A church database is bought by a volunteer committee and then lived with for a decade.
This guide ranks fifteen systems on what decides that decade: which head count the vendor bills on, whether fund accounting is inside or extra, what giving costs per gift, and whether a small congregation can buy without a sales call.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this page. It never changes what an entry
says about a product, including the criticism, and we earn nothing when you click through to a
vendor. How that works.
In short
What church management software does
Church management software keeps a congregation's membership and household records in one database and ties them to giving, attendance, children's check-in, volunteer rotas, small groups and communication.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether
you can leave, and who each church management tool is built for. Why those five, and why there is no
score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
Established churches that want membership and ledger from one long-standing supplier
Buyers who need to compare prices before talking to sales
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
Membership, giving and fund accounting under one subscription for small congregations
Ranked #1 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
ChurchTrac is the rare product in this market where the treasurer and the membership secretary share a login: fund accounting and budgeting sit beside the people database rather than in an add-on.
The trial runs thirty days without a card and data import is included. Most reports download as CSV, which is how you would leave. What you cannot establish from the site is the company behind it, so ask for the contracting entity before you sign.
What stands out
Fund accounting included
Priced by names
30-day trial
Where it costs you
The site does not state the legal entity or who owns the company
Website, app and accounting setup services are sold separately, each from several hundred dollars
Right for
Small churches that want membership and the books under one modest bill
Wrong for
Churches that need a named, accountable owner on the contract
United StatesTiers by number of names tracked, published; 30-day trial
Founder-owned suite sold product by product, with a free people database
Ranked #2 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Planning Center began in 2006 with Services, the worship-planning tool, and that origin still shows in how it is bought: you pick products, and Services and Check-Ins each run to seven tiers.
People, the database underneath, is free regardless of size and exports to CSV for anyone given that permission. Card giving in the United States carries a percentage plus a fixed fee. Budget by listing which products you will run in year two, not only in month one.
What stands out
Free plan
Priced per product
Founder-owned
Where it costs you
Each product is metered differently, so the total is a sum of several tiers rather than one figure
Free tiers are small: five team members in Services and ten daily check-ins in Check-Ins
Right for
Churches that want to start with worship scheduling and add products gradually
Wrong for
Treasurers who want one fixed bill covering every ministry
United StatesFree plan per product; paid tiers per product by usage, published
Low-cost church database with accounting and a free plan for fifty people
Ranked #3 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
ChMeetings was launched in 2018 by Jios Apps Inc, which the site describes only as a software company based in the USA. The tiers run on the number of people, and paying annually means ten months' fees for twelve.
Donations go through PayPal or Stripe, which charge their own fees. Migration from another system is done for you on paid plans only. For a church plant it is a low-risk start; larger churches should price the texting credits before comparing.
What stands out
Free plan
Priced by people
Five languages
Where it costs you
Text and voice messages need separately bought credits, and the branded app is a paid add-on
The free plan is capped at 50 donations a month and excludes data migration help
Right for
Small and multilingual congregations that need a working database on almost no budget
Wrong for
Churches wanting texting and a branded app included
United StatesFree plan to 50 people; tiers by people count, published
German church platform with wiki, chat and rota planning, hosted in Germany
Ranked #4 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
ChurchTools Innovations GmbH publishes every figure, including the hourly rate for setup and training, which makes the first-year cost easy to work out. The plan is chosen by head count and can be changed at any time.
Resource booking, an internal wiki and chat are unusual inclusions that replace separate tools. The limits are practical: accounting costs extra, campuses are rationed by tier, and the reference customers are Protestant, Catholic and free churches in the German-speaking world.
What stands out
Hosted in Germany
Priced by people
Monthly cancellation
Where it costs you
The Finances module and storage beyond 5 GB are charged on top of the plan
The two smallest plans include no additional campus; multi-site starts at the third tier
Right for
Congregations in German-speaking countries that want European hosting and monthly cancellation
Wrong for
English-speaking churches looking for a large local user community
GermanyTiers by people count, published; 30-day trial
Miami-built all-in-one system billed on total profiles in the database
Ranked #5 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
One Church Software, Inc. is a Miami company that says it has served churches for ten years. Its pricing page is unusually complete, listing add-ons down to the cost of a single text message.
