Author: Duncan Elder

Church management software (ChMS) makes running your church easier. But the tools can be pricey, which means they are tough to justify if you operate on a small budget. To solve this problem, I’ve made this list of the best free church management tools. 

The majority of these free tools are limited versions of paid SaaS platforms. They are typically restricted by the number of members you can add, the available features, or both. Nonetheless, the functionality will be enough to streamline small churches. 

I’ve also included two open-source platforms. These are free to use with no restrictions. The only issue is that you need somewhere to host them. 

We’ve also added several non-church-specific tools to this list. Still, you’ll see that they have plenty of features useful for churches. 

The Best Free Church Management Software

Here’s a shortlist of the best free church management software. I’ve included one of the key benefits of each tool in the list. 

1. ChurchInfo – free and open source 
2. ChurchCRM – free if you have an existing website 
3. ChurchTrac – free with feature limitations 
4. TextEmAll – 25 message credits free
5. Flocknote – free for under 40 members 
6. Continue to Give – free for up to $5000/month
7. CHMeetings – free for up to 100 people 
8. Raklet – free for 50 contacts 
9. Bitrix24 – free with feature limitations
10. Cahaba Works – free with feature limitations 

Best Free Church Management Software Comparison Criteria

What do I look for when I select the best free church management software? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

1. User Interface (UI): A clean, intuitive UI makes a tool a pleasure to use.
2. Usability: Is the tool easy to learn and master? This is all especially important if less tech-savvy members of your congregation will use the tool. Also, look out for tools with online support and helpful resources.
3. Integrations: Many of the platforms below integrate with other tools you use. For example, your church website, calendar, or church accounting software. 
4. Feature-Rich Free Plan: Many paid tools have free plans. We included the most generous ones on this list. 

Free Church Management Software Key Features

There are plenty of features that make church management easier. Here are some of the most useful ones. 

1. Profiles: Creating profiles for the congregation lets you track member activity and pledges. Some tools allow your congregation to manage their profiles. Many of the free tools limit the number of profiles you can add.  
2. Messaging: Tools with email or SMS messaging make it easy to connect with members of your congregation. Look for email editors that let you create media-rich emails.
3. Contribution Tracking: Many of the tools on this list allow you to accept and track online donations. They also provide an overview of how much you have received in a particular period. 
4. Event Management: These features let you create events. You can assign organizers from within the tool and highlight each event on your church’s calendar. 

Be aware that while most ChMS tools have these features, they don’t all offer them on the free version of the tool. 

Additionally, some of the tools focus on a particular element. For example, Continue to Give specializes in contribution management. 

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Overviews Of The 10 Best Free Church Management Software

Here’s a brief description of each free church management system. I’ve tried to showcase each platform’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots. 

1. ChurchInfo – Best free and open-source tool

ChurchInfo is database software that enables online giving and helps with church membership management. It’s a web application which means you can access the information from anywhere with an internet connection. 

A feature I like is the self-service interface. This allows your church members to manage their own profiles from within the software. Each person can edit their details and make donations from within the tool via its integration with Vanco. Their volunteer management system is also helpful. Just create opportunities and then assign them to people from within the software. 

The tool is free and open-source—you just need to pay for a hosting plan if you don’t have one already. ChurchInfo has an affordable option you can use and they’ll even set it up for you. There is also a version that runs on your PC. This is useful if you don’t want to pay for hosting and you don’t need to access cloud-based features.

2. ChurchCRM – Best for churches with a website

ChurchCRM is a free customer relationship management (CRM) system with features designed specifically for churches. It’s an online, cloud-based tool meaning you can access it from anywhere via an internet browser. The dashboard looks great and is user-friendly. It provides a quick snapshot of everything you need to know about your church, as well as links to the most important features. 

The tool has all you need to manage a church. Create member profiles, add phone numbers and email addresses, set up small groups, or organize events and enable check-in. It’s also easy to track member contributions so you can see how much everyone has donated. It’s even available in 25 different languages. 

The tool is completely free; you just need to pay for a hosting plan. If your church has an existing website, you can install it on a subdomain without paying an extra cent. Its lack of limitations means the ChurchCRM is a great free tool for churches of all sizes.

3. ChurchTrac – Best for free tech support

ChurchTrac is paid software with all the features you need to manage your church. The company also offers a free plan with limited—yet still useful—features. You can track your active members, roles & permissions, attendance records, and even Sunday school participants. 

