Cardova vs Rakefet Online (2026)
Two synagogue management options compared on verified pricing, Jewish-specific workflows, billing depth, communications, migration and independent evidence.
Quick answer
- Price: Cardova: Starter plan ('Popular') $80/mo; Pro plan $160/mo. Rakefet Online: RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1) $149/mo; RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS $90/mo. For a 150-household congregation that is roughly $864 vs $1,080 per year before processing and setup fees.
- Jewish-specific workflows: Rakefet Online leads (7.0 vs 14.0 of 20 points).
- Membership, dues and money: Rakefet Online leads (15.0 vs 16.5 of 20 points).
- School and events: Rakefet Online leads (5.0 vs 10.0 of 10 points).
- Data portability and migration: Rakefet Online leads (5.5 vs 8.0 of 10 points).
- Independent customer evidence: Rakefet Online leads (1 vs 5 of 10 points).
- Overall: Cardova 58.5/100 · Rakefet Online 78.0/100
Pricing side by side
Cardova
- Free plan: · up to 100 community members/contacts; 1 administrator · Essential features, basic reporting/analytics, basic chat and email support
- Starter plan ('Popular'): $80/mo · up to 500 members/contacts; 2 administrators · $80/mo billed monthly or $72/mo billed annually ($864/yr); free data transfer to Cardova, advanced reporting/analytics, priority chat and email support
- Pro plan: $160/mo · unlimited members/contacts; 5 administrators · $160/mo billed monthly or $144/mo billed annually ($1,728/yr); advanced custom fields, audit log and data history, high-priority chat/email support
Setup: None stated; 'free data transfer' on annual paid plans.. Processing: Pricing table shows 'Platform fees 0% to 5%' on all tiers; processor and card fees not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Rakefet Online
- RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - NEW USERS (year 1): $149/mo · not stated ('Unlimited seats for members, donors, admins and office') · Basic data migration (import/classify members, family relationships, donors, events, yahrzeits, journal entries, chart of accounts and opening balances); billed annually; 'On Year 2 Upgraded to an Existing User'
- RakefetOnline-CRM Annual - EXISTING USERS: $90/mo · not stated · Current RakefetOnline user plan; billed annually; 'Existing User Deal Options Available'
Setup: Homepage says sign-up involves a 'one-time setup fee & subscription' but no amount is published; the pricing page lists none. Basic data migration is included in the new-user plan.. Processing: Credit card and ACH processing with recurring payments via Member Portal; integrations named: Stripe, PayPal, PayQuiq, Venmo (two versions of the page list different ones). Processor fees not stated.. Source: vendor page, 2026-10-12 (vendor-page).
Feature by feature
| Capability | Cardova | Rakefet Online |
|---|---|---|
| Membership & household records | Yes Individual profiles, households/family units, lifecycle from prospect to alumni, community groups, member self-updates. | Yes Members, children, family relationships, committees, notes, attachments, profile pictures, new member/renewal forms. |
| Yahrzeit tracking & reminders | Partial Directory page: tracks 'lifecycle events with native support for the Hebrew calendar'; yahrzeit lists/notices not described explicitly. | Yes Yahrzeits, mourners, memorial plaques, yizkor book reports, printed/emailed notices mixing Jewish and Gregorian dates. |
| Hebrew calendar integration | Yes 'Native support for the Hebrew calendar' for lifecycle events. | Yes Automatic Hebrew date conversion, weekly Torah portions and Haftarot, Google Calendar integration. |
| Dues, billing & receivables | Yes Memberships with automated renewals, reminders, tiered access and reports; invoicing/AR ledger not described. | Yes Member/donor billing, global billing, recurring payments, member ledgers, receivables reports, printed or emailed statements. |
| Online payments | Yes Donations, membership and ticket payments online; platform fee 0-5%. | Yes Credit card and ACH, recurring payments via Member Portal; Stripe/PayPal/PayQuiq/Venmo named. |
| Donations, pledges & campaigns | Yes One-time and recurring donations, dedicated funds, giving reports, campaigns; pledges not mentioned. | Partial Donation payment forms and donor giving tracking; 'School and Fundraising' listed on rakefetonline.com. Pledges not explicitly mentioned. |