Online giving is included while accounting, extra storage and remote deposit are not. Subscriptions renew monthly and paid licences are non-refundable under the terms. Before the trial ends, archive nothing you expect to delete: the profile count, not attendance, sets the tier.
What stands out
Priced by profiles
Two plans
Accounting add-on
Where it costs you
Archived and guest profiles count towards the billed tier
Automation, multi-campus tools and the API are reserved for the higher plan
Right for
Mid-sized single-site churches wanting check-in, giving and service planning together
Wrong for
Churches with large archives of inactive people on file
United StatesTwo plans tiered by profile count, published; 30-day trial
Source-available church system from a non-profit, self-hosted or partner-hosted
Ranked #6 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Self-hostablePublished pricingNorth America
Spark describes Rock as open source, and the repository is public, but read the licence: it grants a perpetual, royalty-free right only to faith-based non-profit entities for internal use. Within that limit a church may modify it.
The documented hardware ranges from a single server for a few thousand records to two servers for fifteen thousand and up. Churches unwilling to operate it can use Cloud 9 or Rock Cloud, paying hosting plus the suggested donation in one monthly amount.
What stands out
Self-hosted option
Non-profit maker
Donation-funded
Where it costs you
Self-hosting requires Windows Server 2016 or newer, IIS and SQL Server 2016 or newer
The licence restricts use to faith-based non-profits and excludes managed hosting providers
Right for
Large churches with in-house technical staff who want to shape their own system
Wrong for
Small churches with nobody to run a Windows server
United StatesNo-charge licence; per-attendee donation published; hosting billed separately
Parish administration, website and newsletters for European churches, in five languages
Ranked #7 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
ChurchDesk is available in English, German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch, which says who it is for: established churches in northern Europe with a parish office and a public website to maintain.
The privacy policy names ChurchDesk ApS in Copenhagen as the company, while the English pages carry a London address. Training is part of the purchase, which is where the setup fee goes. Groups of parishes have to contact sales, so a deanery cannot price itself from the published table.
What stands out
Parish focus
Five languages
Setup fee
Where it costs you
A one-time setup fee per parish is charged on every plan
Multi-parish use and the payment terminal are extras on all but the largest plan
Right for
European parishes that want calendar, website and newsletters run from one office tool
Wrong for
Churches wanting month-to-month billing or a low first-year cost
DenmarkTiers by contacts and users, billed annually, published; one-time setup fee
Giving company whose church database is the former Breeze ChMS
Ranked #8 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Your Giving Group, trading as Tithe.ly from Nashville, sells giving with no monthly fee and earns on processing; the database, app and website are subscriptions on top.
For a large congregation the flat rate is the attraction, because nothing is counted: not names, adults or check-ins. For a very small one the same figure is higher than the entry tiers elsewhere on this page. Texting beyond the monthly allowance is billed in blocks.
What stands out
Flat rate
Formerly Breeze
Giving-led
Where it costs you
Card giving carries a percentage plus a fixed fee per donation
App, website and worship tools cost extra unless you take the bundle
Right for
Churches of any size that want one flat figure for the database
Wrong for
Churches that prefer their database vendor independent of their giving processor
United StatesFlat monthly rate per product or bundle, published; 30-day trial
Church database billed on active adults, owned by Tithe.ly
Ranked #9 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
The footer reads 'Elvanto, a Tithe.ly company', and the legal terms are Tithe.ly's. What distinguishes the product is the meter. Billing on active adults suits a congregation with many children or a long tail of occasional visitors, and the pricing page scales beyond two hundred adults.
The pricing page does not mention a trial. Anyone choosing between this and Tithely Church Management should ask the vendor in writing which one receives new development.
