Church management programs are designed to streamline processes and enhance group activities in religious institutions. These tools simplify organizing, monitoring, and managing various aspects of community life. However, choosing the right solution for your church can be overwhelming.
Our article explores the best church management software of 2024, its features, and pros & cons to help you choose the best program for your congregation.
Table of Contents
- What Is Church Management Software?
- 20 Best Church Management Software Solutions
- What Are the Key Benefits of Church Management Software?
- What To Consider When Choosing a Church Management Software?
- Common Features of Church Management Software
- ChMS Software Pricing Models
- Conclusion on Church Management Software
- Church Management Software FAQs
What Is Church Management Software?
Church management software consists of specialized digital tools designed for managing various administrative and operational tasks within a church. These programs handle aspects of religious institutions, such as member data, event planning, volunteer coordination, financial tracking, and more.
Church software programs offer features like attendance tracking and reporting tools. The integration they provide allows for a more streamlined approach to managing the different aspects of church life.
Many congregations hire IT services companies to implement these tools so they can improve their internal communications and financial stewardship.
How Does Church Management Software Work?
Church management software works by combining multiple administrative functions into one easy-to-use platform. Users can enter and access data on members, events, and finances through a user-friendly interface. Automated features like email reminders, event scheduling, and donation tracking all help enhance operations and improve efficiency.
Why Does Your Church Need Management Software?
Your church needs management software because it makes administrative tasks much easier while allowing leads to focus on their ministry. With automated processes, your team can manage member information, track donations, and plan events effortlessly.
Small church software is particularly beneficial for congregations with limited resources as it provides cost-effective solutions that enhance productivity and community involvement.
20 Best Church Management Software Solutions
The church management software products listed below stand out in 2024 due to their practicality, extensive functions, and versatility.
- Donorbox
- Wild Apricot
- Churchteams
- Text In Church
- Call-Em-All
- MinistryPlatform
- Continue To Give
- One Church Software
- DONATION
- Chmeetings
- Go Church App
- Breeze
- Aplos
- Church Community Builder
- Nucleus
- Servant Keeper
- Raklet
- Church Windows
- ACS Technologies
- CahabaWorks
1. Donorbox
Donorbox is a powerful fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations around the world. From churches to political organizations, this brand supports all fundraising needs. In total, it caters to more than 35,000 nonprofits across 40+ countries.
Its Text-to-Give feature helps churches grow their online donations via text messaging. Additionally, with its powerful recurring donation system, Donorbox is a perfect fundraising solution for churches to accept donations online.
Top Features
- Text-to-Give
- Quick-Donate to repeat last donations
- Automatic issuance of donation receipts (one-off and year-end receipts)
- Powerful donor management system
- Recurring donations
Pros
- Easy setup and management
- Offers a free plan
- Multi-level donation amounts
- Custom amounts
- Conversion-optimized donation forms and reports
- Email reports
- Payments gateways integrated
- Manual donations
- Easy integration
Cons
- No phone support
- No branded dashboard for donors
- Limited customization features
- Requires different monthly fees for integrations
Price
- Standard - Free
- Pro - $139 per month
- Premium - Customized upon request
2. Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot is a complete membership management system designed to fit the unique needs of your church.
The tool makes it easy to:
- Develop a website
- Receive donations online
- Create a report
- Send emails
- Organize events
- Manage the portal for members
- And more
Thanks to its self-serve design and user-friendly interface, you can customize every aspect of your church management system. If you need help at any step of the way, a support team and community of experts are ready to guide you and share their best practices.
Wild Apricot is available as a web and mobile app for both administrators and members.
