Top 10 Best Christian Church Management Software

There is no one right way to pick a ChMS for your Christian church. Many ChMS platforms have things in common, but they also have unique features that set them apart. Here’s our top 10 list of software based on their pros and cons.

Digital giving apps and tools

What is Church Management Software for Christian Churches?

Stop us if you’ve heard this before—a church is not a building, but instead a group of people. We certainly agree with that statement, but it begs the question: how do you keep track of those people?

Within any Christian Church, there are any number of things to keep track of, including:

  • Worship attendance
  • Giving records
  • Volunteerism
  • Contact information
  • Communication history

Luckily, there is one solution for managing all of these things with Church Management Software (ChMS). A ChMS handles all administrative tasks for your Christian church and gives you a central database to find the information you need quickly and reliably.

Why Do Christian Churches Need Software?

Christian churches need Church Management Software for the same reason they need a building. It’s not strictly required, but it’s become an expected resource. Just like a physical building, your ChMS provides a place to store and protect your people (or their data).

When used properly, a ChMS manages many different elements of your congregation:

  • Understand the size and reach of your church body.
  • Update records for individuals when their information changes.
  • Manage communication with large groups of people.
  • Handle small group enrollment.
  • Keep track of children’s environment check-in. 
  • Understand who is giving to your church and how much.

These features benefit your congregation, regardless of whether you’re Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, or another denomination.

How Do Church Management Systems for Christian Churches Work?

At its most basic, any Church Management Software is just a database—it creates records for people, lets you add data and tags about them, and connect them to various groups. 

However, ChMS is more powerful than that because these are designed specifically for Christian churches with your needs and expectations in mind. Most of these companies have been around for years and work with thousands of churches.

For this reason, they have a number of customized features that work specifically for communities of faith like yours.

Key Features to Consider in a ChMS for Christian Churches

Church Management Software is unique because of their purpose for specifically serving Christian churches. These are a few of the most important elements to look for when selecting your own ChMs:

  • Usability: how easy is it for your team to use?
  • Cost: are you able to fit it within your budget?
  • Integrations: what other platforms does it work with?
  • Giving: how well does it track tithing from your members?
  • Communication: are you able to message members from the platform?

How We Chose the Best Software for Christian Churches

There is no one right way to pick a ChMS for your Christian church. Many ChMS platforms have things in common, but they also have unique features that set them apart. Here’s our top 10 list of software based on their pros and cons.

Top 10 Best Christian Church Management Software

<a href="#list-1" class="toc-link">1. Breeze ChMS</a>

<a href="#list-2" class="toc-link">2. Tithely</a>

<a href="#list-3" class="toc-link">3. WildApricot</a>

<a href="#list-4" class="toc-link">4. Fellowship One</a>

<a href="#list-5" class="toc-link">5. Pushpay</a>

<a href="#list-6" class="toc-link">6. Shelby Systems</a>

<a href="#list-7" class="toc-link">7. Servant Keeper</a>

<a href="#list-8" class="toc-link">8. Elvanto</a>

<a href="#list-9" class="toc-link">9. Faith Teams</a>

<a href="#list-10" class="toc-link">10. Churchteams</a>

1. Breeze ChMS

Pros of Breeze ChMS

Cons of Breeze ChMS

  • It’s a simpler system and lacks some of the more robust features
  • There are no native integrations; they must be built using the Breeze API

Price of Breeze ChMS

Breeze ChMS has a single price of $72 per month. This includes all features for unlimited users with no onboarding fees.

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2. Tithely

Pros of Tithe.ly

  • Includes a wide range of features including worship tracking and a mobile app
  • Connects to other products in the Tithe.ly suite of solutions
  • Unlimited people can be added to the database

Cons of Tithe.ly

  • The one-time setup cost can be a budget burden
  • Works best if you’re using the other Tithe.ly products

Price of Tithe.ly

Tithe.ly’s ChMS option costs $72 per month with a $149 one-time setup cost. This can also be bundled with the rest of the Tithe.ly suite for $119 per month.

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<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.shelbysystems.com/">3. Shelby Systems</a>

Pros of Shelby Systems

  • Built more for larger and mid-sized churches
  • Strength with hardware options such as barcode readers and check-in tools
  • Flexible pricing based on the size of your parish

Cons of Shelby Systems

  • An older system that isn’t frequently updated
  • A more complex user interface that requires training
  • The desktop app for the solution is Windows-only

Price of Shelby Systems

Shelby Systems’ pricing is based on the size of your church starting around $35/month.

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://servantkeeper.com/">4. Servant Keeper</a>

Pros of Servant Keeper

  • Servant Keeper is customized for each organization
  • Options between a cloud-based or an onsite solution

Cons of Servant Keeper

  • The UX and UI appear outdated and viewed as clunky
  • Desktop app access requires a license of $50 per computer

Price of Servant Keeper

Servant Keeper has a small church option starting at $250 for up to 50 families. Their unlimited plan costs $499 plus an initial fee for unlimited users. 

