OpenLP

OpenLP is free open source church presentation software running on Windows, Linux, Mac and FreeBSD, with remote control apps for operating a service from elsewhere in the building. It can be installed on as many machines as a church wants, with no subscription, no per device licence and no upgrade charge.

Being open source removes the constraint that shapes every other product in this category, which is counting installations. A church can put it on the booth machine, the confidence monitor computer, a spare laptop and every volunteer's home machine for preparation, at no cost and with no administration. For a congregation running on volunteer labour and a small budget, that is the whole argument.

Linux and FreeBSD support matters more than it appears. Churches frequently run donated or ageing hardware that will not take a current Windows release, and software that runs on Linux extends the life of machines a commercial product would strand.

The trade off is support. There is no vendor to telephone on a Sunday morning, and a church choosing this is relying on documentation, a community and someone technical among its volunteers. For a church that has such a person, that is a reasonable bargain; for one that does not, the free licence is the cheapest part of the total cost.