The real numbers, including the ones we lose on.
Every figure on this page was read off the vendor's own pricing page on 30 September 2026, with a link so you can check it yourself. We do not tell you what other church software cannot do — their feature lists change and your opinion is the only one that counts. We tell you how each one charges, and then we show you the case where paying them is cheaper than paying us.
One church, costed both ways.
250 on a Sunday. About 50 people on the serving rota, 75 kids through check-in on a busy week, 200 gifts a month, 200 people in groups. Nothing unusual, nothing cherry-picked.
Planning Center, product by product
At the tier this church's usage puts it in.
| PeopleDirectory and reporting | Free |
|---|---|
| Services50 team members | $32/mo |
| Check-Ins75 check-ins on your busiest day | $32/mo |
| Giving200 donations a month | $32/mo |
| Groups200 group members | $32/mo |
| TotalCalendar, Registrations and Publishing are separate products on top of this. | $128/mo |
Steeple, all of it
Growth plan. Same church, every module on.
- Nothing to add on, nothing to switch off
- 2,000 text messages a month included
- Unlimited staff and volunteer logins
- Monthly. No contract, no setup fee
Difference on the subscription
$79/mo
$948 a year. Now read the next section, because there is a case where that saving disappears.
On card fees, two of them beat us.
Steeple does not process your gifts. Your church connects its own Stripe account, Stripe bills you directly, and we take no share. That is the right arrangement for owning your money — and it means you pay Stripe's standard published rate, while the big platforms have negotiated a lower card rate and pass it on.
The gap is 0.75% of card giving against Planning Center. For the church above, the $79 a month we save on subscription is wiped out at roughly $10,500 a month in card gifts. Below that, we are cheaper overall. Above it, on standard Stripe rates, Planning Center is — and no salesperson of ours should tell you otherwise.
| Who processes the gift | Card | Bank transfer / ACH | Merchant account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steeple, on your own Stripe account | 2.9% + 30¢ standard | 0.8%, capped at $5 | Your account, your name |
| Planning Center | 2.15% + 30¢ | 30¢ flat | Theirs, paid out to you |
| Subsplash | 2.3% + 30¢ | 1% | Theirs, paid out to you |
| Tithely | 2.9% + 30¢ | 1% + 30¢ | Theirs, paid out to you |
What we do about it
- We help you apply for Stripe's nonprofit discount in week one. Stripe offers eligible 501(c)(3) organisations a reduced rate if at least 80% of your Stripe volume is tax-deductible giving. Stripe does not publish the discounted rate, so ask them for it in writing — here is what they need from you.
- We push bank transfer for large and recurring gifts. ACH is far cheaper than card at every vendor on this page. Moving your ten biggest monthly givers off card usually saves more than any subscription difference.
- If the numbers say stay put, we will tell you. A church with heavy card volume and a platform it already knows may be better off where it is. We would rather say that than collect two months of subscription.
How each one charges.
The shape of the bill matters more than the headline price, because it decides what happens as you grow.
Planning Center
Their pagePriced per product. Each one you switch on climbs its own usage ladder.
- People (the directory) is free
- Services, Giving, Check-Ins and Groups each run Free / $15 / $32 / $69 / $115 / $179 / $239 a month
- The tier is set by usage: team members, check-ins on your busiest day, donations a month, group members
- Calendar, Registrations and Publishing are separate products on top
- Card
- 2.15% + 30¢
- ACH
- 30¢ flat
Published. Add up the products you need at the tier your church actually uses.
Breeze
Their pageOne flat monthly price, unlimited contacts.
- $72 a month for church management, giving included
- $119 a month bundled with worship tools, a church app and a website
- No setup fee, no contract
- Card
- Not published
- ACH
- Not published
Subscription is published. Processing fees are not on the pricing page — ask before you sign.
Tithely
Their pageFree giving, then a monthly price per product or a bundle.
- Giving $0 a month
- Church management $72 a month
- Mobile app $89 a month
- Website $19 a month
- All Access bundle $119 a month
- Card
- 2.9% + 30¢
- ACH
- 1% + 30¢
Published, including fees. Amex is 3.5% + 30¢.
Subsplash
Their pageGiving has a public price. The platform packages are quoted per church.
- Giving $0 a month
- Subsplash One: “pricing based on church size and usage”
- Enterprise: not published
- Card
- 2.3% + 30¢
- ACH
- 1%
Book a demo or call sales. There is no number to compare until someone quotes you.
Read on each vendor's own pricing page on 30 September 2026. Prices change — check the links before you decide anything.
Every module, on the free plan too.
There is no add-on list and no tier that unlocks a feature. Plans differ by how many people are in your directory and how much you text, and nothing else. What we do not cover, we say plainly on the scope page.
- People
- Giving
- Groups
- Services & Scheduling
- Production
- Check-in
- Events & Facilities
- Messaging
- Staff & HR
- Forms, Prayer & Follow-up
- Reports
Six questions. Ask us too.
Take these to every vendor on your shortlist, us included, and write the answers down. The differences that matter show up here, not in a feature grid.
- 1
If we leave, what exactly can we take with us, and in what format?
Ask for the export before you sign, not after. Giving history is the one you cannot rebuild.
- 2
Whose name is the payment account in?
If the merchant account is the vendor's, your donations route through them and stop when the relationship does.
- 3
What is the price at our size, with everything we actually need switched on?
Per-product pricing looks cheap at the entry tier. Cost the tier you will be in next year.
- 4
Is there a contract, a setup fee, or a minimum term?
Monthly and cancel-anytime is a real difference from an annual commitment with onboarding fees.
- 5
Who pays for text messages, and what happens when we go over?
Texting is the line item that surprises churches. Ask whether it is metered, capped, or billed per message.
- 6
What does support actually mean — a person, a queue, or a help article?
Ask for the response time in writing and the name of who answers on a Sunday.
Our answers are public: export on the security page, money, contracts and texting on the pricing page, and support on getting started. If an answer you need is missing, write to us and we will publish it rather than answer you privately.
Compare it against what you pay now.
Create your church free, put one Sunday through it, and hold the bill up next to your current one. No card, no call, no contract.