Can't decide between easyTithe, PayPal, and Tithely? Keep reading for insight on which online giving solution might be best for you.
Every church–from tiny church plants of 50 people to larger churches of 1,000 or more–needs a solution for church giving. All-sized churches need to offer online giving options, process different payment methods, and be able to receive church donations seamlessly.
A digital giving solution offers a better giving experience for your church community. And when you provide a suite of tools to make giving simple and easy, you can ultimately help improve fundraising efforts at your church.
Nearly all online giving platforms will come with processing fees. Most giving platforms also have a dedicated tech team for helping you to resolve problems (typical customers shouldn't have many issues, however). Most platforms will give donors the option to make a recurring gift or one-time donation. Finally, most platforms will also sync with mobile devices as well as desktops/laptops/and tablets.
The best online giving platform for your church is one that will come with minimal setup fees or start-up fees and a minimal monthly cost. Look for an affordable giving solution that still offers a wide range of church giving features.
(Note: We’re obviously biased :), but we want to be factual and accurate in our information sharing so PLEASE let us know if we’ve misrepresented anything or have anything incorrect. We’ll make changes promptly if needed. You can contact us here.)
To choose the best online giving platform for your church, think through your goals, your church size, and how you run church online.
Some church giving platforms are great for small- and mid-sized churches but increase in pricing for larger churches.
Other church giving platforms include complete church management software tools to help not only with giving, but with event planning, marketing, project management, and more!
Ultimately, the best online giving platform will have attractively-low processing rates, easy credit and debit card processing, and off the ability for donors to give whenever and however they'd like.
To learn more about how you can help your church members give with Tithely, click here.
Tithely is an all-in-one church fundraising solution that offers: a) an app for churches to receive donations, b) a giving platform that can integrate onto an existing app or website.
Tithely also provides:
The most important thing to know about Tithely is that it's absolutely FREE to use–there's no monthly subscription cost.
Once you've signed up with us, we'll work with your church to figure out how to best integrate Tithely with your church website or app (or, we can help you build your own).
The best part is that there's no monthly fee or hidden add-on costs, no matter how large your church grows.
Think of Tithely as a digital offering plate. Users can quickly make a one-time or recurring gift with a couple of clicks on your website or mobile app. Or, they can give over text message (one Tithely campaign even allowed donors to make a gift with an emoji! 😎)
easyTithe is an online giving platform that provides the ability for donors to give to a church on their mobile phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet. easyTithe also provides admin tools for reporting, sending automated emails and automated donor receipts, and managing donors.
Users of easyTithe can use debit cards, credit cards, or other payment methods to make online donations on a digital device. Entering card info is secure and safe. easyTithe also provides an option for donors to give at a kiosk.
Churches can use easyTithe as a platform for receiving donations and tithes online. But unlike Tithely, easyTithe becomes more and more expensive as your church scales in size.
PayPal for Churches is PayPal's own version of a payment solution for churches and nonprofit organizations. PayPal for Churches accepts payment with credit card, debit card, or PayPal (it does not advertise payment processing with an automatic bank deposit or electronic checks).
PayPal for Churches offers a limited amount of church giving features; instead, it provides a basic button for churches to integrate on their website.
PayPal for Churches integrates with your website or app, essentially directing donors to a PayPal platform. It then allows donors to make a gift with a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account.
As you've just seen, easyTithe, PayPal, and Tithely all have similarities. Each of these platforms can help your church members give easily and efficiently to your church. Each of these platforms charges payment processing fees, and each of these platforms will help you save admin time.
But each of these platforms vary in terms of flexibility, simplicity, and pricing. Let's take a closer look, below.
Tithely is by far the most flexible platform out of the three, offering a dynamic giving experience even with its basic plan. To use Tithely, you can a) direct your users to download the Tithely app, or b) integrate Tithely on your own website or app.
Additional interface options include the ability to run a Text to Give campaign, so that users can give with a simple text message.
PayPal for Churches offers a Donate Now button, which offers limited flexibility. easyTithe is a bit better, but still doesn't provide the same text to give options as Tithely.
Online giving tools should be simple to use for both admin staff and church members. The user interface should be easy to navigate and understand, and there shouldn't be too many steps to give.
Tithely has an intuitive interface for both donors and admin staff. One real customer says of Tithely, "This tool is so great for both the Church and the member who is tithing. It's clean, easy to use and you can tell that a ton of investment went into the UI."
easyTithe also rates high on simplicity, but its additional costs make it a less-than-ideal option. And PayPal for Churches requires 11 steps just to install their Donate Now button!
At the end of the day, pricing may be the most important factor for churches choosing a new online donation platform.
As mentioned above, Tithely is completely free to use, no matter how large your church is. Transaction fees include 2.9% + 0.30 per trx or 1% + 30¢ for ACH/Bank deposits (Keep in mind that Tithely offers the ability for donors to cover the fees).
easyTithe charges $49 a month for their basic version, and $69 per month for churches of 1k+. On top of that, they charge 2.6% + 39¢ per debit/credit gifts and 0.75% + 39¢ per ACH gift. PayPal charges 1.99% + $0.49 per transaction.
Finally, it's important to compare the feature set of easyTithe, PayPal, and Tithely.
The top features of easyTithe include:
The top features of PayPal include:
The top features of Tithely include:
At the end of the day, Tithely is by far the most comprehensive giving solution.
Churches that are alright with paying a monthly fee could use easyTithe, but they'll want to be careful as they scale in size (as cost will increase).
PayPal for Churches may be sufficient for nonprofit organizations that don't need advanced giving capabilities.
Who should use Tithely? Small- to medium-sized churches that want a cost-effective and comprehensive giving solution that can help them increase generosity.
Every church needs a digital giving solution. The bottom line is that it shouldn't have to be expensive or complicated to help your church members give online. To learn more about how Tithely can make giving easy and affordable for your church, click here.
