How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Subsplash is the app-and-media specialist: the best church app if your priority is a polished branded app with sermon media, but pricing is quote-based.
- Planning Center's Church Center app is free: you only pay for the operational modules (giving, check-ins, services) you actually use, priced by usage.
- Tithe.ly's giving plan starts at $0 per month, which makes it the cheapest way to get a church app plus online giving running quickly.
- ChurchTrac publishes the clearest pricing in the category: $29 per month for 75 names, scaling by congregation size.
- Budget for transaction fees separately: most platforms charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per card gift regardless of the subscription price.
Picture a first-time visitor on Sunday morning. They want the bulletin, the sermon notes and a way to give, all on the phone they already have. A church app platform puts your church's app in the App Store and Google Play, ties it to online giving, and (on most of these) connects it to your member database. The eight below are the platforms churches actually buy in 2026.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Subsplash | Churches prioritizing a custom app and media | See website | No |
 Tithe.ly | Small to mid-size churches on a budget | $0 per month (Giving plan) | Yes |
 Pushpay (ChurchStaq) | Growing and multi-site churches | See website | No |
 Planning Center | Churches that want modular, pay-for-what-you-use tools | $0 (Church Center app free) | Yes |
 Breeze (by Tithely) | Small churches that want simple, predictable software | See website | No |
 ChurchTrac | Churches that want every feature for one clear price | $29 per month (75 names) | No |
 Aware3 | Keeping members engaged between Sundays | See website | No |
 Elexio | Churches wanting one consolidated platform from day one | See website | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
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Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Subsplash is the platform churches pick when the app itself is the point. It builds your church a custom-branded app for iOS and Android, handles sermon media and live streaming, and wraps it in a platform churches actually enjoy using. If your congregation watches sermons on phones during the week, Subsplash's media DNA shows.
The tradeoff is that church management features (people, groups, check-in) are less deep than on ChMS-first platforms, and pricing is entirely quote-based: you talk to sales and get a bundle price that includes the app plus giving transaction fees. Small churches should get the quote before falling in love with the demo.
Choose Subsplash when media and app experience drive the decision, and pair it with a real ChMS if your management needs are complex.
What we like- Polished branded apps
- Strong sermon media and streaming
- Purpose-built for churches
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing
- Management depth sits behind the app-and-media focus
Starting price$0 per month (Giving plan)
Free planYes
Tithe.ly's calling card is the price of entry: online giving starts at $0 per month, with the platform earning from per-transaction processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per card gift). For a church plant or a small congregation, that means a church app plus online giving with no monthly subscription at all. Paid tiers add church management, custom apps and deeper features.
The catch is depth. Customization and reporting are lighter than on enterprise platforms, and international bank support is limited, which matters outside the US. Breeze, the simple ChMS many small churches love, is now part of Tithe.ly, so the ecosystem is converging.
It is the right pick when budget is the binding constraint and you need giving live this week.
What we like- Giving starts free
- Quick online giving setup
- Donor-covers-fee option
Watch out for- Lighter customization and reporting
- Limited international bank support
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Pushpay's ChurchStaq unifies giving, church management and the mobile app into one platform, so a gift in the app updates the database immediately and a first-time check-in triggers follow-up without a sync. That sounds basic, but churches running separate tools lose donors in the gaps between systems. Pushpay's published data shows recurring giving growing around 11% year over year across its churches.
Pricing is quote-based and aimed at growing, large and multi-site churches. For an 80-person congregation with a part-time bookkeeper, this is more platform than the need justifies. For a church struggling with reconciliation across tools, the consolidation argument is strong.
Church plants affiliated with a recognized planting network should ask about Pushpay's technology grant, which can cover the full platform free for the first year.
What we like- Giving, ChMS and app on one unified platform
- Strong recurring-giving results
- Deep data sync
Watch out for- Quote-based enterprise pricing
- More platform than a small church needs
Starting price$0 (Church Center app free)
Free planYes
Planning Center works differently from the rest: you buy modules (People, Services, Check-Ins, Giving, Groups, Registrations) and pay for each based on usage, with free tiers on every product. The Church Center app, the member-facing app with home page, analytics and customization, is free. Card processing runs at 2.15% + $0.30 in the US, the lowest published rate in this group.
That modularity is both the strength and the trap. A small church can run nearly free; a large church running every module can find the stacked bill surprising. Service planning (Services module) remains the best in the category, with drag-and-drop song and media arrangement.
Pick Planning Center when you want to start small and add pieces as the church grows, and especially when worship planning is a core workflow.
What we like- Church Center app genuinely free
- Best-in-class service planning
- Pay per module
Watch out for- Costs stack as you add modules
- Giving and app are separate pieces
#5
Breeze (by Tithely)
Best for: Small churches that want simple, predictable software
Visit breezechms.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Breeze is the anti-enterprise option: one simple church management system with a flat monthly rate, no tiers based on congregation size, and an interface volunteers learn in an afternoon. Contribution tracking is clean, communication tools are built in, and support includes real humans on the phone. It is now part of Tithely, which deepens the giving integration.
The limitations are real: volunteer scheduling is thin, there is no custom-branded app builder, and integrations are fewer than on bigger platforms. Check the pricing page for the current flat rate, since it has moved over the years.
It fits churches under a few hundred people that want management software to disappear into the background.
