Insights fits if you want a named AI coach, board-ready reports, and ratio KPIs. On MAX, Holy Insights costs less from four campuses on ($185/mo vs $200/mo at four).
By Braden Murray, founder of Holy Insights · Updated
Competitor details checked against Vitals homepage, Vitals pricing, Vitals features, Vitals FAQ, Vitals about on .
At a Glance
| Holy Insights | Vitals.church | |
|---|---|---|
| AI feature | MAX (3 coaching styles, Staff Meeting Prep, Ask MAX) | AI trend explanations, photo headcount, anomaly detection, Weekly Service Review |
| Research sources behind the AI | Barna, Pew, Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects | Not stated on their site (as of October 2026) |
| Planning Center integration | (native) | |
| All native integrations | Planning Center, Rock RMS, Breeze, Pushpay ChMS, QuickBooks | Homepage: Planning Center, YouTube, Google Analytics, Facebook, Instagram. Features page: Facebook and Instagram marked coming soon. CCB, Breeze, and Pushpay are coming soon on both. |
| Users included | 5 on Core, 20 on MAX | Unlimited |
| Multi-campus support | Per-campus dashboards plus network rollup view | Per-campus support (flat per-campus pricing) |
| Operator | One person (Braden), direct contact | Founded by a pastor |
| Data freshness | Daily, and about every 30 minutes on Sunday (Planning Center) | Real-time |
| Automated alerts on trends | (MAX surfaces alerts and benchmarks) | (anomaly detection) |
| Free tier and trial | No free tier; 30-day free trial (card required) | Free for 1 year for churches under 2 years old; 30-day free trial, no card |
| Sweet-spot church size | 200–800 attendance | No size focus stated on their site |
| Starting price | $40/mo (Core) | $50/mo per campus |
| Top-tier price | $80/mo (MAX) | $50/mo |
| Yearly discount | 17% off | Not advertised |
| Per additional campus | +$35/mo (MAX only) | +$50/mo |
| 5-campus total (MAX) | $220/mo | $250/mo |
What Vitals Does Well
Vitals is a real product solving a real problem, and a few things they do are genuinely strong:
- Native Planning Center sync. Vitals connects directly to Planning Center. Its homepage lists seven Planning Center products, and its features page lists three: check-ins, giving, and groups.
- Free for new church plants. If your church is under 2 years old, Vitals is free for 1 year. Holy Insights doesn't match that, and if you're a new plant, Vitals is the right call.
- Established AI insights. Vitals sends weekly reports with AI trend explanations, and its site also describes anomaly detection, a Weekly Service Review, and AI headcounts from a photo.
- Google Analytics + YouTube integration. If you're trying to tie web traffic and online sermon engagement to in-person attendance, Vitals connects to both.
- Unlimited users. Vitals includes unlimited users in its $50 per campus price. Holy Insights includes 5 users on Core and 20 on MAX, so a church that wants a login for every staff member and ministry leader may find Vitals the easier fit.
If those are the most important features for your church, Vitals is a genuinely good tool. The rest of this page explains where Holy Insights does things differently, and why that matters for the specific kind of church we built it for.
What Holy Insights Does Differently
1. MAX is a packaged AI coach with three coaching styles
Vitals uses AI too, for weekly trend explanations, anomaly detection, a Weekly Service Review, and headcounts from a photo. What Holy Insights offers differently is MAX, a named, packaged coach with three concrete capabilities:
- Three coaching styles. Pick how you want to be talked to: Ministry Coach, Board Summary, or Deep Dive. Same data, different voice.
- Staff Meeting Prep. MAX auto-generates weekly or monthly briefs comparing the most recent week to the prior 4-week average. Meeting-ready talking points, so you can stop writing the Monday agenda on Sunday night.
- Ask MAX. Natural-language Q&A against your church's actual numbers. Type a question, such as “why is our baptism conversion rate low?” or “which volunteer team has the highest turnover?”, and get an answer pulled from your real data.
One limit to know about: Core includes a monthly allowance of MAX, which is 3 coaching reports, 2 meeting briefs, and 5 Ask MAX questions. The MAX plan has no such caps.
2. Tiered pricing that actually fits your church size
Vitals charges $50 per campus per month with unlimited users, plus a one-time $250 if you want custom metrics, and it offers a 30-day free trial with no card. Holy Insights has two plans, so a small church on Core ($40/mo) isn't paying for features they don't need, and a church on MAX ($80/mo) gets every feature without enterprise pricing. If you're under 300 attendance and just want the basics, you're paying $40/mo on Holy Insights vs. $50/mo on Vitals, which is 20% less. Core includes 5 users and MAX includes 20, while Vitals includes unlimited users.
3. MAX is grounded in published ministry research
MAX is grounded in published research from groups like Barna, Pew Research, and the Unstuck Group, along with frameworks from Ministry Architects and other ministry sources. When MAX tells you what a number means, the context comes from that research. Vitals does not state on its site what its AI draws on, as of October 2026.
4. Built for 200–800 attendance churches
Vitals does not state a church size it is built for on its site. Holy Insights is built for the 200–800 sweet spot, the size where you're past DIY spreadsheets but not yet running a data team. The benchmarks, the default reports, the way the dashboard is structured all assume that's the church we're serving. If you're in that range, the difference is felt in every screen.
