Holy Insights vs. Church Metrics: What You Get for Paying
Church Metrics by Gloo is free. Holy Insights isn't. This page answers the only question that matters when you compare them: what does paying actually get you, and when is free the right call?
At a Glance
| Holy Insights | Church Metrics | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $29–$69/mo + $10/campus | Free |
| Built by | One person (Braden Murray) | Gloo / Life.Church |
| Planning Center sync | Direct integration | Manual / CSV only |
| AI assistant | MAX (6 coaching styles, Staff Meeting Prep, Ask MAX) | — |
| Built-in benchmarks | Yes (Barna, Pew, Unstuck data baked in) | — |
| Auto-formatted board reports | Pro & Max tiers | Manual export |
| NextGen breakdown | Nursery / Kids / Middle School / Youth / Young Adults | Single Kids count |
| Salvation-to-baptism conversion rate | Yes | Tracked separately, no ratio |
| Giving units (vs. total giving) | Yes | Total giving only |
| Visitor conversion ratio | Yes | — |
| Volunteer coverage / recruiting gap | Yes | — |
| Number of metrics tracked | 30+ headcount metrics | ~5 (attendance, salvations, baptisms, giving, events) |
| Best fit | Pastors who want their numbers interpreted | Pastors who just want to record numbers |
What Church Metrics Does Well
Two real strengths worth naming:
- It's free, and it's not going anywhere. Backed by Life.Church and Gloo. No paid tier, no trial, no upsell. If your only requirement is recording weekly counts, that's a real value proposition.
- Mobile entry from the back row. The iOS and Android app makes it easy for a staff member to count attendance live during the service.
That's the bar. The rest of this page is about what changes once your leadership starts asking "is this number good?" and the raw count stops being enough.
Why Pastors Graduate from Church Metrics
Church Metrics is excellent at recording numbers. Holy Insights is built for interpreting them. Most pastors hit five ceilings with the free tool, and that's usually when they switch.
1. "Is this number good?" with no answer
Church Metrics tells you your visitor count was 14 this week. That's it. Holy Insights tells you 14 is roughly 2.7% of your attendance, that the healthy benchmark for your size is 3–5%, and that you're trending below your prior 4-week average. Built-in benchmarks from Barna, Pew, and The Unstuck Group are the difference between data and interpretation.
2. No board-ready reports
Church Metrics gives you raw numbers. When the board asks "how are we doing?", you're still pulling from three different tabs and writing the narrative yourself. Holy Insights' Reports module (Pro and Max tiers) auto-formats the last 90 days into a document your elders can actually read. MAX writes the talking points for you.
3. Surface-level NextGen tracking
Church Metrics tracks "Kids" as one number. Holy Insights breaks NextGen into Nursery, Kids, Middle School, Youth Group, and Young Adults, so you can see whether the kids' bump is actually flowing through to youth, or whether you have a transition gap. For churches investing real money in NextGen, this distinction matters.
4. No salvation-to-baptism rate, no giving units, no visitor conversion
Three of the most diagnostic metrics in church health aren't surfaced in Church Metrics. Holy Insights tracks all three: salvation-to-baptism conversion (are decisions becoming commitment?), giving units vs. total giving (are more people giving, or are the same people giving more?), and visitor conversion ratio (are first-time guests becoming returning ones?). All three are leading indicators of church health that total attendance and total giving don't reveal.
5. ~5 metrics vs. 30+ metrics
This is the part most comparison content misses. Church Metrics is intentionally minimal. It tracks attendance, salvations, baptisms, giving, and events. Five core fields. Holy Insights tracks 30+ headcount metrics including weekly, online, midweek, and small group attendance, NextGen broken out by age band, giving units and giving per attendee, visitor conversion ratio, salvation-to-baptism conversion, volunteer ratios and recruiting gap, weather and event impact, and full Reports for staff and board. If anyone on your team actually pays attention to data, they'll outgrow ~5 fields almost immediately.
