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1-844-PUSHPAY Best church management software for 2026
Compare Pushpay, Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Subsplash, Breeze, and Realm on pricing, features, and fit so you can pick the right ChMS.
Every church needs church management software. Regardless of size or denomination, having a means to schedule events, create a directory, track attendance is essential to your church operations.
But the type of church management software (ChMS) that works best for your church requires a more detailed research process.
A platform with 40 features you never use is less helpful than one with 20 features your staff can use right away. In 2026, the best options aren’t about how many features you get. What matters is how well everything works together, how quickly your team can get started, and whether your top priorities—like giving, volunteer scheduling, or accounting—are built in, or only added later.
This guide compares the six platforms churches choose between most often. We’ll cover Pushpay, Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Subsplash, Breeze, and Realm by ACS.
What’s the right approach?
In 2026, there are two main types of platforms.
Unified platforms combine giving, your church management database, and your app so everything shares the same data. Modular platforms let you pick specialized tools and connect them with integrations.
Both approaches can work. Unified platforms give up some flexibility but save your staff time. Modular stacks let you choose your favorite tools, but you’ll spend more time reconciling data.
Keep this distinction in mind as you look at the table below, since it explains most of the differences you’ll see between platforms.
The main players
Many platforms are quote-based, so use these numbers as estimates, not exact costs. Transaction fees are just as important as subscription fees. Sometimes they matter even more, because they’ll increase up as your giving grows.
| Platform | Best for | Starting monthly cost | Card transaction fee | Architecture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pushpay (ChurchStaq) | Growing and multi-site churches that want giving, ChMS, and an app on one platform | Quote-based | 2.9% + $0.30 | Unified |
| Planning Center | Churches that want à la carte modules and strong service planning | Free tier; $15 per module, up to ~$239 | 2.15% + $0.30 | Modular |
| Tithe.ly | Small to mid-size churches that lead with online giving on a budget | $0–$119 | 2.9% + $0.30 | Modular |
| Breeze (now owned by Tithely) | Small churches that want simple, flat-rate management with no contract | $72/mo; ~$119 bundled | 2.9% + $0.30 | Simple ChMS |
| Subsplash | Churches prioritizing a custom app, media, and streaming | Quote-based | 2.99% + $0.30 | App and media-first |
| Realm by ACS | Mid to large churches that need built-in fund accounting | Quote-based | Varies | Full-suite, accounting-strong |
Pushpay
Pushpay’s ChurchStaq brings giving, church management, and your mobile app together in one platform, so you don’t have to piece together data later. When someone gives through your app, your database updates right away. When a first-time visitor checks in, follow-up happens without waiting for a sync that might not work.
Across Pushpay churches in 2025, recurring giving volume grew 11% on average year over year. Churches migrating to the platform keep more than 90% of their recurring schedules within 8 weeks of starting implementation, which matters more than it sounds, because a botched migration that drops auto-recurring givers can erase a year of growth in a weekend. Everygift also keeps donations flowing during service interruptions and catches failed transactions before they quietly become lost revenue. Expired card, processor hiccup, declined ACH. Those add up to a number most churches never see because it never lands in the account.
Here’s the tradeoff: If your church has 80 people, one service, and a part-time bookkeeper, this system is probably more feature-heavy than you need and not worth the cost. Pushpay is built for growing and large or multi-site churches, or those already struggling with reconciliation issues. For those churches, the time saved and increase in recurring giving make up for the higher price. For a small church, it’s possible that Pushpay’s not quite the right fit yet.
Planning Center
Planning Center built its reputation on service planning and volunteer scheduling, and it remains the tool worship and production teams ask for by name. The model is modular. You start free, then add Services, Giving, Check-Ins, Calendar, Groups, and Registrations at roughly $15 each, scaling with your size up toward $239 a month for a fuller stack.
This a la carte setup is both the benefit and the drawback. You only pay for what you use, which works well if you need just a couple of modules. But if you need six, you end up managing several separate bills for tools that each do one thing well. Planning Center does offer giving, but it isn’t focused on giving like Pushpay or Tithe.ly. Churches that want to grow donor generosity often add a separate giving tool, which brings back the challenge of integrating different systems.
