Your church is likely more tech-savvy than it's ever been before.
We're now post-pandemic and church leaders all over the world have adopted tech tools at lightning speed to keep their congregations engaged. They've live-streamed Sunday services, mastered project management tools for remote teams, and last–but not least–adopted tools for receiving online donations.
While most churches have platforms for online giving in 2024, not all of them are using platforms that are optimal for church giving programs. The best online giving options for churches are cost-effective, robust, and simple to use.
In the following article, we'll take a look at solutions for churches that provide options for an online giving program alongside powerful features for church management, marketing, and more.
Online giving platforms for churches are tools that allow users to make one-time and recurring gifts to churches through a digital option. That can include giving on a church app, a church website, or via text message. Typically, donors can give in a variety of ways, including with a credit or debit card, with check scanning, or even cryptocurrency.
For two thousand years, the collection plate has worked for most churches. Why do we need to shift digital donations now?
The reality is, your church members are likely more accustomed to performing transactions online than they are to writing a check. More than a quarter of everyone on the planet makes online purchases, and one-third of Gen Z-ers have never written a check. Your church members appreciate the convenience of being able to open an app, click a couple buttons, and give.
Most importantly, receiving online church donations can actually increase giving. When giving is fast and easy, your church members are likely to give more, and give more often.
Receiving church donations online can make donors more likely to give! Online tithes and offerings can be given in a matter of seconds, and can even be automated with recurring giving. Generosity becomes automatic…and consistent.
There's a wide range of online church giving software available. Here are key features to look for when making a choice for your church.
Church staff know that running a church is hectic. The last thing you need is a complicated, time-consuming setup for your church donation software. Your church donation software should be simple and intuitive to get running, and include low startup fees.
One of the concerns of tithing for churches online are the fees. Your church donation software should have low processing fees for both donors and recipients.
Branded donation forms are a great way to keep the voice and tone of your church consistent. They can also create a more trustworthy experience for donors who want to know exactly where their money is going (your church!)
Any giving solution for churches should provide multiple payment options so that donors can use the payment method of their choice–whether that's with a credit card, debit card, or even writing and scanning checks to church.
One of the greatest benefits of online tithing is that it allows donors to set up recurring gifts via automatic bank withdrawals or credit card charges. This allows donors to make regular giving simple and automatic.
Using a third-party payment processor typically requires a small fee. Providing the option for the donor to cover the fee–so that your church can receive the gift in full–is a great way to help donors ensure a full donation.
The most important part of giving is relationship. Your church donation platform should include features for investing in and communicating with your donors, such as a Messaging tool.
Donors want to keep track of their giving history. An online giving solution that generates automated receipts helps keep your donors organized.
In 2024, your church may be using a whole suite of software tools. An online platform with third-party integrations can create a more seamless experience for your church.
When it comes to giving, security is key! Your donors want to know that their payment and contact information is safe and protected. Look for a tool that protects your donors.
To choose a good online giving platform for your church, evaluate your current and future needs, and consider your budget (and cost savings from using the platform).
To evaluate the best online giving platforms for churches, we considered six factors: usability and experience, features, benefits, pricing, and general pros and cons. Our goal? Find platforms that were user-friendly, cost-effective, and most of all, useful for your church.
The top 10 best online giving platforms ranked well in the categories described above, but not all are created equal. When doing a comparison of online church giving platforms, you’ll find that some are full-range solutions, while others offer a more limited range of features. Below, we review 10 types of church management software that provide giving tools…as well as reveal the best church donation app.
Users of Tithe.ly love the sleek interface, which is easy to learn and navigate. Tithe.ly's comprehensive suite of tools and features make for an excellent overall experience, as users are able to toggle from one feature to the next.
Tithe.ly offers features for receiving online donations, financial reporting, building a church website and app, marketing tools for generating awesome media, and a whole range of administrative tools for planning services, organizing and managing contacts, project management for church staff, accounting, and reporting.
Tithe.ly doesn't just help you boost giving with a secure platform; it helps you create an entire online presence with easy-to-use marketing tools for your website and church app. It also makes planning and communications a breeze.
Tithe.ly Giving is absolutely free–making it a great choice for cash-strapped small churches. If you want to upgrade to additional tools, the cost of Tithe.ly increases incrementally. You can use the entire suite of tools (including accounting, marketing, and website/app building for only $119 a month).
Tithe.ly is a cost-effective way to manage your entire digital presence as a church, from outbound communications to internal project management. It also comes with minimal setup fees and add-on costs, making it a solid choice from a pricing standpoint. As far as church management software goes, it's the most comprehensive tool available.
By using Tithe.ly, you may lose the need for all your existing software tools and products!
Donorbox ranks high in terms of ease of use and user experience.
Donorbox is primarily a donation platform, providing organizations a donation button. It does not have features for marketing, communications, planning, or management.
Donorbox is effective as a digital donation tool for a range of organizations.
Donorbox offers a freemium version, but charges for integrations and text to give features ($17-$50 per month).
Donorbox offers a popular option for covering transaction fees, and has not startup fees.
Donorbox isn't a church software.
Paypal is easy to use, and offers a fairly intuitive user experience.
PayPal is primarily an online giving solution. It's not tailored to churches, meaning that it doesn't have features for church management, communications, or marketing.
