Holy Insights vs. Vitals.church: Which Church Metrics Dashboard Is Right for You?
Two church metrics dashboards. Different pricing models, different AI capabilities, different sweet-spot churches. 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.
At a Glance
| Holy Insights | Vitals.church | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/mo (Base) | $50/mo |
| Top-tier price | $69/mo (Max) | $50/mo |
| Yearly discount | 17% off | Not advertised |
| Per additional campus | +$10/mo | +$50/mo |
| 3-campus total (Pro) | $69/mo | $150/mo |
| AI feature | MAX (6 coaching styles, Staff Meeting Prep, Ask MAX) | “AI-powered insights” |
| AI training data | Barna, Pew, Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects | Not disclosed |
| Planning Center integration | (native) | |
| Free tier | None | Free for new church plants (1 year) |
| Sweet-spot church size | 200–800 attendance | Any size |
| Operator | One person (Braden) — direct contact | Funded SaaS company |
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 for attendance, giving, and people data with minimal setup.
- Free for new church plants. If you're in your first year as a church plant, Vitals gives you the full product free for a year. Holy Insights doesn't match that — and if you're a new plant, Vitals is the right call.
- Established AI insights. Vitals surfaces auto-generated commentary on attendance, giving, volunteer, and group health metrics every week.
- Google Analytics + YouTube integration. If you're trying to tie web traffic and online sermon engagement to in-person attendance, Vitals has this baked in.
If those four things 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. Tiered pricing that actually fits your church size
Vitals charges $50 per campus per month — flat rate, regardless of which features you'd actually use. Holy Insights has three tiers, so a small church on Base ($29/mo) isn't paying for features they don't need, and a multi-site church on Max ($69/mo) isn't paying enterprise pricing for a tool that wasn't built for enterprise. If you're under 300 attendance and just want the basics, you're paying $29/mo on Holy Insights vs. $50/mo on Vitals — 42% less.
2. Per-campus pricing that doesn't punish growth
This is the biggest pricing gap, and it's the reason most multi-campus churches save real money switching. Holy Insights adds $10/month per additional campus. Vitals adds $50/month per additional campus. For a 3-campus church on Holy Insights Pro, that's $49 + $20 = $69/mo. The same church on Vitals is $150/mo. The savings get larger every campus you add — a 5-campus church saves about 64%, and a 10-campus church saves about 72%.
3. MAX is a packaged AI coach, not a generic feature
Vitals describes their AI as “AI-powered insights.” That phrase could mean almost anything. MAX is a named, packaged product with three concrete capabilities:
- Six coaching styles. Pick how you want to be talked to: Pastor, Coach, Analyst, Mentor, Encourager, or Strategist. Same data, different voice. No other church metrics dashboard offers this.
- 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. You stop writing the Monday agenda on Sunday night.
- Ask MAX. Natural-language Q&A against your church's actual numbers. Type a question — “why is our baptism conversion rate low?” or “which volunteer team has the highest turnover?” — and get a real answer pulled from your real data.
4. MAX is trained on actual ministry research
Most “AI-powered” tools are wrappers around a generic LLM. MAX is trained on research and frameworks from Barna Group, Pew Research, The Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects, and other leading ministry voices. When MAX tells you what a number means, the context comes from research pastors already trust — not from the generic internet.
5. Built for 200–800 attendance churches
Vitals is positioned for “any size church.” 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.
6. One person, not a support queue
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. That's not better or worse than a funded support team — it's just different. Some pastors prefer it. Some don't. Worth knowing before you choose.
The Pricing Math at 1, 3, and 5 Campuses
Here's the cost comparison across common multi-campus scenarios. All Holy Insights numbers are monthly billing — yearly billing saves another 17%.
| Campuses | Holy Insights Pro | Vitals | Savings on HI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 campus | $49/mo | $50/mo | ~parity |
| 2 campuses | $59/mo | $100/mo | 41% cheaper |
| 3 campuses | $69/mo | $150/mo | 54% cheaper |
| 5 campuses | $89/mo | $250/mo | 64% cheaper |
| 10 campuses | $139/mo | $500/mo | 72% cheaper |
The single-campus comparison is roughly even. The multi-campus comparison is where Holy Insights' pricing model becomes a real moat. If you're a multi-site or planting-toward-multi-site church, the math compounds in your favor every additional location.