When Church Metrics Is the Better Choice
- You need a free way to start recording attendance, salvations, and giving with zero recurring cost.
- You want a record-keeping tool, not an interpretation tool. No one on the team is asking "is this number healthy?" yet.
When Holy Insights Is the Better Choice
- You have someone on the team who actually cares about the data. A pastor or leader who pays attention to numbers will outgrow Church Metrics fast. Holy Insights tracks 30+ headcount metrics with built-in benchmarks. Church Metrics tracks ~5.
- Your leadership is asking "is this number good?" on a regular basis. Built-in benchmarks from Barna, Pew, and The Unstuck Group answer that question without a Google search.
- You're preparing monthly board or staff reports. Reports module auto-formats the last 90 days. MAX writes the talking points.
- You're investing real money in NextGen. Nursery, Kids, Middle School, Youth, and Young Adults broken out individually. Church Metrics rolls all of that into one "Kids" number.
- You want Planning Center to sync automatically. Holy Insights pulls weekly. Church Metrics is manual entry, mobile app, or CSV.
- You want an AI coach trained on actual ministry research. MAX answers questions like "why did our baptism rate drop?" against your real data.
Migrating from Church Metrics to Holy Insights
Switching is straightforward:
- Export your historical data from Church Metrics as CSV. Their export covers attendance, salvations, and giving.
- Connect Planning Center for going-forward sync. Once Holy Insights is wired in, you stop manual entry. It pulls weekly automatically.
- Setup is 2–4 hours over a week. Most of that is mapping your existing categories. Braden walks you through it directly.
Decide in 30 Minutes
Book a demo and we'll honestly tell you whether to switch.
If Church Metrics covers your needs, we'll say so. If Holy Insights would be a real upgrade, we'll show you exactly which metrics matter for your church size and stage.
Book a free demoFrequently Asked Questions
Is Church Metrics by Gloo really free?
Yes. Church Metrics is completely free, backed by Life.Church and Gloo. There's no paid tier, no upsell, no trial expiration. It covers attendance, salvations, and giving for unlimited campuses.
Why would I pay for Holy Insights when Church Metrics is free?
Three reasons most pastors graduate to a paid tool: built-in benchmarks (so you know whether your number is healthy), board-ready Reports (auto-formatted for staff and elders), and the MAX AI coach (Q&A on your actual data). Church Metrics is excellent at recording numbers; Holy Insights is built for interpreting them.
Can I migrate from Church Metrics to Holy Insights?
Yes. Export your historical data from Church Metrics as CSV, then import it during Holy Insights onboarding. Setup typically takes 2–4 hours over a week and Braden walks you through it directly.
Does Holy Insights track salvations and baptisms like Church Metrics?
Yes, and it goes further. Holy Insights tracks the salvation-to-baptism conversion rate, which Church Metrics does not surface as a metric.
Does Church Metrics integrate with Planning Center?
Not directly. Church Metrics works via manual entry, mobile app input, or CSV upload. Holy Insights integrates directly with Planning Center, so attendance and giving sync automatically.
Who is Holy Insights designed for vs. Church Metrics?
Church Metrics is designed for churches that just need to record the basics: attendance, salvations, baptisms, giving, and events. Five fields, free, manual entry. Holy Insights is designed for churches with someone on the team who actually pays attention to the data. It tracks 30+ headcount metrics with built-in benchmarks, NextGen broken out by age band, giving units, conversion rates, and the MAX AI coach. If a leader on your staff cares whether the number is healthy (not just what the number is), they'll outgrow the free tool fast.
Should small churches use Holy Insights or Church Metrics?
If you just need to record attendance, salvations, and giving without interpretation, Church Metrics is genuinely the right answer. It's free, simple, and gets the job done. If your leadership is asking 'is this number good?' on a regular basis and you want benchmarks, board-ready reports, and an AI coach that explains what's happening, Holy Insights is the upgrade.