5. One person you can reach directly
Holy Insights is built and operated by one person, Braden. When something breaks or you need help, you're talking to the person who built the product. A larger team may offer more support hours, and some pastors prefer that. Some prefer talking to the builder. Worth knowing before you choose.
6. Multi-campus pricing: comparable at first, lower at scale
Holy Insights MAX includes one campus and adds $35/month for each additional campus. Vitals charges $50/month for every campus. At one or two campuses Vitals costs less. At three campuses they match: $80 + $35 + $35 = $150/mo on Holy Insights MAX, and $150/mo on Vitals. After that, the gap grows by $15/month with each campus you add, so a 5-campus church pays $30/mo less (12%) and a 10-campus church pays $105/mo less (21%). It's worth knowing if you're multi-site, but it shouldn't be the main reason to choose one tool over the other.
AI Compared: MAX vs. Vitals' AI Insights
Both products use AI, and they package it differently.
| MAX (Holy Insights) | Vitals AI Insights | |
|---|---|---|
| Named, packaged product | Yes (“MAX”) | No named assistant on their site; AI is built into reports |
| Personality customization | 3 coaching styles | Not advertised |
| Auto-generated meeting briefs | Yes (Staff Meeting Prep) | Weekly reports with AI trend explanations, plus a Weekly Service Review |
| Natural-language Q&A | Yes (Ask MAX) | Not advertised |
| Anomaly detection | MAX surfaces alerts and benchmarks | Yes, per their features page |
| AI headcount from a photo | No | Yes |
| Monthly AI limits | Core: 3 coaching reports, 2 meeting briefs, 5 Ask MAX questions. MAX plan: no caps | Not stated on their site |
| Research sources disclosed | Yes (Barna, Pew, Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects) | Not stated on their site (as of October 2026) |
We wouldn't call MAX better AI than what Vitals offers. MAX is more packaged, with named features you can point to. If you want a coach that prepares your staff meeting and answers your questions in plain language, MAX is built for that. If you want AI explanations and anomaly flags built into the reports you already receive, Vitals does that.
The Pricing Math at 1 to 10 Campuses
Here's the monthly cost at a few common campus counts. Holy Insights numbers are on the MAX plan with monthly billing. Yearly billing saves about 17%. Vitals numbers are $50 per campus per month and leave out its one-time $250 for custom metrics.
| Campuses | Holy Insights MAX | Vitals | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 campus | $80/mo | $50/mo | Vitals is $30/mo less |
| 2 campuses | $115/mo | $100/mo | Vitals is $15/mo less |
| 3 campuses | $150/mo | $150/mo | Same price |
| 5 campuses | $220/mo | $250/mo | Holy Insights is 12% less |
| 10 campuses | $395/mo | $500/mo | Holy Insights is 21% less |
Below three campuses Vitals costs less, and for a single campus Holy Insights Core ($40/mo) is the closer match to Vitals' $50/mo. From the fourth campus on, Holy Insights MAX costs less, and the gap grows by $15/mo per campus. For most churches the bigger question is which AI coach and dashboards fit how your team works. The price difference is real, but it's modest. Also keep seats in mind: Vitals includes unlimited users, while Holy Insights includes 5 on Core and 20 on MAX.
When Vitals Is the Better Choice
- 1Your church plant is under 2 years old. Vitals is free for 1 year. Holy Insights doesn't match that.
- 2You have a dedicated data person on staff who wants auto-anomaly detection plus Google Analytics + YouTube integration.
- 3You want unlimited users. Vitals includes them in its $50 per campus price, while Holy Insights includes 5 on Core and 20 on MAX.
- 4You're a 1,000+ attendance single-campus church. Holy Insights is tuned for 200–800, and Vitals does not state a size range on its site.
When Holy Insights Is the Better Choice
- 1You're a 200–800 attendance church. The dashboards, defaults, and benchmarks are built for your reality.
- 2You want a packaged AI coach. MAX's 3 coaching styles, Staff Meeting Prep, and Ask MAX are named, concrete features.
- 3You want predictable, transparent pricing that doesn't change based on church size.
- 4You're multi-campus or planting toward it. Every campus gets its own dashboard plus a network rollup, and each additional campus is $35/mo on Holy Insights versus $50/mo on Vitals, so from four campuses on Holy Insights costs less overall.
- 5You want to talk to the person who built the product when you have feedback or need help.
- 6You use Rock RMS, Breeze, Pushpay ChMS, or QuickBooks. Holy Insights connects to all four natively, and Vitals lists Breeze and Pushpay as coming soon.
Migrating from Vitals to Holy Insights
If you're already on Vitals and considering a switch, here's what to expect:
- Connect Planning Center directly. Holy Insights pulls check-ins, giving, and groups from Planning Center directly. No double entry.
- Historical data import via CSV. If you have data in Vitals you want to bring over and you can export it as a CSV, Holy Insights will import it during onboarding.
- No technical lock-in either direction. Cancel Vitals once Holy Insights is set up.