What stands out
Priced by active adults
Tithe.ly-owned
Choice of server region
Where it costs you
A setup fee is charged on every listed tier
The owner, Tithe.ly, also sells its own-brand church database, and the site does not say how the two will coexist
Right for
Churches outside North America that want regional servers and adult-based pricing
Wrong for
Buyers who want a vendor with a single church database
United StatesTiers by active adults, published; setup fee
Membership and contribution records with two plans capped by staff users
Ranked #10 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Servant Keeper, LLC works from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and says more than 30,000 churches use the product, which runs in the browser. Pricing by seats reverses the usual logic, so a parish with ten thousand records and three office staff pays the entry price.
The Complete plan bundles 50 GB of content storage and 25 hours of livestreaming a month with guided onboarding and data transfer. Count the people who must log in before choosing.
What stands out
Priced by users
Unlimited records
Livestream in top plan
Where it costs you
Email, texting, website and app are only in the higher plan
More than eight users requires a custom quote
Right for
Offices with a few staff and a very large membership roll
Wrong for
Churches where many volunteers each need their own login
United StatesTwo plans by included users, published
Membership, donations, fund accounting and payroll as desktop or web modules
Ranked #11 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
The four modules are Membership, Donations, Accounting and Payroll, and they share data, so a pledge recorded in Donations reaches the ledger. That makes it a bookkeeper's system first. A trial download and live one-to-one demos are offered.
Web subscriptions run at third-party hosting providers named in the privacy policy. The three support tiers differ mainly in training hours, and the first month is paid before access begins, so use the trial download before subscribing.
What stands out
Payroll module
Desktop or web
Sold per module
Where it costs you
The web edition costs several times the desktop edition for the same modules
Each additional web seat carries its own monthly charge
Right for
Church offices that want payroll and fund accounting from the membership vendor
Wrong for
Churches that mainly want a member app and volunteer scheduling
United StatesPer module and support tier, published; desktop or web
Large-church system priced per active record, owned by Cass Information Systems
Ranked #12 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
An active record is a member whose household gave in the past twelve months, or a person who registered or attended at least twice, and the vendor says the definition is settled during discovery. That is a negotiation, so come with your own count.
The product is aimed at executive pastors and finance directors of large churches, with a process builder and engagement scoring. Ownership by a bank-backed group brings stability and distance from the ministry origins in equal measure.
What stands out
Large churches
Priced by active records
Cass-owned
Where it costs you
The published annual starting price rules out small congregations
Giving, custom websites, ticketing and background checks are optional add-ons
Right for
Multi-campus churches with thousands of active records and dedicated administrative staff
Wrong for
Congregations of a few hundred people on a volunteer budget
United StatesPer active record, annual starting price published; demo only
App, website and media platform with church management bundled in
Ranked #13 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Founders Tim and Kristy Turner began with a design studio, and the product still starts from the congregation's phone, not the office. The company reports about 20,000 churches and ministries.
Because nothing is published for Subsplash One or Enterprise, the comparison with the tiered products above can only be made after a sales call. The pricing page mentions no trial. Ask for the quote in writing with the renewal terms attached.
What stands out
Apps and media
Quote only
Giving-led
Where it costs you
No price for the all-in-one plan appears on the pricing page
Church management is sold inside a bundle with apps, websites and streaming
Right for
Churches whose priority is a branded app, sermon media and streaming
Wrong for
Buyers who only need a membership and giving database
United StatesQuoted by church size and usage; giving product carries no monthly fee
Giving platform with ChurchStaq management suite, owned by investment firms
Ranked #14 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestAsia-Pacific
Three of the four offices listed are in the United States, at Redmond, Colorado Springs and Allen, with the fourth in Auckland, and the contact page names none of them as head office. The company says it serves more than 14,000 churches.
Giving is sold in three levels, Core, Advanced and Complete, and the database comes as its own product or inside the bundle. Expect a sales-led purchase; product tours stand in for a trial.
