Honest Comparison
White Oak Media vs Subsplash. Which fits your church?
Subsplash is an all-in-one platform — app, giving, and church management in one system. We're a custom website and strategy partner. Both serve churches well; the right choice depends on what you actually need. Here's a fair, transparent comparison.
Feature Comparison
Side by side
An honest look at what each offers — where we win, where Subsplash wins, and where it depends on your church.
| Feature | White Oak Media | Subsplash |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Custom website design + digital strategy partner | All-in-one platform — app, giving, website, media, ChMS |
| Website design | Fully custom — designed from scratch for your church | Built on the Subsplash platform builder |
| Starting price | $295/mo, all-inclusive — published, no sales call | Quote-based; priced by church size & usage (talk to sales) |
| Custom mobile & TV app | Not offered — we focus on the website as your front door | Core strength — custom church app for phones and TV |
| Built-in online giving | We integrate your existing giving (incl. Planning Center) | Subsplash Giving — $0/mo platform fee, processing rates apply |
| Church management (ChMS) | We integrate with what you already use | Included — people, groups, check-in, service planning |
| SEO & local search setup | Built into every build — schema, sitemap, GBP optimization | Not a core focus of the platform |
| Google Ad Grant management | Full management from $395/mo | Not offered |
| Platform ownership | You own everything — open platforms, portable content | Proprietary ecosystem — content lives in the platform |
| Personal attention | Small roster — one point of contact who knows your church | Success coach + support, at the scale of 20,000+ clients |
| Best fit for | Churches that want a custom site they own + to be found on Google | Churches that want one vendor for app, giving, and management |
The Difference
What you get with White Oak Media
We're not an all-in-one platform. We're the team that builds you a website worth being found — and treats your church like it matters.
A website, not a platform page
Subsplash websites are built inside their platform — fast to stand up, but they share the same underlying builder as thousands of other churches. We design every site from scratch, so yours looks like your church, not like a template with your logo dropped in.
Built to be found on Google
Subsplash is built around the app and the member experience. We're built around the front door: local SEO, schema, sitemaps, and Google Business Profile setup come standard, so the people searching for a church near you actually find you.
You own your platform
With Subsplash, your site, content, and data live inside their ecosystem. Our sites run on open platforms (Next.js, WordPress, Sanity, Payload). If you ever leave, everything comes with you — no migration penalty for changing your mind.
Strategy, not just software
Subsplash gives you powerful tools and leaves the strategy to you. Every engagement with us starts with the questions that matter: who are you trying to reach, what's working, and what does a 'next step' look like for your church specifically.
Keep the tools you already love
Already running on Planning Center? Great — we integrate with it rather than asking you to rip it out and re-platform. You don't have to abandon the systems your team knows to get a better website.
High-touch, human support
Need a change? Send a message — we handle it, usually within a business day. You're not one of 20,000 accounts in a queue; you're one of a small number of churches we work with closely.
Honest Advice
When to choose Subsplash — and when to choose us
We'd rather you make the right choice than the default one. Here's our honest take.
Subsplash might be better if…
- You want one vendor for everything — website, giving, church management, and check-in in a single system
- A custom mobile app and TV app are a priority for engaging your members
- You want built-in online giving and donor management in the same platform
- You're a large or multisite church that needs an enterprise, all-in-one ecosystem
White Oak Media is better if…
- You want a fully custom website designed specifically for your church's identity
- Being found on Google — local SEO and search visibility — matters to you
- You already use Planning Center (or other tools) and don't want to re-platform everything
- You want to own your site and content, with no proprietary lock-in
- You want transparent pricing and no long-term contract
- You value a close, strategic relationship over a large platform's scale
FAQ
Common questions about this comparison
Is Subsplash a bad choice?
Not at all. Subsplash is a genuinely strong all-in-one platform trusted by tens of thousands of churches, and if you want a custom mobile app plus giving and church management in one system, it's hard to beat. This comparison isn't about better or worse — it's about whether you want an all-in-one platform or a custom website you own. Those are different things.
Does White Oak Media build a mobile app like Subsplash?
No — and we'll be honest about that. A native church app is one of Subsplash's real strengths. We focus on the website as your front door: the place a first-time guest finds you on Google, learns what to expect, and plans a visit. If a dedicated app is essential for your members, Subsplash is the better fit there.
Can I keep Subsplash Giving and still get a White Oak website?
Yes. We integrate with the giving platform you already use, including Subsplash Giving or Planning Center Giving. You don't have to give up a giving system that's working to get a better website.
Why choose a custom site over the Subsplash platform?
Three reasons churches come to us: they want a site that's genuinely custom rather than platform-built, they want to actually rank in Google and local search, and they want to own their platform instead of being locked into a proprietary ecosystem. If those matter more to you than having everything under one vendor, custom is the better path.
How does pricing compare?
Our church websites are a published $295/month, all-inclusive — design, hosting, maintenance, and support, no sales call required. Subsplash is quote-based and priced by church size and usage, and the number depends on how much of the platform you take (app, giving, ChMS, etc.). For a website alone, our pricing is transparent and predictable; for a full platform, Subsplash bundles more under one bill.
Ready to talk about your church?
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll look at your current site, tell you what we'd do differently, and give you an honest recommendation — even if that's to go with Subsplash.
Simple pricing. No contracts. Cancel anytime.