Every church needs a church management software program, especially large churches of 1,000 members or more! Keep reading to learn about our top 10 recommendations for the best church management software for big churches.
Church management software for big churches is typically a set of tools that helps church leaders to manage large congregations and different ministries. These tools can include donation management tools, communication tools, volunteer management, worship service planning, and more.
Big churches need software to stay organized and efficient. Managing large congregations, volunteer forces, and ministries requires automated processes and workflows, data storage, and easy-to-use technology.
Church management systems for big churches use automation, unlimited data storage, and user-friendly technology (like text-to-give donation tools) to engage with staff, volunteers, and church members.
A ChMS for big churches should include:
If your ChMS includes free data migration and awesome support, even better!
To choose the best software for big churches, we looked at the standard feature set of each software tool, user experience, pricing, and any potential drawbacks of using the tool.
<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>
Breeze ChMS is an easy-to-use church management system that offers large churches a range of tools for managing their congregations and staff. It also happens to be super affordable!
Breeze ChMS includes everything large churches need for effective management, including:
In short, Breeze includes everything you need to run a large church, but in a way that’s simple and user intuitive. They also offer excellent support and free data migration.
One customer says, “It is very intuitive to use, easy to customize, and an incredibly good value for the cost…Breeze is one low price, comes with friendly customer service, and works really well.”
BreezeChMS doesn’t have any clear drawbacks, unless you’re looking for a church management system that’s overly complicated.
Breeze is only $72 a month–and doesn’t scale up in pricing as your church grows!
Tithely offers a range of tools for churches, one of which is a ChMS tool that can be used for large churches.
Tithely includes the following features for large church management:
Tithely also provides great customer support, as well as tools for building a church app and website.
Tithely doesn’t have any clear cons. Most of its systems are connected to its online giving platform, so churches that are already satisfied with their giving tools may want to look elsewhere (note that Tithely’s giving platform is absolutely free to use!)
Tithely costs $119 a month for everything–no scaling up in price as your church grows.
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.wildapricot.com/">3. WildApricot</a>
WildApricot is a tool that’s designed for organizational management in general–not just churches! But in theory, it can be used for large churches.
WildApricot includes some of the features that may be needed by large churches, including:
Note that WildApricot doesn’t include church-specific tools that may be key for ministry leaders.
WildApricot isn’t tailored to churches, meaning that it may not have the specific tools that churches need for the unique tasks of ministry (donation management, volunteer management, and more). It’s also fairly expensive.
WildApricot costs $110 a month for 500 members, and $190 a month for 2,000 members. Pricing scales up from there.
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.fellowshipone.com/">4. Fellowship One</a>
Fellowship One is a church management software that includes many of the critical tools needed by large churches.
Fellowship One includes features such as:
Finally, FellowshipOne is considered “fairly intuitive” by users.
Fellowship One is fairly expensive to use (see below).
Fellowship One costs $169 a month.
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://pushpay.com/">5. Pushpay</a>
Pushpay is a church payment/donation system that also offers church management tools.
Pushpay includes some of the management tools needed by large churches, such as:
Pushpay also has the advantage of being widely used by churches. But is it worth the price point?
One of the most significant cons of Pushpay is the price (see below). Even for large churches, this platform is quite expensive.
Pushpay requires a minimum fee of $199 a month…and that can scale up to thousands of dollars if your church is on the larger side!
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.shelbysystems.com/">6. Pushpay</a>
Shelby Systems is a church management system that large churches can use for tasks such as member management, group management, and calendar management.
Shelby Systems has most of what large churches need to succeed. This includes features such as:
Finally, Shelby Systems has a tool for running background checks and worship planning tools.
Shelby Systems scales up in pricing as your church grows. That means for large churches, this may not be the best choice.
For a church of 800 people, Shelby Systems costs $136 a month. If your church has over 999 people, you’ll need to contact them for custom pricing.
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://servantkeeper.com/">7. Servant Keeper</a>
Servant Keeper is a church management software that includes many of the features needed by big churches.
Servant Keeper includes:
Users of Servant Keeper also say that it is “relatively user friendly.”
Though Servant Keeper promises a seamless transition from your former tool, one user reports that the “White glove transfer wasn’t as seamless as promised.” It’s also a bit on the pricey side.
For large churches, Servant Keeper costs $99.99 per month.
Elvanto is a church management system that’s tailored to large churches that may need more advanced features.
Elvanto has advanced functionality that’s great for large churches. Elvanto’s features include:
Elvanto is user-friendly. One customer says, “I like how intuitive it is and how easy it is to figure out.”
Some users report issues with its phone app and check-in printing.
Elvanto costs $72 per month to use all of its features.
<a class="listicle-link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://faithteams.com/">9. Faith Teams</a>
Faith Teams is a church management tool that can be used by big churches for tasks such as online giving, volunteer scheduling, and more.
Faith Teams has features such as:
In short, Faith Teams is a comprehensive platform with most everything large churches need to succeed at administration.
Faith Teams may not be the most user-friendly tool available. One customer reported that “There is a bit of a learning curve” to using the program.
Faith Teams costs $40 a month.
<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.
Churchteams includes:
Some users of Churchteams report that it’s a bit clunky on the back end.
Churchteams offers scaled pricing. A church of 2,000 people will pay $107 for their “essentials” plus texting suite.
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!
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.
To manage the business aspects of your church, you’ll need accounting tools and payment software.
Technology is used to run church administration, marketing, and communication.