Choose Planning Center if your main focus is service planning and volunteer management, and if you prefer to build your own stack of specialized tools instead of using one vendor for everything.
If you’re already on Planning Center’s church management software and you’re looking to improve your church’s giving experience, Pushpay and PCO integrate really nicely and could be the solution you need!
Tithe.ly/Breeze
These two go together because, well, they’re now the same company. Tithely bought Breeze, and in 2026 they offer a family of products. Breeze is the simple church management option within the larger Tithely lineup.
Tithe.ly leads with giving. Their processing fees are 2.9% plus $0.30 per card gift, and tops out around $119 a month depending on the modules you turn on. For a small or mid-size church whose first priority is getting online and text giving live without a sales call, it’s one of the easiest on-ramps available.
Breeze is the answer to a different question. What if you just want a clean, flat-rate database that any volunteer can learn in an afternoon? No contract, no setup fee, and they’ll migrate your existing data for free. The standalone management tools run under $70 a month, with a bundle around $119 that folds in worship tools, a church app, and a website.
It’s important to mention the limits. Both are great for small churches, but they start to struggle if you have multiple campuses, complex pledge campaigns, or need to maximize recurring donor retention. Think of it this way, a church of 150 will love Breeze/Tithely, but a church of 1,500 with three campuses will find it limiting.
Subsplash
Subsplash comes at church technology from the app and media side. If your priority is a polished custom app, sermon hosting, and reliable live streaming, this is where Subsplash is strong.
Subsplash uses quote-based pricing that can rise quickly. The management and database features are there and have improved, but most churches choose Subsplash for its content experience. Choose it for the app, knowing you’re getting an app-and-media platform that also offers management, not the other way around.
Realm by ACS
Realm earns its spot for one reason a lot of the newer platforms can’t match: real fund accounting, built in. For churches that want giving, membership, groups, and their books inside one system rather than syncing to QuickBooks, that’s a genuine differentiator, and it’s why mid-to-large congregations with serious accounting needs keep Realm on the shortlist.
The tradeoffs are that Realm is more complex, uses quote-based pricing, and some reviewers say its features feel outdated compared to platforms focused on mobile and AI. If your accountant is leading the software decision, Realm is worth a close look. If your main concern is the congregation’s daily experience, you may want to compare it to newer, app-focused options.
A buyer’s checklist before you sign anything
- Where does the data live? Does giving, your member database, and your app share one source of truth, or are you connecting separate systems with integrations that need monitoring?
- What’s the all-in cost? Add the subscription, the transaction fees at your actual giving volume, implementation, and any per-module charges. The sticker price is rarely the real price.
- What happens to recurring givers in a migration? Ask the vendor directly what percentage of auto-recurring donors typically survive a switch to their platform. If they can’t answer with a number, that’s your answer.
- Who has to learn this? Will a rotating cast of volunteers operate it, or a trained staffer? Tools your team won’t adopt are shelfware no matter how powerful.
- Is there a contract? Month-to-month versus annual changes your risk if the fit is wrong. Know before you sign, not after.
- Does it fit the church you are now? Not the megachurch in your vision board. The one with this week’s attendance and this month’s giving.
- How does support actually work? Email-only, chat, a dedicated rep? When something breaks, response time is the only feature that matters.
No platform will be perfect, and that’s okay. The goal is to pick the one that matches your top two or three priorities and has weaknesses you can live with.
Where to start
The best church management software in 2026 is the one that fits your church, your real budget, and the staff who will actually use it. If you’re a small church focused on online giving, Tithe.ly or Breeze can get you started quickly. If your team is focused on worship and service planning, Planning Center is a great choice. If you’re a growing or multi-site church tired of reconciling disconnected tools, a unified platform like Pushpay’s ChurchStaq is made for you.
Sources:
Planning Center pricing / CostBench
Breeze ChMS pricing / The Lead Pastor
Pushpay 2025 generosity results / ChurchStaq / Pushpay review
