Ormilio vs Church Presenter

Church Presenter is one of the free tools churches find when they look for worship software. Ormilio is a different kind of tool. Church Presenter runs the big screen from the church computer. Ormilio puts the words on everyone's phone and on the big screen, and the leader moves them forward from a phone.

Here is a fair, simple look at both, so you can choose what fits your group, or use them side by side.

What Church Presenter is

Church Presenter is free, open source worship presentation software, with no subscription. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers and shows songs, Bible passages, presentations, images and video on the big screen. A song can show up to four languages at once, and up to six Bible translations can be shown side by side. It works fully offline, so it needs no internet on Sunday morning.

There are mobile apps for iPhone and Android. They can work as a remote for the computer, or present on their own, sending slides to a TV or to a browser on the same network. Songbooks are copied from the computer once and then work offline.

What Ormilio is

Ormilio is a simple web app for showing the words of songs and readings. The leader picks songs from the free library of public domain hymns, or pastes in their own words. Then they put today's songs in order and move forward from a phone. They can tap Next line by line, or set the seconds per line and let the words move on their own.

Everyone else joins by scanning a QR code, tapping a WhatsApp link or typing a short join number. There is no app to install and no account to make. The words open on each phone, on the same line as the big screen. Each person can make the letters bigger, switch to dark mode, scroll back, and tap to catch up. The big screen shows the same words full screen, easy to read from the back.

Ormilio shows plain lyrics and readings only, in any language and alphabet. There are no chords, no audio, no video and no backgrounds. It is free forever for up to 10 songs and 20 people at once. Ormilio Plus costs $10 a month, paid in your own currency.

The main differences

Same network or the internet. Church Presenter sends slides to browsers on the same network. Ormilio works over the internet, so people can join on mobile data with a QR code, a WhatsApp link or a join number. Nobody needs the Wi-Fi password.

Who the phone is for. Church Presenter's mobile apps are mainly for the person running the screens. Ormilio's phone view is made for everyone in the room, with bigger letters, dark mode, scroll back and tap to catch up.

Install or open a link. Church Presenter is installed on a computer, and its app on the phone. With Ormilio, nothing is installed: the leader and everyone else use the browser they already have.

Price and features. Church Presenter is free for any size of church, and it does much more on the big screen, with Bible tools, presentations and video. Ormilio shows plain words only. It is free for up to 10 songs and 20 people at once, and $10 a month after that.

Can you use both?

Yes. You can keep Church Presenter on the big screen and add Ormilio so everyone can read the songs on their own phone. This helps the back rows, guests who are not on the church Wi-Fi, and anyone who reads better up close.

The two are separate tools. Today's songs go into Ormilio too, and someone moves the words forward in Ormilio while Church Presenter runs on the computer. For a home group, a prayer meeting or singing outdoors, Ormilio can also work on its own, with no computer at all.

Which one fits your group?

Choose Church Presenter if you want free, open source software on the church computer, with Bible tools and media, that works offline.

Choose Ormilio if you want everyone to read the same words on their own phone, over the internet, with nothing to install, or if you lead a choir, a prayer group, a youth group or a home group. Choose both if you like Church Presenter on the big screen and want the whole room on the same line.