Why GatherSafe
Documentation is half the job.
GatherSafe does both halves.
SentinelWatch is a well-built records system for incidents, watchlists, and certifications. It just has nothing for the moment your team actually needs to talk to each other. GatherSafe does the documentation and the live response, in one app.
Side by side
What each app actually does
| Capability | GatherSafe | SentinelWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Push-to-talk voice | ||
| Encrypted messaging | ||
| Panic button with GPS | ||
| Active shooter / DND-bypassing critical alert | ||
| Real-time team map | ||
| Incident logging with photos & GPS | ||
| Qualification / certification tracking | ||
| Document library | ~ | |
| Persons-of-concern watchlist | ||
| Total cost with Planning Center at entry tier | $37/mo (Starter + add-on) | $39/mo (requires Standard tier) |
| Entry-tier team size | 30 members / $29 | 10 members / $19 |
SentinelWatch pricing and feature claims as listed on their Planning Center Marketplace listing. GatherSafe has no persons-of-concern watchlist today — SentinelWatch's is a genuine feature we don't match.
Why it matters
A watchlist doesn't stop an incident in progress
Real-Time Response
SentinelWatch has no live communication at all
SentinelWatch is a documentation platform: incident reports, a persons-of-concern watchlist, and certification tracking. It has no push-to-talk, no messaging, no live alerts, and no team map — nothing for the moment an incident is actually happening, only the record you fill out afterward. GatherSafe gives your team encrypted PTT voice, panic alerts, and active-shooter critical alerts, and still keeps the incident log.
You Don't Need Two Apps
The compliance side, without giving up the response side
SentinelWatch's three modules — incident management, POI watchlist, and qualifications — cover documentation. GatherSafe already includes team qualification tracking (with automatic expiry calculation), a document library for policies and emergency plans, and incident logging with photos, GPS, and severity levels. You get the compliance record-keeping and the live response tools in one subscription.
Planning Center, at a Lower All-In Price
Add it to your starting plan, don't upgrade your whole tier for it
SentinelWatch's $19/mo Starter tier doesn't include Planning Center sync at all — getting it means jumping to their $39/mo Standard plan, whether or not you need the extra team seats and POI capacity that tier also bundles in. GatherSafe lets you add Planning Center to the $29 Starter plan for $8/mo more — $37/mo all-in, still cheaper than SentinelWatch's $39/mo, and you're not paying for capacity you didn't ask for.
Team Size at the Entry Price
More room to grow at the same starting price
SentinelWatch's $19/mo Starter plan caps out at 10 team members and 25 POI profiles. GatherSafe's $29/mo Starter plan covers up to 30 members — three times the team — plus everything real-time: PTT, panic alerts, encrypted messaging, and live location.
The bottom line
SentinelWatch is a genuinely useful records system if all you need is documentation. But a security team that can only write down what happened after the fact is missing the tool it needs during the ten seconds that actually matter. GatherSafe gives you live PTT, panic alerts, and critical alerts — plus incident logging and qualification tracking, so you're not stitching two subscriptions together.
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Your congregation deserves better protection
Join security teams across the country who chose purpose-built tools over generic apps. Purpose-built for how church security teams actually operate.
Starting at $19.99/month · iOS & Android