The plan provides users with the ability to manage profiles for people and families. Add contact information and other details to each one. You can also send emails from within the platform. Unfortunately, more advanced features like donations, attendance tracking, child check-in, and scheduling are only available on the paid plan. 

The best thing about ChurchTrac is that it has an easy-to-use interface and offers free tech support, even on the free plan. This means that while the free version isn’t as feature-packed as some other tools on the list, it is easy to set up and use. And if you want to switch to a paid plan at any point, it’s easy to do so. Plans start at just $5 per month.

4. Text-em-all – Best for free text messaging

Text-em-all is a super helpful tool for managing church communication via text messaging. The tool allows you to create and schedule SMS messages to go out to your congregation. You can then manage replies from within the tool. It’s a helpful way to keep people updated about the goings-on at your church. 

The tool has several features that make texting easy. There are several templates you can use for different situations. You can give messages a personal touch by automatically adding the name of each recipient. Manage all these features from within the web-based dashboard. 

As a messaging platform, Text-em-all doesn’t offer some of the features available on other tools on this list. For example, you can’t track attendance and there’s no volunteer scheduling.

The free trial gives you access to all the features, although it is heavily limited by the fact you can only send 25 messages. Monthly plans start at $7.50 per month. 

5. FlockNote – Best free messaging for small churches

FlockNote is another church communication platform. It lets you send both email and SMS messages to your congregation from within the online dashboard. The drag and drop email composer is a useful feature. It makes it a breeze to create and customize great-looking emails filled with multimedia. Once you’ve sent the email, you can respond to any replies from within the dashboard. 

The tool also offers analytics features. These show whether people are opening your outreach emails as well as what they click on once they do. Use this information to optimize future emails around the content you know people respond best to. 

The free plan provides churches with complete access to all the features and unlimited emails and messages but is limited to 40 users. It’s a great option if you have a small congregation. Pricing starts at $8 per month for large churches with more than 40 members. 

6. Continue To Give – Best for tracking donations

Continue To Give is software designed to help nonprofits and religious organizations engage their community and increase giving. It enables giving in many forms: from text donations, kiosk giving, mobile app donations, website forms, and P2P fundraising. This variety of options means every one of your members can access a method of donation that works for them: removing any barriers to giving. 

Donation management happens within the customizable dashboard. From here, you get a complete overview of where your donations are coming from and the amount you have received. The dashboard is also home to a powerful communication platform that lets you create and send emails, statements, and SMS messages. 

You can create audience segments, so people only receive content relevant to them. For example, one segment could be a particular church group; another could be people who attend a particular service. Other features include pledge management to help you follow up on pledges. 

Continue To Give is paid software, but there’s a free plan (minus a 3.2% commission) for churches that raise under $5,000 per month. 

7. CHMeetings – Best church management for small churches

CHMeetings is an all-in-one church management software solution used by more than 2,000 organizations. It has robust features that help you track and store group and member data and then turn this information into reports with the click of a button. 

A cool feature is the contact builder that lets you create and send SMS messages and email to your congregation. It’s an easy way to ensure everyone is up-to-date with happenings at your church. 

Meanwhile, powerful event management tools let you create single or recurring events and then collect event registrations. It’s easy to add people to different roles and then add notes to provide more information. When it’s time for the event, you can print off name tags for attendees.

CHMeetings has a limited free plan for up to 100 people, making it good for small-sized churches. To get access to more features or users, you’ll have to add a paid plan, which starts at $10 a month. You can access it on your PC or on mobile devices running both Android and iOS.

8. Raklet – Best for integrations

Raklet bills itself as a community engagement platform. Its features aren’t church-specific, but there’s still plenty available to help places of worship grow.  

Central to the tool is its contacts feature. Use these to create profiles for everyone in your church. Just upload a list of email addresses and create profiles for each person. You can then segment these people however you’d like, making it easy to create groups within your overall membership. 

It’s easy to connect with these contacts through features like email and SMS messaging. You can use this for use cases like an email newsletter that keeps everyone up-to-date about your church. 

I like that the tool lets members communicate with each other. They can create and comment on topics as well as send private messages. It’s like a private social media site for your church. 

Other features include the ability to create webinars and accept payments. There is even event planning functionality. The tool also integrates with plenty of the tools you and your congregation use every day like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and more. 

