- Starting price
- $129/month billed annually · no free trial
- Free tier
- No
- Platforms
- Web · macOS · iPhone · Android
- Developer
- Big Horn Media LLC / MxU
- Launched
- 2023 mobile app
- Updated
- Aug 2, 2026
The verdict
MxU is compelling when a church needs one accountable path from recruiting a volunteer to training, scheduling, communicating, checking tasks and reviewing Sunday execution. Training begins at $129 per month billed annually; the $189 All-in-One plan adds the operational layer most teams will associate with the new platform; Unlimited is $349. That is real ministry-software money, not the “free app” implied by the store download. Build a content owner, role pathways, manager cadence, privacy rules and measurable 90-day pilot before buying, because there is no free trial and initial purchases are final under the published terms.
Try MxU ↗Opens getmxu.com
MxU serves church worship and production teams: audio, video, lighting, broadcast, stage and the volunteers and leaders who coordinate them. Its long-standing training value is a library of more than 1,000 videos organized around practical roles and skill levels. The current product goes further, combining custom courses, quizzes, assignments, onboarding, team messaging, tasks, checklists, service dashboards, analytics, files and integrations in one member experience.
That expansion changes the buying question. A church no longer compares MxU only with YouTube, manufacturer training or a generic learning management system. All-in-One overlaps with team communication, task software, Planning Center workflows and a worship-operations hub. Unlimited adds multi-campus support, a custom web domain, API and webhooks, plus custom iOS and Android apps. Some advertised automation—especially AI scheduling—is still marked “coming soon,” so a contract should be justified by available features rather than the roadmap.
The public annual prices are $129 per month for Training with 50 members, $189 for All-in-One with 100 members and $349 for Unlimited. A three-month billing toggle shows higher monthly prices—$189, $249 and $499—although the comparison table displays the Training quarterly value inconsistently. There is no free trial; the company offers a free 15-minute personalized demo. The terms say initial subscription purchases are final, plans auto-renew, prices can rise with notice and annual renewal refunds must be requested within seven days.
This independent review uses MxU’s current website, pricing comparison, privacy policy, terms, exact Apple and Google listings, release history, store privacy labels and faith.tools. We did not book a demo, purchase a plan, import members, connect Planning Center or YouTube, assign a course, message a volunteer, build a service, test analytics or AI scheduling, use a custom app, measure retention, verify every training lesson, or conduct accessibility, privacy, security, legal or source-code testing.
✓ The good
- Church-specific training depth - more than 1,000 production lessons reduce the need to curate a volunteer pathway from scattered videos
- Training can become accountable - courses, assignments, quizzes, progress and reminders show whether volunteers completed the material
- Custom content sits beside MxU content - churches can combine local procedures, documents, videos and standards with the library
- Operations extend beyond learning - higher plans add messaging, tasks, checklists, service dashboards, analytics, files and scheduling workflows
- Planning Center-aware design - integrations and auto-created communication promise less duplicate setup for churches already using that ecosystem
- Mobile volunteer access - volunteers can complete training, view assignments and communicate without needing an office computer
✗ Watch out
- High annual commitment - entry pricing is $1,548 per year before considering setup time, while All-in-One is $2,268 and Unlimited $4,188
- No free trial - a short vendor-led demo is not equivalent to letting real volunteers test onboarding, mobile use and administration
- Initial purchases are final - published terms make the first subscription nonrefundable and allow only a narrow annual-renewal refund request
- Important features require higher tiers - team messaging, tasks, dashboards and analytics are not the basic Training offer; multi-campus and API sit at Unlimited
- Roadmap language can confuse value - AI scheduling and related decline handling are marked coming soon and should not drive today’s ROI
- Privacy and deletion signals conflict - Google says personal data may be collected and cannot be deleted, while the broad website policy lacks modern app-specific detail
Best for
- Churches with 20–100 active worship and production volunteers and a leader accountable for onboarding and development
- Multi-role teams that need consistent audio, lighting, video and broadcast pathways rather than isolated YouTube links
- Planning Center users seeking training and operational workflows that connect to existing people and service processes
- Multi-campus ministries prepared to fund Unlimited and govern shared content, permissions, analytics and custom branding
Avoid if
- Your church has fewer volunteers than administrators, no content owner or no weekly habit for assigning and reviewing work
- You only need a video library and can curate a smaller internal playlist or one-time training day at far lower cost
- You require a sandbox trial, monthly cancellation, refundable first purchase, formal procurement review or guaranteed roadmap dates
- You cannot document minors, message retention, administrator visibility, deletion, YouTube data and cross-campus privacy before rollout
What MxU is
MxU is a church-specific learning and team-operations platform. Leaders invite volunteers, place them in roles or groups, assign training pathways, track videos and quizzes, upload local procedures and nudge incomplete work. Higher plans add direct and group messages, channels, tasks, recurring checklists, service dashboards, files and analytics.