Top Features
- Website-building
- Members portal management
- Contacts database
- Content management
- Online donations and payments
- Reports creation
- Email management
- Events registration and planning
Pros
- Provides a single hub for all your marketing needs
- Easy usage
- Convenient subscription management
- Great mobile support
- Offers various pricing plans
Cons
- No specialized, cutting-edge features
- No outreach tools
- Allows a few integrations
Price
- Personal – $60 per month
- Group – $75 per month
- Community – $140 per month
- Professional – $240 per month
- Network – $440 per month
- Enterprise – $530 per month
- Global – $900 per month
3. Churchteams
Users of the Churchteams management system can benefit from features such as check-ins, mass communications, contributions, and more features, all of which are web-based and mobile-friendly.
The software is designed for group memberships. When a new member is added, they are assigned to one or more groups managed by the administrator. These groups can represent any organization within a church, such as Sunday school, ministry team, event volunteer, small group leader, and so on.
The platform is accessible via any device and OS.
Top Features
- Collection of custom member attributes
- Taking of notes
- Prayer requests
- Tracking of assimilation
- Report creation
- Maintenance of profiles
- Allows follow-up with first-time guests
- Group registration
Pros
- Facilitates easy communication
- Customization
- Outstanding customer service
Cons
- Difficult navigation
- Awkward interface
Price
- Starter – starts at $37
- All-Pro – starts at $47
- MVP – starts at $67
4. Text In Church
Text In Church is a church management software designed to automate and alleviate managing tasks to help congregation leaders build relationships with their members. This simple communication tool is highly effective and is very popular, as over 17,000 church leaders are using it.
The web developers of this tool integrated it with third-party services like Mailchimp and Planning Center for seamless communication.
Top Features
- Two-way messaging
- Automated workflows
- Award-winning customer service
- Smart Connect Cards
- Easy-to-use templates
Pros
- Includes free unlimited emails
- Integration with Church Community Builder and Planning Center
- Automated workflows
Cons
- Limited analytics package
- No live polling
- No voice messaging
- Text credits expire and do not carry over the next month
Price
Text in Church comes with a 14-day free trial period and three distinct pricing plans — with an optional, customizable larger plan for organizations that need it.
- Basic Monthly – $37 per month
- Pro Monthly – $67 per month
- Premium Monthly – $97 per month
5. Text-Em-All
Call-Em-All is a platform that provides highly personalized mass messaging fit for a variety of organizations. It is primarily oriented towards group communication services.
With this tool, church organizations can quickly reach large groups of members and get timely results and analytics to measure their message's success.
Top Features
- Automatic detection of mobile numbers
- Scheduling messages in advance
- Replies management
- Templates and personalized texts
- Voicemails and recorded messages
- Message scheduling
Pros
- Easy-to-use
- Convenient way of reaching patrons
- Fast notification
- Budget-friendly price point
Cons
- Limited features
Price
Call-Em-All comes in two pricing packages, both with no hidden fees: Pay-as-you-go or a monthly subscription.
- Starter – Free
- Credits – ¢5 per credit
- Monthly – $10 per month
6. MinistryPlatform
MinistryPlatform weaves together church data to craft a detailed and accurate story of your community. This powerful insight lets you make informed decisions while nurturing meaningful connections.
By understanding who your people are and what they need, you can guide them on their journey toward Christlikeness.
The following are the main features MinistryPlatform provides:
- A powerful, view engine that gives you the ability to slice and dice data in real-time. And then the results are actionable.
- Integrations with other solutions and are constantly working to introduce new ones to continually expand the power they bring as the center of the church software ecosystem
- An unprecedented API that allows for unlimited customization and scalability
You can track engagement, automate ministry processes, create your own charts & dashboards, and your data is never commingled with data from other churches.
Overall, MinistryPlatform is customizable and compatible while providing users with everything they need from a modern ChMS.
Top Features
- A powerful view engine for slicing and dicing data in real time
- Actionable results
- Integrations with other solutions
- An unprecedented API for unlimited customization and scalability
Pros
- Scalability and customization
- Great customer support
- Allows numerous integrations
- Helpful community
Cons
- No flexible payment plans
- Usage can be overwhelming
Price
- Inquire for pricing
7. Continue To Give
Continue To Give is a church and non-profit software that allows people to make donations easily and quickly. It offers several options for donating money, including:
- Text giving
- Kiosk giving
- App giving
- Peer-to-peer fundraising
- Website donation forms
- Virtual Terminal
- Facebook Giving
Continue To Give offers a complete donor and church management system that allows you to better manage your community and efficiently run your processes. Its customizable dashboard also makes it easy to tailor to your specific needs.