What we like- Fast to learn
- Flat predictable pricing
- Clean contribution tracking
Watch out for- Thin on volunteer scheduling and custom apps
- Fewer integrations
Starting price$29 per month (75 names)
Free planNo
ChurchTrac is the only platform here with fully published, no-quote pricing: $29 per month for 75 names, scaling to $119 per month for unlimited names, with every feature included at every size. That transparency is the product as much as the software. The platform combines membership, accounting, events, registrations, a website, an app and a member portal in one system.
The interface is not winning design awards, and advanced messaging (two-way texting, text giving) is a $7 per month add-on. But churches consistently praise the support and the absence of surprise charges. Giving processes through Stripe's nonprofit rate.
Choose ChurchTrac when you want one bill, one login and one support team, and you would rather have completeness than polish.
What we like- Published, transparent pricing
- Everything included at every tier
- Strong support reputation
Watch out for- Interface looks dated
- Communication tools are an add-on
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Aware3 (branded as Together+) frames the church app as a member engagement platform rather than a database: app, online giving, push messages, forms and registrations connected so members can engage between Sundays. Features like in-app chat, live polling and interactive video go beyond the standard sermon-and-giving app.
Pricing is not published, so expect a sales conversation. And the honest caveat applies to every engagement platform: the features only matter if your members actually install and open the app. Churches with strong digital habits get real value; churches where the congregation barely uses email will not.
Consider it when your strategy centers on midweek engagement, not just Sunday logistics.
What we like- App plus giving plus messaging in one platform
- Engagement-focused features (chat, polls, video)
Watch out for- Pricing not published
- Engagement features matter less if members do not use the app
#8
Elexio
Best for: Churches wanting one consolidated platform from day one
Visit elexio.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Elexio Community bundles member management, events, online giving, child check-in, reporting and mass communication into one platform. For a church that wants everything wired up from the first day rather than assembled module by module, the all-in-one shape is appealing. Third-party listings put entry pricing around $35 per user per month, but the vendor does not publish plans, so treat that as a starting point for the sales conversation.
User feedback flags two things to verify in a trial: occasional trouble running on Mac systems, and giving-integration sync issues. Both may be resolved or specific to certain setups, but test them against your own hardware and finance workflow before committing.
It suits Windows-based church offices that want a single feature-rich platform and are willing to validate the details in evaluation.
What we like- Member, event, giving and reporting tools bundled
- Communication suite included
Watch out for- Pricing not published on the vendor site
- Some users report Mac and giving-sync quirks
What to look for before you buy
Transaction fees are the real price. Most platforms charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per card gift; Planning Center publishes 2.15% + $0.30. On $200,000 of annual card giving, that half-point gap is worth $1,000 a year. Ask about ACH rates too, since bank transfers are far cheaper to process.
Who owns the app listing. Some platforms publish the app under your church's name in the app stores; others publish under their own. Your church's name in the store matters for discoverability and trust.
The migration nobody budgets for. Moving giving history, recurring schedules and member data from an old system is where church software projects fail. Ask each vendor how migrations work, what they handle, and what a failed recurring-gift migration costs you.
Volunteer-proofing. The people using check-in and giving tools on Sunday are volunteers, not staff. The best platform is the one a volunteer can learn in ten minutes, not the one with the longest feature list.
How we chose
We focused on platforms with a real church app (not just a responsive website): branded or member apps in the app stores, tied to giving. Pricing comes from vendor pricing pages where published; most church platforms are quote-based, and we say so rather than repeating third-party estimates. Transaction fees are from vendor-published rates. We weighted each platform for the church-specific jobs that matter: Sunday check-in, giving, member communication and volunteer usability. No hands-on testing was performed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a church app cost?
From $0 per month (Tithe.ly giving, Planning Center's Church Center app) to several hundred per month for quote-based platforms like Subsplash and Pushpay. ChurchTrac publishes $29 to $119 per month. Always add transaction fees on top.
Do we need a custom-branded app or is a shared app enough?
A branded app (your church's name and icon) looks more professional and is easier for visitors to find. Shared-container apps are cheaper. For most churches under 500 people, the difference in member usage is small; the giving experience matters more.
What are typical online giving fees?
Around 2.9% + $0.30 per credit card transaction. ACH bank transfers cost much less (often under $0.50 flat). Donor-covers-fee options let givers add the fee to their gift.
Can members give by text?
Most of these platforms offer text-to-give, sometimes as an add-on. Planning Center charges $5 per month for a toll-free texting number; ChurchTrac bundles text giving into its $7 per month messaging add-on.
How hard is it to switch church software?
The software switch is easy; the data migration is the work. Recurring giving schedules are the critical piece: confirm the new platform migrates them without asking donors to re-enroll.
Should the app and the ChMS be from the same vendor?
Usually yes. Same-vendor app and database means gifts, check-ins and member records stay in sync automatically. Split vendors mean integrations you have to maintain.
Sources we checked (7)
- https://www.planningcenter.com/pricing
- https://churchtrac.com/pricing
- https://www.breezechms.com/pricing
- https://pushpay.com/blog/best-church-management-software-for-2026/
- https://pushpay.com/blog/church-giving-platforms-church-plants/
- https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/aware3-profile/
- https://www.spotsaas.com/product/elexio-community/pricing
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.