- Connecting takes about 10 minutes, and a full setup typically takes 2 to 4 hours over the first week. Most of that time is mapping your data and importing history. Braden walks you through it directly.
See Holy Insights for Yourself
The fastest way to decide is a 30-minute demo.
See MAX live, walk through the dashboard with your church's data, and ask whatever you want about pricing, features, or migration.
Book a free demoFrequently Asked Questions
How does Holy Insights pricing compare to Vitals?
Holy Insights Core is $40/mo and MAX is $80/mo, and each includes one campus. Additional campuses are $35/mo each, on MAX only. Vitals is $50/mo per campus with unlimited users, and its custom metrics are a one-time $250. Holy Insights includes 5 users on Core and 20 on MAX. For one campus, Core costs less than Vitals and MAX costs more. On MAX, Vitals costs less at one or two campuses, the two are even at three campuses ($150/mo), and Holy Insights costs less from four campuses on.
Which costs less for a multi-campus church, Holy Insights or Vitals?
It depends on how many campuses you have. A 2-campus church pays $115/mo on Holy Insights MAX and $100/mo on Vitals. At 3 campuses both are $150/mo. At 5 campuses it's $220/mo versus $250/mo (12% less on Holy Insights), and at 10 campuses it's $395/mo versus $500/mo (21% less). The gap is real but modest, so we'd suggest choosing on MAX, your integrations, and fit for your church size rather than price alone.
Can Holy Insights replace Vitals for a small church?
Yes. Holy Insights' Core tier ($40/mo) covers attendance, giving, NextGen, trends, groups, demographics, volunteers, executive reports, and a monthly allowance of MAX coaching (3 coaching reports, 2 meeting briefs, and 5 Ask MAX questions; MAX plan has no such caps). That covers the core of what most small churches need, at 20% less than Vitals. Core includes 5 users, while Vitals includes unlimited users.
Does Holy Insights integrate with Planning Center like Vitals?
Yes. Both products integrate directly with Planning Center. Vitals' homepage lists seven Planning Center products: Check-Ins, Services, Giving, Groups, People, Registrations, and Calendar. Its features page lists three: Check-Ins, Giving, and Groups.
Which integrations does each product offer?
Holy Insights has five native integrations: Planning Center, Rock RMS, Breeze, Pushpay ChMS, and QuickBooks. Vitals' homepage lists Planning Center, YouTube, Google Analytics, Facebook, and Instagram. Its features page lists the same, with Facebook and Instagram marked coming soon. Both pages list CCB, Breeze, and Pushpay as coming soon. If you want YouTube or Google Analytics data next to attendance, that favors Vitals. If your church management system is Rock RMS, Breeze, or Pushpay ChMS, or you want QuickBooks, that favors Holy Insights today.
How many users does each product include?
Holy Insights includes 5 users on Core and 20 users on MAX. Vitals advertises unlimited users at $50/mo per campus. If you want every staff member and ministry leader to have a login, that favors Vitals.
Does Holy Insights support multi-campus churches?
Yes. Multi-campus support is built in. Every campus gets its own dashboard, with a network rollup view across every location, plus per-campus roles so campus pastors only see their own campus while lead pastors see the network. See the dedicated multi-campus analytics page for details.
How fresh is the data in Holy Insights?
Holy Insights syncs Planning Center daily, and about every 30 minutes on Sunday, so the dashboard you open reflects recent data from your source system. Vitals advertises real-time updates. For weekly leadership decisions, both products are within the freshness range that matters.
What size church is Holy Insights designed for?
The sweet spot is 200–800 weekend attendance. Holy Insights serves churches outside that range too, but the dashboards, benchmarks, and defaults are tuned for that size.
Can I migrate from Vitals to Holy Insights?
Yes. Connect Planning Center, then import any historical data you can export from Vitals as a CSV during onboarding. Connecting takes about 10 minutes, and a full setup, including mapping your data and importing history, typically takes 2 to 4 hours spread over the first week.
How does the MAX AI Assistant compare to Vitals' AI features?
Both products use AI. Vitals describes AI trend explanations in its weekly reports, AI headcounts from a photo, anomaly detection, and a Weekly Service Review. MAX is a named, packaged coach with three coaching styles, an auto-generated Staff Meeting Prep brief, and a natural-language Q&A feature called Ask MAX. MAX is also grounded in published research from groups like Barna, Pew Research, and the Unstuck Group. Vitals does not state on its site which sources its AI draws on, as of October 2026.
What research is MAX grounded in?
MAX is grounded in published research from groups like Barna, Pew Research, and the Unstuck Group, along with frameworks from Ministry Architects and other ministry sources.
Can I customize how MAX talks to me?
Yes. MAX has three coaching styles, Ministry Coach, Board Summary, and Deep Dive, that change how it phrases insights and recommendations. Same data, different voice.
Does Holy Insights offer a free tier or trial like Vitals' free year for new churches?
No free tier, but every plan starts with a 30-day free trial (card required). Vitals gives church plants under 2 years old a free first year, and Holy Insights doesn't match that. Vitals also has a 30-day free trial with no card. If your church plant is under 2 years old, we'd genuinely recommend Vitals.