This church management software also streamlines communication through:
- Sending emails and text messages
- Printing mail
- Sending contribution statements
Moreover, Continue To Give has partnered with Visa to help donors enjoy lower transaction rates.
Top Features
- Tracking events and tickets
- Task management
- Child check-in
- Group sign-up
- Generating reports
Pros
- Intuitive interface
- User-friendly
- Excellent customer support
- Packed with valuable features
Cons
- Limited integrations
Price
- Gold (online giving) – $29 per month
- Advanced ChMS – starts at $40 per month
- Fund Accounting – $29 per month
8. One Church Software
One Church Software has all the features you need to run your organization efficiently. It is suitable for businesses of all sizes and helps ministries manage their day-to-day operations including events and donations easily.
One Church Software comes with a security system that will keep your data safe. It also generates meaningful reports to get an insight into different data that allows you to make smarter decisions.
Top Features
- Setting up a member portal
- Managing users
- Safe and secure kids check-in system
- Managing events and collecting registration fees
- Automating various processes like emails and SMS
- Secure giving
Pros
- Easy to understand and use
- Good, intuitive UI/UX design
- Timely client support
- Ability to set up automation
Cons
- No voice messaging option
- No pre-set user permissions
- No template services
Price
This tool has a free edition and offers two paid plans with varying features.
- Core – starts at $58 per month
- Core+ - starts at $82 per month
9. DONATION
Software4NonProfits' DONATION software can help church administrators, bookkeepers, treasurers, and financial secretaries track donors, keep records of donations to the church, and issue charitable receipts. Moreover, it is very easy to use and has reporting and mail-merging functionalities.
Over 7,000 registered users from organizations around the world currently use this software. It is most suitable for small and mid-sized organizations.
Top Features
- Tracking donations
- Managing donors
- Tracking giving, offerings, and contributions
- Sending mail correspondence
Pros
- Straightforward and user-friendly
- Good pricing
- Superb customer support
- Generous licensing
- Easy report generation and customization
Cons
- Limited only to tracking donations
Price
- Standard – $129 per year
- On-demand – $199 per year
10. Chmeetings
This professional church management system organizes members and events and communicates and follows up with the congregation. Chmeetings has a desktop program and app versions for iOS and Android.
Chmeetings has won the Rising Star and Premium Usability awards from Finances Online and was the top-rated Church Management Software by Softwareworld.
Top Features
- Group text messaging
- Professional support
- Cloud-hosting
- Data importing
- Daily backup
- Unlimited accounts
- Omni-channel access
Pros
- Swift client support
- Software flexibility
- Offer certain functionalities for free
- Practical and affordable
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Lack of documentation
- Lack of integrations
- Notes are viewable for other users
Price
- Free account
- V. Small account – $12 per month
- Small account – $25 per month
- Medium account – $40 per month
- Large account – $50 per month
- Unlimited account – $60 per month
- Diocese account – custom pricing
11. Go Church App
Go Church App allows its users to connect with their congregation and establish smooth communication from anywhere and at any time. It is a great solution for small to mid-sized churches since it makes it possible for them to create their own app from scratch and customize it based on their needs.
What's great about this software is that it has built-in analytics that allows you to track the total downloads in both iOS and Android app stores, see how much time people spend in your app, and which features are the most popular.
Top Features
- Sending push notifications to users and groups
- Adding events
- Inserting links to online giving portals
- Directing users to websites and other platforms
- Sharing videos and integrating them with YouTube
- Creating different forms and sending emails to other users
- Uploading PDF files
Pros
- Fully customizable
- Accessibility
- Allows many integrations
- User-friendly interface
- Responsive support team
Cons
- No comprehensive list of features
- Expensive to set up
- No lock feature
Price
This software offers one pricing plan and a one-time basic setup fee.
