10 The Best Church Giving App Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 22 tools reviewed.
With so many different church-giving solutions available, figuring out which one is right for you is tough. You know you want to offer a convenient and accessible giving option, enabling donors to give on the go and respond to giving opportunities in real time, but need to figure out which tool is best. I've got you! In this post I'll help make your choice easy, sharing my personal experiences from my years as an assistant youth pastor and leveraging my exposure to tools as a technical consultant for a metropolitan church, with my picks of the best church giving app.
What is a Church Giving App?
A church giving app is a mobile application specifically designed to enable congregation members to make financial contributions to their church conveniently and securely from their mobile devices. These apps typically include features such as secure payment processing to accept donations via credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and mobile wallets, recurring giving that helps set up automated contributions, customizable donation forms to collect specific information from donors, donation tracking to provide donors with contribution summaries for tax purposes, and communication tools to send thank-you notes to donors.
It provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for donors to support the church's mission and ministries anytime, anywhere, and empowers them to engage in stewardship through digital giving.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Church Giving Apps
Here’s a brief description of each church giving apps to showcase each giving solution’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the interface.
Realm is a church management software that supports the diverse needs of church administration and ministry. As a church giving app, it offers features to facilitate online and mobile giving, which can be connected with other church management workflows, like financials and accounting.
The app allows donors to make single or recurring electronic payments, manage pledges, and view their giving history. It supports various payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards, and eChecks, and integrates these financial transactions into the Realm church management software for ease of tracking and reporting. You also have the option to automatically post donation deposits into your general ledger.
The app also includes features for donor management, fund management, batch entry, check scanning, and self-service contribution statements. Additionally, Realm offers tools for church members to manage their giving from their mobile devices and track progress toward their pledge goals. These features are all aimed at encouraging consistent personal giving.
Anedot is a mobile giving app that accepts donations using credit cards, debit cards, bank drafts, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Anedot has a reporting tool you can use to assess your fundraising capabilities and improve on fundraising efforts that are not yielding results.
Anedot is the best mobile giving app to partner with another local church or a group on a fundraising activity. As long as the other church or group has an Anedot account, you can raise funds together and increase the likelihood of hitting your goals. Partnering exposes your church to other church’s donors, increases name recall and might help you convert them to your donors too.
Anedot integrates with MailChimp, Google Analytics, Planning Center, and other similar apps.
Subsplash is a church giving app that offers a suite of tools and services for churches to manage their donations and donor profiles. Subsplash meets your congregants where they are—with mobile, website, and text giving, plus robust donor management and analytic tools for church leaders.
Whether your community is browsing your website, exploring your app, watching a live stream, or joining an in-person service, there are a variety of donation solicitations you can customize and employ. Congregants can choose a one-time amount to give or set up recurring weekly or monthly donations. They can also allocate where their gift gets used, like church events, mission trip funds, or community projects.
Although many church giving software offers apps these days, Subsplash’s mobile app stands out as a particularly modern, well designed, and incredibly easy to use tool. Church members will have no problem setting up digital donations, and admins can quickly check donation totals, recent donations, lapsed donors, and overall financial metrics.
Church Windows is a church giving app that has a donation module with electronic giving that integrates with a variety of online payment sources. You can record donations by individual or family unit, giver name or envelope number, and general fund or campaign-specific pool. It can also help you record pledges to actual received amounts for better future financial planning.
Church Windows’ online giving platform is an integrated feature to the church management software of the same name, making it ideal for those looking for an all-in-one software.
You can use Church Windows to manage your database of members and ensure that all information is up to date. You can also use Church Windows to manage church events and worship services through its calendar management feature.
My Well Ministry is a church giving app that you can use to receive donations from church members safely and securely with the help of biometric security.
My Well Ministry is accessible via desktop browser or a smartphone app accessible on Android and iOS devices. You can use the app to generate receipts and yearly statements to promote transparency and inspire confidence among donors.