It is not a digital audio console, presentation system or replacement for skilled in-person coaching. It structures knowledge and coordination around the systems a church already uses. Its success depends less on how many videos exist than on whether leaders choose the right lessons, attach them to supervised practice and consistently use the same operational workflow each week.
Why church production teams may choose MxU over YouTube and a generic LMS
YouTube has abundant tutorials but no church-specific sequence, completion requirement, role pathway or local accountability. A generic LMS can assign content but makes the church design every course and often feels like corporate training to a weekend volunteer. MxU supplies production expertise, ready-made pathways and church vocabulary, then lets leaders mix in their own console, room, safety and Sunday procedures.
The differentiator disappears if leaders merely invite everyone and hope the library teaches them. Effective adoption maps each volunteer role to a short first-month path, a supervised skill check, live shadowing and a named coach. Use completion as evidence that material was viewed—not proof that someone can safely operate rigging, electricity, hearing-level audio, cameras or network systems. Practical competency still requires observation.
Training pathways turn a large video library into a volunteer development system
MxU advertises more than 1,000 church production lessons plus pre-built pathways, quizzes and progress tracking. Leaders can assign content by individual, group or role, see completion and send nudges. Levels and topic sequences help a new audio volunteer start with fundamentals rather than jumping into an advanced console video.
Keep the first pathway short enough to finish before the next serving date. Add local content for exact gear, emergency steps, communication norms and escalation. Pair every digital unit with a checklist and coached practice. Review completion disparities by schedule access and language before interpreting them as motivation; volunteers should not be penalized for an inaccessible or unrealistic training load.
Messaging, tasks and service dashboards move MxU into Sunday operations
All-in-One adds direct and group chat, joinable channels, scheduled messages, links and files, tasks, reusable checklists, completion analytics and service dashboards. Planning Center-aware communication can create chats from scheduled teams, while assignments and local documents keep preparation close to the upcoming service.
Consolidation is valuable only if it reduces—not duplicates—existing channels. Decide what belongs in MxU versus Planning Center, email, text and emergency communication. Set quiet hours, escalation rules, administrator access and retention. Do not place pastoral counseling, medical information, background-check material or confidential prayer requests in production chat simply because the feature is available.
Integrations, analytics and multi-campus controls increase both leverage and governance
The comparison page describes Planning Center connections, YouTube-connected features, dashboards, integrations and, at Unlimited, centralized multi-campus controls, API, webhooks, custom domain and branded apps. These can reduce duplicate entry and let a central team distribute consistent pathways while local leaders track campus progress.
Each connection expands the failure and privacy boundary. Inventory permissions, sync direction, deleted-user behavior, outage fallback and offboarding before activation. MxU’s terms specifically bind YouTube-connected features to YouTube’s terms, and the privacy policy mentions online-ad performance. Require a subprocessor list, security documentation, breach commitments, data export and deletion process—especially before a custom app carries the church’s brand.
Pricing
Training
$129/month annually
Up to 50 members. Includes 1,000+ videos, pathways, quizzes and progress, service planning, integrations, custom uploads and training workflows. The shorter three-month option is displayed at a higher rate; confirm the Training figure because the comparison table is inconsistent.
All-in-One
$189/month annually
Up to 100 members. Adds messaging, tasks, checklists, service dashboards, analytics, files and broader team operations. The public three-month rate is $249 per month billed quarterly.
Unlimited
$349/month annually
Unlimited members, multi-campus support, custom iOS and Android app, custom domain, API and webhooks. The public three-month rate is $499 per month billed quarterly.
Demo
Free · 15 minutes
A personalized sales walkthrough. MxU explicitly says it does not offer a free trial, so request a detailed live workflow using your team size, roles and integrations.
Annual Training is $1,548, All-in-One $2,268 and Unlimited $4,188 before internal labor. At 50 fully active Training users, software is about $31 per person per year; All-in-One at 100 active users is about $23. The denominator must be active volunteers, not invitations or directory records.
The three-month commitment is substantially more expensive: the page shows $249 monthly for All-in-One and $499 for Unlimited when billed quarterly, with a higher Training toggle that should be confirmed because the comparison row repeats the annual number. Shorter commitment may still be rational for a real pilot, but obtain a written order form.
There is no free trial. Use the 15-minute demo to demand specifics: import one real role, show a volunteer path, mobile completion, a quiz, Planning Center sync, message permissions, checklist reporting, export and deletion. A polished library tour is not enough.
Initial purchases are final under the published terms. Subscriptions auto-renew, renewal pricing can rise with at least 30 days’ notice, and annual renewal refunds must be requested within seven days. Calendar renewal ownership, cancellation and export before anyone enters payment information.
Where MxU falls behind
A real sandbox. Offer a time-limited pilot with a small member cohort, integrations and export so churches can test adoption before a final purchase.
Pricing consistency. Fix the Training quarterly comparison, publish setup or custom-app fees and clearly distinguish available features from coming-soon roadmap items.
Modern privacy and security documentation. Add a dated app-specific policy, subprocessors, retention, encryption, roles, SSO/MFA, incident terms, exports and deletion workflow.