| General ledger / fund accounting | No No accounting module described. | Yes Full AR/AP, general ledger with restricted funds, check writing, journal entries, bank reconciliation, budgeting, P&L/balance sheet/trial balance/audit reports. |
| QuickBooks integration | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned on current vendor pages; UJA 2018 guide noted some customers pair Rakefet with QuickBooks or Sage. |
| Religious school management | Not verified Not mentioned. | Yes 'School Management' listed; religious school classes tracked in the database. |
| Events & registration | Yes Events & ticketing with attendance and reporting. | Yes Form builder for events and registrations; special event tracking. |
| High Holiday seating | Not verified Not mentioned. | Partial rakefetonline.com lists 'seating' among tracked data and 'High Holy Day planning' is cited; no dedicated seating-chart module described. |
| Honors, aliyot & gabbai tools | Not verified Not mentioned. | Partial 'Aliyot' tracked in the database per rakefetonline.com; no gabbai workflow described. |
| Cemetery management | Not verified Not mentioned. | Not verified Not mentioned on vendor pages checked. |
| Website / CMS | Yes 'Community website' tooling. | No No website builder; donation/payment forms embed in an existing website and API access is offered for external sites. |
| Email & newsletters | Yes Communication hub: announcements, event updates, automated occasion messages. | Yes Email templates, quick messages, scheduled emails, contact lists. |
| SMS / texting | Partial Pricing table row 'Text individual community members' (plan-dependent); no bulk SMS described. | Yes SMS templates and quick messages via Twilio integration. |
| Member self-service portal | Partial Members can update their own profile and household information; full portal scope not described. | Yes Members/donors view commitments, set up recurring payments, download receipts. |
| Mobile app | Not verified Not mentioned. | No Described as 'mobile friendly'; no dedicated app mentioned. |
| API / data export | Partial Pricing comparison table includes 'API' and 'Export' rows; details not published. | Yes Import/export and API access for external processes or websites. |
| Automation & workflows | Yes Automatic receipts, renewal reminders, weekly reports; 'Automated workflows' row in plan table. | Partial Scheduled emails and recurring billing; no general workflow engine described. |
Evidence links for every cell are on the individual review pages: Cardova, Rakefet Online.
Rubric scores
| Group | Cardova | Rakefet Online | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish-specific workflows | 7.0 | 14.0 | 20 |
| Membership, dues and money | 15.0 | 16.5 | 20 |
| Communications and engagement | 10.0 | 9.5 | 15 |
| School and events | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10 |
| Data portability and migration | 5.5 | 8.0 | 10 |
| Pricing transparency | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Independent customer evidence | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Total | 58.5 | 78.0 | 100 |
Cardova: strengths / limitations
- Free tier and transparent low pricing
- Modern directory with household and lifecycle modelling, Hebrew-calendar support
- Automation of renewals, receipts and reports
- Free data migration on annual plans
- Very new vendor with no reviews, customer counts or published location
- No accounting, QuickBooks, school, seating, honors or cemetery features evidenced
- Platform fee of up to 5% on top of processor fees
- Boilerplate copy on pricing page suggests an early-stage site
Rakefet Online: strengths / limitations
- Built-in full double-entry accounting (AR/AP/GL, restricted funds, bank rec) rather than relying on QuickBooks
- Integrated Jewish calendar with Torah portions and Google Calendar sync
- API plus import/export; unlimited users
- Published pricing; basic data migration included for new customers
- Live US-based phone support with published hours
- Year-1 price ($149/mo) is substantially above the renewal price ($90/mo); both billed annually
- No website CMS; no dedicated mobile app
- Cemetery, QuickBooks integration and dedicated seating module not evidenced on current pages
- No independent review-site presence found
- Company location and ownership details not published
Full reviews: Cardova · Rakefet Online · all comparisons