Church translation tools compared: what really differs?

The tools differ less in language count than in four things: whether the listener hears a voice or reads, whether an app is required, what happens to the recording afterwards, and where the data lives. Sort by those and the list gets short quickly.

How to read this page

Everything below is taken from each vendor’s own public website as read in September 2026, and described rather than scored. Prices are not listed: they change, and being wrong about somebody else’s price is the cheapest way to lose an argument. Check the current page of any vendor you shortlist.

The tools, briefly

Glossa

A church-focused service from the United States with a spoken voice and captions on the listener’s phone, a large language list, integrations with presentation and streaming software at higher tiers, and a guide library on its site. Pricing is described as hourly or by monthly plan.

Streamlingo

A German start-up from Karlsruhe aimed at churches, events and education, with a QR code for listeners and a vocabulary tuned to Christian services. Described in German church press as billing per hour and per language. A natural shortlist entry for German-speaking congregations.

Wordly

A general events and meetings platform with a church page. Audio and captions in many languages, hour-based pricing, and the polish of a company that serves conferences first. Strong when a church also runs conferences; less specifically built around a Sunday service.

spf.io

An accessibility-first platform for churches, non-profits and schools: captions and translations with a control centre that can be automated or watched by a human operator. The right shape for a church whose first need is captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing members.

OneAccord

A United States church translation service built by church interpreters, with captions and translation on the listener’s phone by QR code, a broadcast mode for Sunday services, and published reviews. No app for the congregation.

The six questions that separate them

Voice or text? Some tools are caption-first with voice added; some are voice-first with captions alongside. Your congregation listens to a preacher; decide which they should be doing with their eyes.
App or browser? Ask what a first-time visitor does. Most of the tools above use the browser; check the one you like.
After the service? Some stop when the service ends. Others keep the recording and make transcript, summary and drafts from it. If a media volunteer is writing Sunday up by hand, this is the difference that pays for the tool.
Where is the data? Country of storage, the sub-processor list, and whether your audio trains anyone’s model. European churches should ask about EU storage specifically.
How is it priced? Per hour, per hour per language, or per month with a bundle of hours. Work through your real Sunday, including the second service and the conference weekend.
Has it run weekly in a church like yours? Not a demo: a church, every Sunday, in your languages.

Tick what you have asked. It stays on this device.

Shortlist two, run a real service through each, and let the people the translation is for judge. Their verdict is worth more than any comparison page, including this one.

Where Sanctavo sits

Sanctavo is voice-first: a natural voice that keeps the preacher's tone and rhythm, translated, captions alongside, in the browser with nothing to install. It keeps going after the service: transcript, summary, drafts for blog, newsletter and social media, questions answered from the sermon, and a glossary that learns how your church speaks, all included in every plan. Data is stored in Frankfurt with a public sub-processor register. It is built and run from Vienna by two people and used every Sunday in a congregation that moves between Farsi, German, English and Armenian.