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.fellowshipone.com/">5. Fellowship One</a>

Pros of Fellowship One

  • Analytics and detailed reporting is their strength
  • Offers communications via text and email
  • Partnered with Ekklesia360 for website and app design & hosting

Cons of Fellowship One

  • A more complex UX that requires a learning curve
  • Features like giving are handled by a third-party tool

Price of Fellowship One

Fellowship One doesn’t list pricing and develops contracts based on individual churches. However, they do have a 30-day free trial to test the system.

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://pushpay.com/">6. Pushpay</a>

Pros of Pushpay

  • They offer a wide range of resources and training on their website
  • User-friendly for the congregation to make digital donations

Cons of Pushpay

  • One of the more expensive ChMS options
  • Focus more on giving, so there aren’t as many added features

Price of Pushpay

Pushpay offers three pricing tiers for their ChMS—core, advanced, and complete—based on features. However, the specific pricing for these tiers isn’t listed.

7. Elvanto

Pros of Elvanto

  • Part of the Tithe.ly family of tools
  • Integrates with tools like Mailchimp, Stipe, and PayPal
  • Strong reporting features for church metrics

Cons of Elvanto

  • Difficulty with searching for individual church members
  • Pricing includes a transaction fee for giving
  • The mobile version of the software is more limited and harder to navigate

Price of Elvanto

Elvanto’s ChMS with the giving feature is a flat $50/month plus a one-time $149 setup fee. There is also a 2.9% + $0.30 fee for each donation.

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.flockbase.com/">8. FlockBase</a>

Pros of FlockBase

  • Geared more toward smaller churches
  • Self-hosted option for a one-time cost
  • Offers an online database for customer support issues

Cons of FlockBase

  • Not as robust features because of the focus on affordability
  • Lacking member communication tools

Price of FlockBase

There are two pricing models based on locally-hosted or cloud-based solutions. Cloud prices range from $24 to $59 monthly. The desktop option range from $139 to 269 one-time price.

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.wildapricot.com/">9. WildApricot</a>

Pros of WildApricot

  • WildApricot has a range of features built around their member database
  • Integrates with tools like WordPress, Google Workplace, and Quickbooks

Cons of WildApricot

  • WildApricot is not exclusively built for Christian churches
  • Not as user-friendly
  • Their customer support can be slow to respond

Price of WildApricot

WildApricot’s price depends on the number of database contacts and admins. The cost begins at $60/month for 250 contacts and extends to $350/month for up to 5,000 contacts.

<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://go.churchteams.com/">10. Churchteams</a>

Churchteams is a comprehensive church management tool that has most of what big churches require for effective administration. 

Pros of Churchteams

Churchteams includes:

  • “Text-to-church”–a texting tool
  • Member and group management
  • Online giving
  • Registration tools
  • Child check-in
  • Automated workflows

Cons of Churchteams

Some users of Churchteams report that it’s a bit clunky on the back end. 

Price of Churchteams

Churchteams offers scaled pricing. A church of 2,000 people will pay $107 for their “essentials” plus texting suite. 

Which Church Management System for Big Churches Should You Choose?

When considering which church management system to use, you’ll want to consider features, pricing, usability, and support. 

The best church management system for big churches is a tool that offers everything you need without scaled pricing. You shouldn’t have to pay for your church growth!

Key Takeaways

Key takeaways? Every big church requires a management system. While many software tools offer similar products, not all church management software is created equal. Pricing, user experience, and customer support are key things to consider alongside features. 

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Church Management Software for Big Churches FAQs

Which Software Is Used in Church?

All types of software is used in church–but smart churches will rely on an all-in-one product to meet the majority of their needs.

How Do I Manage My Church Business?

To manage the business aspects of your church, you’ll need accounting tools and payment software.

How Is Technology Used in Church?

Technology is used to run church administration, marketing, and communication. 

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/FAQPage"> <div itemprop="mainEntity" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Question"> <h2 itemprop="name">Which Software Is Used in Church?</h2> <div itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer"> <p itemprop="text">All types of software are used in church–but smart churches will rely on an all-in-one product to meet the majority of their needs. <a href="https://www.breezechms.com/">Visit breezechms.com</a></p> </div> </div> <div itemprop="mainEntity" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Question"> <h2 itemprop="name">How Do I Manage My Church Business?</h2> <div itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer"> <p itemprop="text">To manage the business aspects of your church, you’ll need accounting tools and payment software. <a href="https://www.breezechms.com/">Visit breezechms.com</a></p> </div> </div> <div itemprop="mainEntity" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Question"> <h2 itemprop="name">How Is Technology Used in Church?</h2> <div itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer"> <p itemprop="text">Technology is used to run church administration, marketing, and communication. <a href="https://www.breezechms.com/">Visit breezechms.com</a></p> </div> </div> </div>