MyRec.com is the better pick for a small town recreation department that wants no startup cost, no long-term contract, unlimited users and published payment processing rates, and accepts a revenue-based annual quote.
CivicRec is the better pick for a municipality already on the CivicPlus website platform that wants its rec catalog, 311 and process automation from one vendor on an annual license, and accepts quote-only pricing that reviewers call higher than competitors. Community centers, associations and YMCA branches that are not a government department usually need a third option.
Recreation management from CivicPlus for local government.
Recreation software for small town departments with every module included and no contracts.
Communal is listed as a third column because organizations comparing these two usually need the same things it was built for: memberships, programs and facilities in one database at a flat price.
| Feature | CivicPlus Recreation Management | MyRec.com | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership management | Included | Included | IncludedTiers, custom fields, segments |
| Automated renewals | Included | Included | IncludedReminders and auto-renew |
| Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet) | Not listed | Not listed | IncludedIncluded in every plan |
| Event registration & ticketing | Included | Included | Add-onPrograms & events, +$50/mo |
| Program & class registration | Included | Included | Add-onWaitlists, capacity, attendance, rosters |
| Facility booking & rentals | Included | Included | Add-onFrom +$50/mo; approvals, invoices, agreements, iCal |
| Volunteer shifts & hour tracking | Included | Not listed | IncludedShifts, hours, auto volunteer discounts |
| Donations & fundraising | Not listed | Included | IncludedIncluded; donor covers fees option |
| Automatic tax receipts | Not listed | Not listed | IncludedAutomatic |
| Member self-service portal | Included | Included | Included |
| Email campaigns | Included | Included | IncludedCampaigns and segments |
| Website builder | Not offered | Not listed | Not offeredWorks beside your site |
| Public API | Included | Not listed | IncludedREST API, Zapier webhooks, MCP server |
| Detail | CivicPlus Recreation Management | MyRec.com | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Quote only | Quote (by revenue) | $75/mo |
| Pricing model | Annual license, quote | Annual fee scaled to revenue | Flat, by member band (to 250 members at the floor) |
| Contract | Not published (annual/multi-year typical for government SaaS) | No long-term contracts (vendor claim) | No contracts, prorated billing, cancel any module any time |
| Payment fees | Integrated payment processing; rates not published | E-commerce cards 3% (Amex 3.25%) plus $10/mo gateway, $8.25/mo PCI, $25/mo minimum;DetailsEMV terminal 3% (Amex 3.25%) plus $36.50/mo; ACH from 1% | Card-processing application fee set in your agreement, often 2%; no monthly minimums |
| Free trial | No free trial | Not published | Free trial, no credit card |
Pick MyRec.com if you are a small town recreation department that wants no startup cost, no long-term contract, unlimited staff users and a processing fee schedule you can read before signing, and a revenue-scaled annual fee suits your budget. Pick CivicRec if your municipality already runs its website on CivicPlus and you want the rec catalog, 311 and workflow automation to share that platform, on an annual license. Pick neither if you are a community center, association or YMCA branch outside local government.
Neither vendor shows a flat price, but they are unequal in what they do show. MyRec tells you the model (annual fee scaled to revenue, nothing upfront, unlimited users) and the entire processing schedule, and commits to no long-term contract; what you still need is the revenue-based quote. Note that the processing side runs around 3% plus fixed monthly gateway, PCI and minimum charges, which is on the high side, so a department with a lot of card volume should model it. CivicRec tells you almost nothing in advance: an annual license by quote, integrated processing at unpublished rates, unpublished contract terms, and a reputation among reviewers for pricing above competitors. Ask CivicRec for a full-term total with processing and escalation; ask MyRec for the annual fee at your revenue and at the revenue you expect in three years.
| If you are... | Lean towards |
|---|---|
| A small town that wants no contract and no startup cost | MyRec.com |
| A department that wants to read processing fees before signing | MyRec.com |
| A department that takes donations through the rec system | MyRec.com |
| A municipality already on the CivicPlus website platform | CivicRec |
| A department that needs a public API or volunteer management in the rec suite | CivicRec |
| A community center, association or YMCA branch outside local government | Neither; see the third option |
If you are a small town, community center, community association or YMCA branch rather than a city department, both of these are shaped for a buyer you are not. Communal covers memberships with household accounts and resident pricing by map boundary, program registration with waitlists and attendance, facility booking with approvals and invoices, donations with automatic tax receipts, volunteer shifts and a public REST API, at $75/mo flat to 250 members, programs +$50/mo, facilities from +$50/mo. There is no contract and no monthly processing minimum; the card application fee is set in your agreement, often around 2%, with weekly deposits to your own Stripe account, free scoped migration and a 30-day self-serve trial. It has no website builder, no native mobile app and no 311 or municipal-site integration, and it is not built for a large municipal procurement. Communal is our product; the comparison above is drawn from the two vendors' published materials and reviews.
Short answers, with the numbers where they exist.
Neither publishes a flat price. MyRec charges an annual fee scaled to your department's revenue, with no startup costs, unlimited users and free training and support; the exact number comes from the vendor's revenue-based calculator or a quote. CivicRec is an annual license by quote through a 'Request pricing' form, and reviewers cite higher pricing than competitors. MyRec does publish its payment processing rates; CivicRec does not.
E-commerce cards 3% (Amex 3.25%) plus $10/mo gateway, $8.25/mo PCI and a $25/mo minimum; EMV terminals 3% (Amex 3.25%) plus $36.50/mo; ACH from 1%. That is on the high side against typical card processing, and the monthly gateway, PCI and minimum charges apply even in quiet months. CivicRec uses integrated payment processing at rates it does not publish.
MyRec says it has no long-term contracts and no startup costs. CivicRec's contract terms are not published; annual or multi-year is typical for government SaaS. Neither vendor publishes a free trial, so the contract terms are your main protection if the product does not work out.
Both include league scheduling, facility rentals, memberships, program registration and POS. CivicRec reviewers report League Manager bugs, slow POS transactions, reliability incidents and limited iOS mobile functionality; they also praise ease of use and support. MyRec's published feature set lists team and game scheduling, facility rentals, POS and memberships, and it includes donations, which CivicRec does not document.
Both are built for town and city recreation departments. A community center, community association or YMCA branch that sells memberships, runs programs, rents rooms, takes donations and schedules volunteers can use Communal at $75/mo flat to 250 members, programs +$50/mo, facilities from +$50/mo, no contract, no monthly processing minimums, free migration and a 30-day trial. It is not built for a large municipal RFP.