PayPal is comprehensive as a payment platform. It integrates nicely with credit card companies, provides an easy bank transfer/automatic bank deposit option, and provides cutting edge technology for online givers.
PayPal is free to use. A PayPal Pro account costs $30 per month. That makes it an affordable giving solution for churches that need help with online giving.
PayPal's 23-year track record means that it's been vetted and tested by millions of users. It also comes with enterprise-grade security (to be fair, this level of security is standard for most donation platforms).
PayPal is not ideal for creating a Biblical stewardship strategy. It doesn't offer tools for donor development, and it has no additional features for churches looking for more effective planning and marketing.
Users of Continue to Give report that it's easy to use, but challenging to learn.
Continue to Give provides tools for online giving, accounting, sending newsletters, and texting, as well as a church CRM.
This simple solution is specifically tailored to churches, missionaries, and non-profits.
Continue to Give offers a freemium version (best for smaller churches), or an upgraded version for the monthly subscription fee of $29 a month.
PayPal's 23-year track record means that it's been vetted and tested by millions of users. It also comes with enterprise-grade security (to be fair, this level of security is standard for most donation platforms).
PayPal is not ideal for creating a Biblical stewardship strategy. It doesn't offer tools for donor development, and it has no additional features for churches looking for more effective planning and marketing.
RebelGive provides a simple, seamless giving experience for users (and an easy experience for admin users).
RebelGive is primarily a church donation platform. It is not a church management system or comprehensive platform for churches, and does not include tools for event planning, marketing, or even text giving.
RebelGive's core value proposition is that it does not charge transaction fees. That can help churches retain more cash from donations.
RebelGive includes both monthly plans ($29-$199) and annual plans ($290-$1990).
RebelGive can help churches preserve more cash from online transactions. It has by far the lowest transaction fees out of any tool (because it's free).
Without comprehensive tools for donor management or marketing, RebelGive doesn't help churches develop a strong giving strategy (or reduce administrative time). Pricing also increases significantly for larger churches.
Some users of Subsplash report that the user interface is difficult to learn and understand.
Some users of Subsplash report that the user interface is difficult to learn and understand.
Subsplash is a more comprehensive tool than many church management tools. For example, it offers an app for churches, a church website, child check-in, and more
Subsplash does have a freemium version, but does not have transparent pricing on their website. Some users report that it's a pricier option.
Subsplash is a popular option for churches looking for an entire suite of tools to help them with church communications, live streaming church, running a website, and more.
Many users report that Subsplash has very poor customer support.
Pushpay offers a simple, intuitive user experience.
Pushpay was originally an easy, simple-to-understand replacement for the offering plate. It has now acquired Church Community Builder, and expanded to include a larger suite of features for church engagement and management.
Pushpay helps churches to make a positive impact on giving, and is essentially an all-in-one church management solution.
Pushpay is more expensive, making it less than ideal for price-conscious churches. It starts at $149 a month.
Pushpay has been used by thousands of churches for 10+ years.
Pushpay is expensive.
As its name suggests, EasyTithe is simple to learn and use.
EasyTithe is primarily a platform for receiving online donations. It also includes admin reporting tools for gaining insight into your giving, and even an event registration tool and a mobile app.
EasyTithe is an effective all-in-one church fundraising solution.
EasyTithe has a limited-time offer freemium version. It also has a $49/month version for small- and mid-sized churches, or a $69/month version for larger churches.
EasyTithe is simple to use, and offers great customer support.
EasyTithe doesn't offer some tools for church marketing and management, including a website builder or tool for service planning.
Givelify makes it very simple for church members to donate. Users also report that it offers an easy, simple experience for admin.
Givelify is essentially a giving app. It provides tools for donors to give, and for admin to track fundraising efforts and generate contribution statements.
Givelify makes it convenient for church members to give, and even increases the likelihood of generosity.
Givelify is free to use, but does charge transaction fees (like the majority of giving platforms).
Givelify can increase donations for churches, and make fundraising campaigns more effective by giving potential donors mobile access.
Givelify doesn't offer tools outside of a basic donation app.
SecureGive is simple to use and manage.
SecureGive is essentially a giving app that allows admin users can customize and design their own donation app. However, it also includes in-depth resources for helping churches to develop fundraising and generosity strategies.
SecureGive is essentially a giving app that allows admin users can customize and design their own donation app. However, it also includes in-depth resources for helping churches to develop fundraising and generosity strategies.
SecureGive starts at $99 a month for its most basic plan.
SecureGive provides an abundance of resources for churches to grow in generosity.
SecureGive costs up to $199 per month for larger churches, making it one of the most expensive options out there.
There are many free options for hosting your own giving platform–including Tithe.ly, Givelify, and PayPal. If you're looking for a one-stop, full-scale digital giving solution that provides comprehensive church giving features, a mobile giving app, accounting, service planning, text messaging, and more, Tithe.ly is your best bet in terms of value and functionality.
Thousands of churches use Tithe.ly every month for receiving donations online. In fact, Tithe.ly is used by 37,000 churches around the world.
Churches typically pay a low fee for expert implementation of online giving, and then manage their own platform.
Churches can use PayPal for online giving, but PayPal certainly isn't tailored to churches. That being said, it lacks a lot of features that help churches to create a successful giving strategy (including a church app for giving).
You can get tithes and offerings online by using a tool that allows churches to receive donations safely and securely online.