Raklet has a free plan for up to 50 contacts. If you need more users, the Essentials plan is $49 for up to 1,000 contacts. 

9. Bitrix24 – Best for church activity & event management

Bitrix24 is more business-focused than the other tools on this list. Nonetheless, it has a free version for unlimited users and plenty of features that—while not explicitly designed for churches—will definitely help. 

The communication tools are central to the platform. These enable you to create a powerful social networking platform. Your congregation can message, email, and communicate within the community for free. 

Beyond this, there are a huge array of management tools. There’s CRM, project management, contacts, and even a visual website builder. These are the features that are more business-aligned, and many of them cost money. You’ll have to decide whether they are worth paying for. 

Bitrix is available in both on-premise and cloud-based solutions. The great thing about the free plan is that you can add unlimited users.  If you feel the need to upgrade, paid plans start at $19 per month. 

10. Cahaba Works – Best desktop solution

CahabaWorks is church management software designed to help you track money, including payroll, member contributions, and fund accounting. There’s a free version of the software that is suitable for small churches. 

The free version contains three modules: members, contributions, and financials. The first module lets you create profiles to organize member information, while the latter provides some insight into your church’s contributions and financial management. These are all useful features for those in charge of church administration.

Other tools like group management are only available on paid plans. 

The tool is desktop-based which means it is only available on the computer you install it on. The good news is that you can add unlimited people and users to each piece of software. 

When you sign up, you get a free trial of the paid version, which then reverts back to the free one if you don’t pay up. The standard edition costs $350 and comes with a year of support. 

What is the difference between web-based (online) and download (offline) church management software?

Web-based church management software stores all your data online. This means you can access it anywhere with an internet connection. You can also create profiles for other members, who can then access the tool. Another benefit of these tools is that updates happen automatically, so you always use the most up-to-date version of the software. 

Offline tools are only available on a single computer in a single location. All the data is stored on your computer’s hardware. 

What Do You Think About These Free Church Management Tools?

I think all the tools on this list offer great free functionality for churches—especially small ones. All the free plans differ slightly, so take a look at precisely what they offer and then make your decision based on this. 

You can also check out our church management software recommendations for both free and paid options. This will help if you have outgrown free tools and their functional limitations.

Looking for more tools to help your church get up to speed with going digital? Check our list out on the 10 Best Church Giving Apps for Donations and Tithe Collection.

For more insights around church management, check out The Lead Pastor blog.

Church properties often have a variety of facilities to manage, from public meeting spaces, to libraries, community resource hubs, washrooms, and A/C or heating systems. The more people use these assets, the more value they provide to your congregation and community. Managing these resources isn’t easy, but the church facility management software can help.  

This article will look at some great platforms churches can use to accomplish basic facility management. Our list contains two types of tools. The first is software designed specifically for church management. These tend to have features built with places of worship in mind. Then there are tools designed for business or NGO properties in general. These often have similar features and can be just as good as church-specific software.

Both types of software have their pros and cons. I’ve done my best to outline how every item on this list can help with church facility management. 

The Best Church Facility Management Software List

Here’s a shortlist of the best facility management software for churches:

1. One Church
2. Church Social
3. Church MemberLink 
4. Church Office Online 
5. Blackbaud Church Management
6. eFacility
7. Perfect Mind 
8. Hello Club
9. Mazévo
10. ChurchStaq by Pushpay 

Facility Management Software Comparison Criteria

The best church computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) excel at streamlining facilities management. Here’s a summary of the evaluation criteria I used when choosing what to put on this list: 

1. User Interface (UI): Is it clean and attractive? Church leaders have a ton of duties on their plate and may not have much free time to spend struggling with a complex user interface or cluttered menus.
2. Usability: Is it easy to learn and master? Does the company offer good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training? Remember your congregation may use the software. It should be usable for even non-tech-savvy members.
3. Integrations: Is it easy to connect with other tools? Are there any pre-built integrations? Website, calendar, communication, and payment software integrations are vital for many churches. 
4. Value for $: How appropriate is the price for the features, capabilities, and use case? I also look for free trials so you can test the tool before buying. 

Church Facility Management Software Key Features

The church management software tools on our list cover a wide range of use cases. Some have simple features suitable for small churches. Others have complex functionality designed for large organizations. 