AI Compared: MAX vs. Vitals' AI Insights
Both products advertise AI. They are not the same thing.
| MAX (Holy Insights) | Vitals AI Insights | |
|---|---|---|
| Named, packaged product | Yes — “MAX” | No — described as “AI insights” |
| Personality customization | 6 coaching styles | None |
| Auto-generated meeting briefs | Yes — Staff Meeting Prep | Weekly auto-commentary |
| Natural-language Q&A | Yes — Ask MAX | Not advertised |
| Training data disclosed | Yes — Barna, Pew, Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects | Not disclosed |
The pitch isn't “MAX is better.” The pitch is “MAX is specific.” If you want an AI that understands your church well enough to talk to your board for you, named features beat generic ones.
When Vitals Is the Better Choice
- 1You're a brand-new church plant in your first year. Vitals is free for the first 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're a 1,000+ attendance single-campus church and want a vendor with a support department.
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're multi-campus or planting toward multi-campus. The +$10/campus pricing saves you serious money the larger you get.
- 3You want an AI coach with personality, not generic “AI insights.” MAX's 6 coaching styles, Staff Meeting Prep, and Ask MAX are concrete features.
- 4You want predictable, transparent pricing that doesn't change based on church size.
- 5You want to talk to the person who built the product when you have feedback or need help.
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. The same data Vitals pulls is the data Holy Insights pulls. No double-entry.
- Historical data import via CSV. If you have data in Vitals you want to bring over, export it as CSV and Holy Insights will import it during onboarding.
- No technical lock-in either direction. Cancel Vitals once Holy Insights is set up.
- Setup is typically 2–4 hours of your time over a week. Most of that is mapping your existing data structure to Holy Insights' format. 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 starts at $29/mo (Base) and tops out at $69/mo (Max). Vitals is $50/mo per campus, flat. At one campus, the products are similarly priced; at multiple campuses, Holy Insights' +$10/campus pricing is dramatically cheaper than Vitals' +$50/campus.
Is Holy Insights cheaper than Vitals for a multi-campus church?
Yes — significantly. A 3-campus church pays $69/mo on Holy Insights Pro versus $150/mo on Vitals. A 5-campus church saves about 64%. The savings compound with every additional campus.
Can Holy Insights replace Vitals for a small church?
Yes. Holy Insights' Base tier ($29/mo) covers attendance, giving, and a weekly MAX summary — the core of what most small churches actually use Vitals for, at 42% less.
Does Holy Insights integrate with Planning Center like Vitals?
Yes. Both products integrate directly with Planning Center for attendance, giving, and people data.
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, export any historical data from Vitals as CSV, and import it during onboarding. Setup is typically 2–4 hours over a week.
How does the MAX AI Assistant compare to Vitals' AI features?
Vitals describes their AI generically as 'AI-powered insights.' MAX is a named product with six coaching styles, an auto-generated Staff Meeting Prep brief, and a natural-language Q&A feature called Ask MAX. MAX is also trained on disclosed sources — Barna, Pew, The Unstuck Group, and Ministry Architects.
What is MAX trained on?
Research and frameworks from Barna Group, Pew Research, The Unstuck Group, Ministry Architects, and other leading ministry voices. This is different from a generic LLM trained on the open internet.
Can I customize how MAX talks to me?
Yes. MAX has six coaching styles — Pastor, Coach, Analyst, Mentor, Encourager, Strategist — 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. Vitals offers their first year free for new church plants, and Holy Insights doesn't match that. If you're a brand-new church plant in your first year, we'd genuinely recommend Vitals.