Notebird vs Undershepherd
Notebird is the better fit for most care teams: it has printable care reports today, a daily Early Bird email, a filterable activity feed, groups with per-member access, and a direct Planning Center, Breeze, or Church Windows sync. Undershepherd fits a solo pastor or small team that wants custom fields and households and prefers its slightly lower per-user price.
Notebird vs Undershepherd at a glance
- You need printable, customizable care reports and per-person care history today. Undershepherd labels its reports as coming soon and points churches with reporting needs to Notebird.
- You want a daily Early Bird email of who needs attention, not only reminders for single life events.
- You want team members and volunteers to see only the people and groups assigned to them. Undershepherd does not document that kind of access control.
Bottom line: Notebird gives a care team printable care reports, the Early Bird daily email, a filterable activity feed, per-member group access, and a Church Windows sync, so leadership can see the whole picture and share it. Undershepherd solves the same core problem, is a little cheaper, adds custom fields and households, and offers a scholarship year, which suits a solo pastor or small team on a tight budget. Both keep care conversations, tasks, and milestones next to your church database; Notebird is the pick when reporting and team access matter.
Notebird vs Undershepherd: features side by side
Undershepherd is a web-based pastoral care tool for solo pastors, pastoral teams, and church care teams that logs interactions, tracks life events, and assigns tasks next to Planning Center or Breeze. Sources for every Undershepherd fact are listed at the end of this page.
| Feature | Notebird | Undershepherd |
|---|---|---|
| Care notes per person Undershepherd calls them interactions, with interaction categories, dates, and attachments. | Yes | Yes |
| Private (restricted) notes with permission control Undershepherd can mark an interaction private. Role-based permission settings are not documented. | Yes | Partial |
| Follow-up tasks assigned to a team member with due date Undershepherd tasks have an assignee, due date, and status. | Yes | Yes |
| Milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, custom) with reminders Undershepherd calls them life events, with custom categories and custom reminders. | Yes | Yes |
| Care reports (printable per-person care history) Undershepherd has a reports area, but its app labels reports as coming soon, and its own comparison post points churches with reporting needs to Notebird. | Yes | Partial |
| Team activity feed Undershepherd has an Activity tab. Notebird filters the feed by group and team member. | Yes | Yes |
| Groups / care teams with per-team-member access Undershepherd has groups, member types, and households. Limiting a team member to certain people or groups is not documented. | Yes | Partial |
| Mobile access (phone and tablet) | Mobile web app; add to home screen on iOS and Android, no store download | Responsive web app; add to home screen; a native store app has been announced as coming soon |
| Full-text search across notes | Yes | Search boxes for people, interactions, and tasks |
| Sync with a church management system | Planning Center, Breeze, Church Windows (direct); CSV import from others | Planning Center and Breeze (connect, then pull or refresh people); ChurchTrac listed; CSV or Excel import with staff help |
| Daily email digest of who needs attention Notebird: Early Bird. Undershepherd sends life event reminders; a daily digest is not documented. | Yes | Not documented |
| Photos and files attached to care notes Undershepherd stores documents on people and attachments on interactions. | Yes | Yes |
| Serves synagogues and non-church ministries | Yes | Built for churches; publishes a Christian statement of faith |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 14 days, no credit card |
| Pricing model | Per user, graduated | Per user, graduated by team size |
Which one should you pick?
Why churches choose Notebird
- You need printable, customizable care reports and per-person care history today. Undershepherd labels its reports as coming soon and points churches with reporting needs to Notebird.
- You want a daily Early Bird email of who needs attention, not only reminders for single life events.
- You want team members and volunteers to see only the people and groups assigned to them. Undershepherd does not document that kind of access control.
- You use Church Windows. Notebird syncs with it directly; Undershepherd does not list it.
- You serve a synagogue or a ministry that is not a church. Notebird is built for churches, synagogues, and ministries.
When Undershepherd may fit better
- Price matters most. Undershepherd is a few dollars a month cheaper than Notebird at most team sizes, and it offers a 30-day no-questions refund.
- You are a pastor in an under-resourced church. Undershepherd offers a scholarship: a full year free, with extensions if you still need it.
- You want custom profile fields, households, and document storage on each person, which Undershepherd advertises on its home page.
- You use ChurchTrac. Undershepherd lists it as an integration; Notebird imports ChurchTrac people by CSV.
- You want a tool built by a team that publishes an evangelical statement of faith and works only with churches.