Whichever kind of church facility software you choose, look out for the following features:

1. Booking: If you open your facilities to people in your congregation, choose a tool that enables people to book rooms, space, or equipment.
2. Calendars: Tools with calendars automatically reflect all bookings made via the software, so everyone can see what is happening and when.
3. Payments: You may need to accept, send, or record payment for facility use, facility upgrade, or facility repair. A digital payments system can help keep track of this.  
4. Maintenance: Some of the tools on this list let you schedule maintenance for facilities. 
5. Lights and doors: If you manage multiple spaces, consider a tool that lets you manage access to your building and lighting remotely. 

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Overviews Of The 10 Best Church Facility Management Software

Here’s a brief description of each church facility maintenance management solution. We’ve included best use cases, feature highlights, and screenshots to showcase the look and feel of each tool. 

I have included both tools designed for churches and all-purpose (and usually more complex and feature-rich) facility management software.

1. One Church – Best for booking rooms

One Church is an all-inclusive church platform with powerful facilities management features that make organizing your church’s space easy.

Central to this is the powerful booking platform. Use the tool to schedule your rooms and resources. Those in charge can quickly see if the facilities they need are available and then make a request. Simplify the booking process by adding facility managers to each listing who can approve bookings.

One Church is a cloud-based app and is available on all your devices. You can manage your church’s facilities at home, while at your place of worship, or on the go via your smartphone. It also has a user-friendly interface you’ll have no problem getting to grips with.

Pricing depends on the number of profiles you expect to track. The lowest-cost plan is $24/month for 250 profiles. You can grab a 14-day free trial to test the software before committing. 

2. Church Social – Best for calendar management

Church Social is management software designed to help your congregation stay connected. It can help schedule regular facility maintenance, book spaces for events, and provide bulletins about the goings-on around the building. Members can contribute to the calendar to ensure community events are visible. 

A cool feature is the ability to set up recurring events. This ensures that groups that meet regularly don’t have to reserve their space before every meeting. You can view the calendar within the app, and it’s also easy to display it on your church website using the Church Social WordPress plugin or by connecting to the tool’s API.

Pricing starts at $50/month for up to 200 members. You can get a free 30-day trial to test out the software. 

3. Church Member Link – Best church bulletin board

Church Member Link is a web-based church bulletin board with features such as attendance, calendars, and outreach tracking. It also has a facilities management tool. This allows you to set up profiles for each of your facilities and other resources and then schedule each one. The tool summarizes who is scheduled to use assets at different times. 

A feature I like is that you can set up conditions that must be met for each resource. This means people know exactly what is expected of them when they rent spaces or equipment. 

Church Member Link has a simple pricing plan that costs $50/month or $500/year when bought annually. There are no add ons or extra costs. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial to test the software. 

4. Church Office Online – Best for custom form building

Church Office Online is a complete church management solution with custom registration form building for event management, equipment rentals, or facility maintenance. The calendar is where you manage your church’s rooms and equipment. Just create an entry for each facility and provide essential information so people know how to use the asset correctly. 

All bookings show up on the calendar for a complete overview of who is using what and when. The calendar also integrates with your website, so events and reservations made on your website are automatically added to your calendar. This saves you from having to enter details manually. You can access all these features via desktop or on the go via the mobile app. 

Church Office Online pricing depends on the number of people at your church and starts at $35.13/month for 1 person and goes up incrementally by $0.12+ per additional person. The software offers a generous 2-month free trial. 

5. Blackbaud Church Management – Best for engaging your congregation

Blackbaud Church Management is the church solution from team management software Blackbaud, which specializes in fundraising and grant management tools for social causes. You get all the company’s software and team management expertise, plus features built explicitly for churches like fundraising and congregation communication. 

It’s easy to add all your spaces to the software. You can add further information to each listing and then price them effectively. All bookings and events are synced with your church’s calendar, so you get a quick overview of when your church’s facilities are being used. 

Blackbaud doesn’t publicize pricing, but you can request more information on the website. 

6. eFacility – Best for large churches

eFacility is enterprise CMMS software. It has powerful features that go well beyond those offered by church-specific solutions. These give you granular control over all your facilities.  

The asset and inventory management toolkit tracks asset usage, helping you avoid unexpected and costly breakdowns. Use the tool to set preventive maintenance schedules, create templates for everyday maintenance tasks, and schedule inspections for each of your church’s assets. When the time comes for repairs, the software has robust work order management features to help. 