What stands out
Quote only
Investor-owned
Four countries
Where it costs you
Customers must be in the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia
Prices are given only after a demo
Right for
Large North American churches that put digital giving at the centre
ACS Technologies church system in three plans, now part of Vanco
Ranked #15 of 15 in Best Church Management Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
The plan names describe who gets access. Inform keeps the system with staff, for contributions and reports; Connect opens profiles, groups and personal giving to members; Multiply adds multi-campus administration and outreach features.
That ladder means the quote depends on how far you intend to open the system, not just on size. The 2025 change of ownership is recent, so ask what it alters in the contract and the roadmap before committing for several years.
What stands out
Quote only
Accounting add-on
Vanco-owned
Where it costs you
No plan price is published; the site offers a demo only
Accounting is an add-on on every plan
Right for
Established churches that want membership and ledger from one long-standing supplier
Wrong for
Buyers who need to compare prices before talking to sales
United StatesQuoted per organisation; three plans, demo only
Church management software keeps a congregation's membership and household records in one database and ties them to giving, attendance, children's check-in, volunteer rotas, small groups and communication. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
12 of the 15 tools here publish what they cost; the other 3 quote per organisation. The ones you can compare without a sales call: ChurchTrac, Planning Center, ChMeetings, ChurchTools, One Church Software, Rock RMS, ChurchDesk, Tithely, Elvanto, Servant Keeper, Church Windows, TouchPoint.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 15 vendors are established in 4 countries across 3 regions (North America 12, Europe 2, Asia-Pacific 1). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
What church management software actually meters: names, adults, profiles or products
No two vendors in this ranking count the same thing. ChurchTrac bills on the number of names you track. ChMeetings and ChurchTools bill on people. One Church Software bills on every profile in the system, archived records and guests included, so an old membership roll costs money. Elvanto counts only active adults, which favours a congregation full of children.
TouchPoint counts active records under a definition agreed during discovery. Servant Keeper ignores the roll entirely and charges for staff logins. Planning Center meters each product on something different, from team members to daily check-ins. Tithely charges one flat rate. The same church of four hundred people can land in a different tier at every vendor, so a comparison of entry prices tells you almost nothing.
Count names, active adults, archived records and staff logins separately before asking for any price.
Ask in writing whether archived or deceased members count towards the tier.
Project the count three years ahead and price that tier, not today's.
Fund accounting and payroll: inside ChurchTrac and Church Windows, extra almost everywhere else
Churches keep restricted funds, and most general bookkeeping packages handle them badly, which is why the treasurer often wants the ledger in the membership system. Only some products oblige. ChurchTrac includes fund accounting and budgeting on every tier. ChMeetings lists church accounting with budgeting and reconciliation among its modules.
Church Windows sells Accounting and Payroll as two of its four modules, so the bookkeeper and the payroll run share the membership data. Elsewhere the ledger is an add-on with its own line on the bill: One Church Software lists Accounting separately, ChurchTools sells Finances on top of each plan, and Realm offers general ledger and disbursements as an option. A church that leaves accounting out of the comparison is comparing half the purchase.
Decide whether the treasurer moves systems too before you shortlist.
Add the accounting add-on to each quote so the totals are like for like.
Ask the treasurer to run a restricted-fund report during the trial.
Giving fees are the second price of a church database
Several vendors here earn more from donations than from subscriptions, and the fee per gift is published even when the subscription is not. Planning Center lists a percentage plus thirty cents on United States card gifts and a flat thirty cents on bank transfers. Tithely charges a higher card percentage and one per cent plus thirty cents on bank transfers, with no monthly fee for giving.
Subsplash takes a percentage plus thirty cents on cards and one per cent on bank transfers. ChMeetings passes donations through PayPal or Stripe, which set their own fees. Pushpay states that customers must be in the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia, so for much of the world it is not an option at all. On a large annual collection the difference between two fee schedules can exceed the subscription itself.