- $57 with a $997 one-time full setup fee
- $57 with a $397 one-time basic setup fee
12. Breeze
Breeze is a web-based church management platform ideal for small and mid-sized congregations. Its most impactful feature is the interactive interface with quick access to member details, and its ability to communicate with members and track donations.
Fully customizable, Breeze allows users to update custom fields and import data. It also has a useful event management module used to track attendance and print name tags for events.
Top Features
- Know your congregation and connect its members
- Create lists and groups
- Manage events and meetings
- Provide check-ins for kids
- Integrate payrolls
- Create email templates and prepare thank you letters
- Create budget reports
Pros
- Easy to learn
- Accessible support
- Functional database
- Organized
- Optimized cash flow visibility
Cons
- Absence of social media management
- Does not integrate with some fundraising software
Price
- Breeze Plan – $72 per month
13. Aplos
Aplos is a church management software known for its functional automation and comprehensive donation system, including donation tracking and tools for increased giving.
Donations and bookkeeping are all kept on a single platform, making accounting very easy to do. Aplos also features built-in fundraising tools, a straightforward automated workflow setup, and insights into donor behavior.
Aplos comes with a free trial and can be bought at a very affordable price that comes with all of the functionalities, such as people database, website builder, reporting, and analytics.
Top Features
- Track designated funds
- Generate financial statements
- View in-depth details from reports
- Import transactions from banks
- Receive online payments
- Print checks
Pros
- Intuitive interface
- Adds members and shares information easily
- Robust cloud-based architecture
- Numerous integrations
Cons
- Lack of mass communication process
Price
- Lite – $59.25 per month
- Core – $74.25 per month
- Advanced – available upon request
14. Church Community Builder
Church Community Builder is a cloud-based church management solution whose key function is to facilitate engagement with church community members.
It has built-in user support via phone and email, as well as an online knowledge base. Admins can access Church Community Builder’s systems remotely. User reviews are praising its ease of use and ability to organize info into a searchable database that is simple to update.
Church Community Builder also has data migration and on-site training capacities, as well as programs for managing service plans, song libraries, and serving rotations.
The product comes with three different pricing ranges, and each of the packages is equipped with a varying set of functionalities.
Top Features
- Creating a website with a neatly organized sermon
- Archiving of messages
- Creating custom playlists for sermons
- Attachment of downloadable resources to every message
- Creation of podcast feed
- Drag & drop editor
- Form building
Pros
- Vast customization and website-building options
- Drag-and-drop editor functionality
- SEO control
- App integrations
- Powerful search bar
Cons
- Can be expensive
Price
- Inquire for pricing
15. Nucleus
Nucleus is a website-builder and a cloud-based platform for the growth of churches’ congregations. It creates a central hub website that is used by members for online signups and a clear path for guests to plan their visits with an effective follow-up plan.
The platform has a free trial and online support available during business hours.
Top Features
- Organize messages by date, topic, and speaker
- Create custom playlists from scratch
- In-app invites for prayer requests
- Initiate follow-up from prayers
Pros
- Reliability
- Easy to use
- Customization to meet user requirements
- Regular updates and innovations
Cons
- No automated reporting
Price
- Standard – $49.99 per month
- Unlimited – $99.99 per month
16. Servant Keeper
This church management system allows administrators to search for specific skills among their congregations. Using this software, admins can easily communicate with their congregation via direct messaging.
This tool manages the business operations of religious organizations daily, weekly, or monthly. It does so by storing members’ info and data and allowing multiple levels of customization to meet every church community’s specific needs.
Servant Keeper lets you streamline many features from a standard church management platform, from simple attendance to pledging. It runs natively on Mac OS systems and has a version compatible with Windows.