You also get powerful space management features. This lets you track, manage, and book space in your church. You can see a real-time overview, so you always know what is going on in your buildings. The floorplan feature even lets you rent specific seats within a room.

eFacility pricing depends on the specific software modules you want access to. The company doesn’t publicize its pricing, but you can contact the team via the website for a quote.

7. PerfectMind – Best interactive facility map

PerfectMind is membership management for community-based businesses. It’s not explicitly designed for churches, but many of its features are great for this use case. 

The software’s facility management software can handle multiple types of booking, including recurring contracts. You can sell add-ons within the booking process, which is a good way to generate extra revenue while providing the people who book your room with more flexibility. 

Another feature I like is the automated lighting software. This lets you set which times you’d like to turn lights on and adjust your prices accordingly. Other features include maintenance management, waivers, contracts, and plenty of automation to simplify your workflow and save time. 

PerfectMind doesn’t publicize pricing for its community tool. You can contact the team for a quote and a product demo. All plans come with unlimited users. 

8. Hello Club – Best for integrations

Hello Club is a tool built for managing clubs. It has many features that help pastors with facility stewardship. Like the other tools on this list, it helps you manage bookings and events. It’s easy for your congregation to rent facilities when they need them. All the bookings sync to your calendar, which gives you an in-depth overview of facilities usage. 

A feature that caught my eye is the lights and doors management tool. This lets you set up automated lights and door rules for different facilities and bookings. The tool also has plenty of integrations. For example, you can use Stripe to collect payments via credit card and manage your church bookkeeping with Xerox. 

Pricing depends on the number of members in your congregation. The most popular plan costs $50/month for up to 300 users. You can sign up for a free trial on the website.

9. Mazevo – Best for church event management

Mazevo is software designed specifically for churches that want an event management system to help with facility resource allocation. The software has powerful booking features. It automatically avoids schedule conflicts by only showing rooms available for dates the scheduler has chosen. 

When listing space you can add detailed information about each room, including its type and how many people it is suitable for. All events are synced to the tool’s calendar. You can view this in multiple ways to get an overview of events on both a daily and monthly level. The tool has an app for easy phone access, and the UI on both mobile and desktop is easy to use. 

The company doesn’t publicize pricing, but you can request a demo on the website. 

10. ChurchStaq by Pushpay – Best for engagement metrics

ChurchStaq by Pushpay is a tool that lets you create optimized journey’s for your congregation designed to boost engagement. Each member of your church creates a profile that includes crucial contact information, event details, and contributions. Part of the engagement strategy is encouraging your congregation to join events. 

The software makes it easy for group leaders to rent space to hold meetings. They can then add members and communicate with other people in the group. The tool has an easy-to-use app that all congregation members can download to stay connected. It’s an easy way to connect with individuals and ensure that everyone stays engaged. 

ChurchStaq has three plans that provide access to different features. The company doesn’t promote pricing but you can contact the team via the website. 

Other Facility Management Software Options

Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list. Some are church-specific tools that understand the niche; others are more general facility management solutions for all building maintenance and upkeep needs. 

1. Imagine Mobile Church – Best for church administration 
2. UpKeep – Best for managing church maintenance 
3. Grplife Church Edition – Best for included church social network
4. Hippo CMMS – Best equipment maintenance
5. iOFFICE – Best for optimizing space use
6. AkitaBox – Best for asset mapping 
7. BlueFolder – Best for tracking assets

What is church facility management?

Church facility management is all the activities you do to organize your buildings, assets, spaces, and rooms. Tasks typically include managing facilities usage and keeping all your assets well-maintained. You can use facility management software to streamline this work. 

Is there any free church facility management software?

Many of the tools on our list have free paid trials you can use to test out the software before committing. There are no free church-specific facility management software options. But free general facility management tools are available:

• Fiix CMMS
• MaintainX
• UpKeep

What Do You Think About These Facility Maintenance Software Solutions for Churches?

The best facility maintenance software for your church will depend on what you want from the tool. 

A simple calendar that shows when people are scheduled to use your rooms and spaces will suffice for many smaller churches. But the larger your church, the more you’ll benefit from advanced features like granular asset management tools, maintenance functionality, and work order software to manage work requests.

Keep everyone in the loop and on the same page as you manage your church facilities with a software. Here’s our guide to the 10 Best Church Communication Software & How They Help Lead.

If you want to find out more about how software can help you manage your church, then check out some of our other church management software reviews.