Google deletion support. Reconcile “data can’t be deleted” with account-management obligations and provide organization-admin and individual deletion instructions.
Accessibility evidence. Document captions, transcripts, screen readers, keyboard navigation, text scaling, contrast, video speed and accessible quiz alternatives.
Outcome evidence. Publish transparent case studies using activation, pathway completion, time-to-competency, scheduling reliability and volunteer retention with baselines and sample sizes.
MxU vs. WorshipTools vs. Planning Center
MxU’s strongest identity is production training plus volunteer development; its higher plans increasingly cover team operations. WorshipTools centers worship planning, presentation, music and service execution across a broader tool suite. Planning Center is a modular church-management ecosystem for people, services, check-ins, giving and more, with deep scheduling adoption. Overlap exists, but none is a simple substitute.
A church already committed to Planning Center may use MxU as the training and production-development layer, provided integration truly reduces duplicate membership and communication. A small church needing only schedules and service plans may get more value from its existing Planning Center module and local training. A worship team focused on charts and presentation should evaluate WorshipTools rather than buying MxU for production videos alone.
Generic options—TalentLMS, Trainual, Microsoft 365 or a private video library—can cost less or fit organization-wide training, but the church must author the pathways and production content. MxU earns its premium when the prebuilt expertise and church-specific operations save more leadership time than they introduce.
The bottom line
MxU is no longer merely a useful subscription to church-tech videos. It is becoming a serious volunteer-development and Sunday-operations platform, with training pathways at the center and messaging, tasks, checklists, dashboards, integrations and multi-campus controls around them. That breadth can replace fragmentation for a mature team, but the annual cost and nonrefundable initial purchase punish casual adoption. Budget $1,548 to $4,188 per year at current annual rates, ignore coming-soon scheduling in the business case, define active-user and competency goals, insist on a workflow demo, and assign a leader to own content and follow-through. Resolve privacy, minors, deletion, YouTube and message-retention questions before rollout. MxU can help a church steward volunteers well only when software supports human coaching rather than becoming another library volunteers were invited to and forgot.
Alternatives to MxU
Planning CenterA broader modular church-management ecosystem with mature service scheduling and people workflows but less built-in production training.
WorshipToolsIntegrated worship planning, music and presentation tools; better when service creation matters more than a deep production learning library.
ProPresenterIndustry-leading church presentation software, not a volunteer LMS or team-management replacement.TalentLMSA general learning platform that may cost less across the whole organization but requires churches to build or license all production content.Frequently asked questions
What is MxU?
MxU is training and team-operations software for church worship and production ministries. It combines 1,000+ videos with pathways, quizzes, custom content and, on higher plans, messaging, tasks, checklists, dashboards and integrations.
How much does MxU cost?
Current annual-billing prices are $129 per month for Training, $189 for All-in-One and $349 for Unlimited. Shorter three-month commitments cost more. Confirm the exact quote and member limit before purchase.
Does MxU have a free trial?
No. The current pricing FAQ explicitly says there is no free trial. MxU offers a free 15-minute personalized demo.
Can volunteers use MxU on phones?
Yes. MxU has iPhone and Android apps, and the company says most volunteers can complete training, view assignments and communicate from a phone. A paid organization subscription is required for the substantive features.
Does MxU integrate with Planning Center?
The pricing comparison advertises Planning Center-related workflows including enrollment, profile updates, schedules and chats. Ask the demo team to show the exact sync, permissions, supported Planning Center products and failure behavior you need.
Can children use MxU?
The terms prohibit provisioning team users age 13 or younger. Churches with teenage volunteers should obtain a clear policy for parental consent, communication, administrator visibility, retention and applicable safeguarding requirements.
Can I cancel and get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew and can be managed in account billing. Published terms say initial purchases are final. Annual renewal charges may be refunded only when requested within seven days after renewal; confirm contract-specific terms in writing.
Sources & further reading
More Worship Apps
Nepali Christian Lyrics & ChordsA rare, actively maintained songbook built around the real needs of Nepali-speaking worship teams—but privacy and song-rights documentation lag far behind the app.
OnStageA modern all-in-one workspace for worship charts, setlists, rehearsals, schedules, chat, and live performance—but conflicting prices and missing legal pages make due diligence essential.
Unceasing WorshipIHOPKC’s niche streaming service preserves spontaneous prayer-room worship, intercession, live archives, and 76 legacy albums—valuable for listeners who want that exact charismatic worship tradition, but not a general Christian music replacement.
MultiTracks.comThe officially licensed stem library and Playback session player behind most touring worship rigs and large-church Sunday mornings - and the closest thing the industry has to a default.WorshipTools ChartsA free, full-featured chord chart manager in a category dominated by paid apps - and the rare worship tool that doesn’t nickel-and-dime you on the basics.
Praise BreakPraise Break puts a compact gospel praise-band soundboard and organ-style preaching chords on a phone—joyfully specific and inexpensive, but far less documented or flexible than a real accompaniment platform.