Top Features
- Easily manage donors and contributions
- Unlimited people and data management
- Detailed attendance tracking
- Child check-in system
Pros
- Swift customer service
- User-friendly
- Helpful administration tool
- Membership status integration
Cons
- Does not allow the sending of notifications to members
Price
- Good – $64.99 per month
- Better – $129.99 per month
- Best – $269.99 per month
17. Raklet
Raklet is an all-in-one platform that focuses on engaging with members, volunteers, and donors and organizing their activities to facilitate the growth of churches and their congregations.
With a user-friendly interface, Raklet makes it easy to customize the entire platform, including branding to match the signature colors of the church's community.
The platform comes with a free trial and several pricing tiers.
Top Features
- Configure and automate church newsletters
- Setup online fundraising campaigns
- Customize and store important data
- Create custom profiles
- Leverage branded apps
Pros
- Easy navigation
- Affordable
- Reliable support
Cons
- Complex database structure
- Intermittently loses connectivity
Price
- Essentials – $49 per month
- Professional – $99 per month
- Premium – $399 per month
- Enterprise – Inquire
18. Church Windows
Church Windows helps administrators manage their day-to-day tasks and interact with church followers. It also provides technical support via online videos, webinars, and training sessions.
The software includes a scheduler, donations, accounting, and payroll module, all accessible to registered church administrators and software users.
Admins can view and track individual and household records, take interaction notes from members, and generate reports on visitation and attendance.
Church Windows operates on Windows OS mainly, although there is also a browser-only version. The software is offered in four packages with different pricing levels, each equipped with distinct capabilities.
Top Features
- Quickly access in-depth membership details
- Easily manage church resources and calendar
- Keep track of congregation donations and pledges
- Web and desktop versions are available
Pros
- Generates reports easily
- Outstanding tech support
- Great database functionality
Cons
- Customized reports cannot be exported directly
- Complexity
- Limited features
Price
- Available upon request
19. ACS Technologies
ACS Technologies is suitable for congregations of any size. It gathers member information, equips admins with communication tools, and provides engagement scores and mobile check-ins to track attendance and payment processing.
Depending on the features included, the software can be bought for a fixed price or monthly fee.
Top Features
- Built-in accounting
- Member portal
- Online giving
- Small group management
- Child Check-in
- Attendance tracking
- Multi-site management
- Pledge management
Pros
- Attentive tech support
- Easy funds management
- Speedy
- Rich documentation
- Good accounting and banking section
- Customizable
Cons
- Challenging setup
- Poor search functionality
- Difficult navigation
- Confusing budget structure
Price
- Inquire
20. CahabaWorks
CahabaWorks church management software provides integrated, professional management of members, contributions, and fund accounting. Its primary purpose is the church’s money management.
It also offers in-person, live online, and documentation training options, and is compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms.
Top Features
- Record bank account transactions
- Access to detailed payroll reports
- Leverage Minister IRS rules
- Keep track of member contributions
Pros
- All documentation available online
- Platforms receive regular updates
- Extensive church management features
- Helpful tech support
Cons
- Email support option can be blocked by a firewall
- Poor software interface
- Website needs improvement
Price
- Standard – $325 per license
- Gold – $625 per license
- Premier – $1,500 per license
What Are the Key Benefits of Church Management Software?
The goal of every church management software is to streamline administration and management and alleviate staff workloads to enhance the efficiency of church operations.
Religious organizations and institutions can gain numerous advantages from these platforms, including:
- Streamlined administration: Church management software simplifies tasks such as member tracking, event scheduling, and communication. These features help save time and reduce administrative burdens.
- Enhanced communication: Tools like email and text messaging enable efficient and effective communication with congregation members. Church management apps ensure everyone stays informed and connected.
- Improved financial management: Such software allows for accurate tracking of donations, expenses, and budgets. These capabilities provide the essential transparency and accountability needed, particularly when handling church finances.
- Volunteer coordination: Managing volunteer schedules, roles, and availability becomes seamless when using the right church management software. They help ensure all church activities run smoothly no matter what event is scheduled.