Multiply last year's card and bank giving by each vendor's published fees.
Check that the giving product operates in your country and currency.
Ask whether you may keep your existing processor and still record gifts.
Hosting Rock RMS yourself, and the vendors that will not name a price
Rock RMS is the one system here a church can run on its own hardware, and the documentation is frank about what that takes: Windows Server, IIS and SQL Server, with two servers recommended once giving data is involved. Its licence costs nothing but is limited to faith-based non-profits, and Spark asks for a donation per attendee.
Church Windows offers a locally installed desktop edition at a fraction of its web price. ChurchTools is hosted for you in Germany. At the other end, Subsplash, Pushpay and Realm publish no subscription figure, so a committee cannot shortlist them without a sales call. Whichever route you take, test the way out: Planning Center exports people to CSV by permission, and ChurchTrac downloads most reports as CSV.
Name the person who will patch and back up a self-hosted server.
Export the full people list during the trial and open the file.
For quote-only vendors, request the renewal price along with the first-year price.
What goes wrong most often when buying church management software
Choosing on the entry tier. A plan for 100 names is irrelevant if the roll, with children and lapsed members, runs to 600.
Letting the worship team pick the system alone. Service planning is one module; the treasurer and the children's ministry live in the others.
Ignoring the fee on each donation. A subscription with no monthly charge for giving is paid for out of the collection plate.
Migrating every historical record. Vendors that bill on profiles charge for the people who left in 2009, so prune before import.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best church management in 2026?
ChurchTrac leads our ranking of 15. Every tier carries the same feature set: people, giving, fund accounting, check-in, worship planning, a website and an app. The only listed extra is enhanced messaging.
Tiers climb with the number of names you track, from 75 to unlimited. The site names a support team in Jacksonville, Florida but does not say who owns the company, and setup help for the website and the books is charged separately.
Which church management tools publish their pricing?
12 of the 15, with the pricing model each one publishes:
ChurchTrac: Tiers by number of names tracked, published; 30-day trial.
Planning Center: Free plan per product; paid tiers per product by usage, published.
ChMeetings: Free plan to 50 people; tiers by people count, published.
ChurchTools: Tiers by people count, published; 30-day trial.
One Church Software: Two plans tiered by profile count, published; 30-day trial.
Rock RMS: No-charge licence; per-attendee donation published; hosting billed separately.
ChurchDesk: Tiers by contacts and users, billed annually, published; one-time setup fee.
Tithely: Flat monthly rate per product or bundle, published; 30-day trial.
Elvanto: Tiers by active adults, published; setup fee.
Servant Keeper: Two plans by included users, published.
Church Windows: Per module and support tier, published; desktop or web.
TouchPoint: Per active record, annual starting price published; demo only.
The other 3 quote per organisation.
Is there a free church management tool?
Planning Center, ChMeetings offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these church management vendors established?
In 4 countries across 3 regions: North America 12, Europe 2, Asia-Pacific 1.
ChurchTrac: United States.
Planning Center: United States.
ChMeetings: United States.
ChurchTools: Germany.
One Church Software: United States.
Rock RMS: United States.
ChurchDesk: Denmark.
Tithely: United States.
Elvanto: United States.
Servant Keeper: United States.
Church Windows: United States.
TouchPoint: United States.
Subsplash: United States.
Pushpay: New Zealand.
Realm: United States.
Which church management tools can you host yourself?
Rock RMS. The other 14 are hosted by the vendor only.
What should you use instead of ChurchTrac?
Planning Center and ChMeetings are the next two on this page. Planning Center is for Churches that want to start with worship scheduling and add products gradually; ChMeetings is for small and multilingual congregations that need a working database on almost no budget.
Who should not buy ChurchTrac?
Churches that need a named, accountable owner on the contract. The site does not state the legal entity or who owns the company.
If your church management product belongs among these 15, tell us what it does and who it is for. Inclusion is an editorial call; what a listing is and is not is set out under software advice.