- Data security: Sensitive information about members, finances, and operations is protected with robust security features. The whole congregation will have peace of mind knowing their software is compliant with privacy regulations.
What To Consider When Choosing a Church Management Software?
Every organization has unique pain points, meaning not every software solution will address them. To make an informed decision and choose the best church management software that fits your congregation’s needs, consider:
- The features and services it offers: Certain features can help you reach your goals faster. Do your research and gather comprehensive insights about each product through third-party reviews, case studies, and instructional videos.
- Additional setup, support, and transactional costs: Be wary of extra expenses and fees that may accompany the base price of a product; Always read the “fine print”. Ensure the provider clearly outlines these details.
- Its security: The security and safety of your institution’s member data is paramount. Check for the security certifications and independent testing results of the product’s safety measures.
- User-friendliness: Assess whether staff and users of different age groups and education levels can easily navigate and operate its features.
Common Features of Church Management Software
Subscribing to ChMS is a critical decision for any congregation. To choose the right one, familiarize yourself with the most common and ideal features a church software should have:
1. Membership Management
Membership management is an essential feature of any ChMS. It should be able to track the following:
- Basic contact details
- Demographics
- Family structures
- Volunteer management
- Staff scheduling
- New members and first-time guests' management
- Mass messaging
- Access to specific system areas depending on a user’s needs
2. Guest Follow-Up Automation
This allows church leaders to set up a sequence or workflow of actions to send texts, emails, and assignments automatically to their staff members.
3. Events and Attendance Tracking
Your choice of ChMS should allow you to add events and church services to a chart or calendar where every member can view the next events. Inputting person-by-person attendance should also be available as it is a significant metric.
Tracking should include these features:
- Online check-in
- Identifying church member trends
- Record and report attendance
4. SMS and Email
Communication is another key to seamless church management. It should be convenient to send and receive text messages and emails through your church management software.
5. Online Giving and Donation Management
As more people opt for cashless transactions, digital giving is becoming increasingly popular and important. Through online giving, church members can automate their donations and even set up recurring contributions.
6. Communications and Outreach
A ChMS should enable your church members to better reach, connect, and meet the needs of the community. The following features are crucial for building connections:
- Creating and updating profiles while linking them to family information
- Maintaining a record of member activity status (active or inactive)
- Recording areas of interest and previous ministry members served
- Providing access to an online directory
- Registration to events
- Grouping individuals into teams or committees
- Adding personal notes to track needs and progress
ChMS Software Pricing Models
Here are the most common subscription-based pricing structures of church management software:
- Free Trial – A free trial provides a quick view and actual feel of the product without the fees. These typically last for seven or 30 days.
- Flat Rate - Flat rate pricing may be the simplest payment structure requiring a single payment to access the product with all its features. This mostly applies to all-in-one church management software.
- Tiered - Tiered pricing offers multiple package choices. These packages have varying combinations of functionalities. Pricing may depend on the number of users allowed, feature inclusions, perks, incentives, and storage, among other factors.
- Custom-Quote Pricing - This allows flexibility in choosing the features an organization wants to be included in the package. It could be pricier, but it is specifically tailored to fit the needs of your congregation best.
Conclusion on Church Management Software
Not all ChMS are created equal. For small and mid-sized churches, software with tiered packages may work just fine. However, larger churches may need a quote for customized enterprise plans. When picking the right one for your organization, it is crucial to assess both your current and future needs and requirements. This ensures your chosen software can effectively support your long-term goals,
Managing operations in religious organizations can be complex and overwhelming. Employing an easy-to-use ChMS can alleviate the workload of your staff and members, ensuring smooth operations and peace of mind.
Church Management Software FAQs
1. What is church management software best for?
ChMS is best used for administering the following tasks of religious organizations:
- Membership
- Fundraising and donation tracking
- Events organization
- Financial reporting
- Communication within the community
2. Who uses church management software?
Church management software is used by churches, congregations, and other religious groups that want to streamline their operations.