My Well Ministry is the best giving platform for handling multiple fund categories because it allows church members to indicate which pool they want to donate to. Donors can also indicate if their donation to a specific fund is just a one-time donation or a recurring one.
Church leaders can benefit from this feature because they can encourage congregants to donate to causes that matter most to them: the church facility maintenance, non-profit contributions, mission trips for youth, or annual events.
FlockBase is an all-in-one church management app with an online giving feature to receive contributions via credit card, debit card, or eCheck. It allows your donors to schedule recurring donations or contribute as a one-time action.
FlockBase’s online giving feature also allows users to choose where they want to allocate their donations, making it ideal for donors who are passionate about a particular project in your church, like choir enthusiasts or Sunday school supporters.
FlockBase is best for maintaining the donation records of church members. You can use FlockBase to track which causes a church member supports and the amount they contribute so you can concentrate on improving fundraising efforts for areas that receive less support.
Vanco is a church giving tool with additional features for seating capacity management, in-app communication, and directory administration. The app also acts as a centralized hub for online worship where members can access materials like online bulletins and Zoom links.
Vanco provides church members with a wide variety of options when it comes to modes of giving. Members can use a web-based portal, text-to-give, a Vanco kiosk device (provided by the company), or their mobile accessory for card payments on-the-go.
Vanco is one of the few church giving apps that offers physical solutions for in-person giving, like a kiosk (branded to your church specifications) and a card-reader called GivePlus Swipe that can plug into smart devices and accept ad hoc credit and debit payments. This ensures that your congregation has a variety of ways to donate based on what they find easiest.
easyTithe is an online giving and church tithing app that makes donating, contributing, and tithing easier for church members because they can donate through text, using online forms, kiosks, or virtual terminals. It also has reporting functionality you can use to understand your donors and prevailing giving trends better.
easyTithe also provides your church members with the option to automate donations based on their preferred amounts and frequencies, so they don’t need to repeat the process each time.
easyTithe is best for church leaders who need a giving form for their website because it comes with customizable templates or a from-scratch drag-and-drop builder. Using forms can help you organize your fundraising efforts because you can create separate forms for different campaigns. You can also add images, texts, and colors in different forms to make them stand out.
GYVE is a mobile giving app you can download from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, making it easy to use on any mobile device. It allows you to create personalized text messages, emails, and videos to ensure that you are connecting to your congregation.
You can use GYVE to schedule and automate your communications and create messages in advance, like fundraising campaigns, thank you notes, and donation receipts.
GYVE is a great giving app for donation tracking and analytics with an intuitive dashboard that takes the pain out of accounting. You can use GYVE to sort information by the location of the donors, type of giving, or gift category so you can understand your donors better.
GYVE also lets you generate reports that you can use in formulating action plans that can help improve your fundraisings, like reports on lapsed givers, decreased givers, and transaction detail reports.
DONATION is an online giving app that you can use to track donations to your church and manage your database of donors. This giving platform allows you to send mail correspondence to donors to thank them for their contributions.
DONATION is the best online giving platform for small churches because you can get the program for free for the initial year. The cost for managing less than 100,000 donations a year is just $100 per year, making it competitive in pricing.
DONATION also allows you to send charitable receipts that comply with US and Canadian standards.
The 10 Best Church Giving Apps Summary
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Realm | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Anedot | Doesn’t have a lump-sum monthly cost but uses a per-transaction fee system at 3.0% + 30¢ (Credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal) or 0.3% + 30¢ (ACH/bank draft). | Website |
| Subsplash | provides customized pricing upon request. | Website |
| Church Windows | from $279/month | Website |
| My Well Ministry | starts at $49/month for up to 100 gifts | Website |
| FlockBase | Basic plan costs $15/month, plus plan for $29/month and pro plan for $59/month | Website |
| Vanco | pricing starts at $10/month for churches receiving less than $20,000 per month in donations. | Website |
| easyTithe | From 1.99% + 39¢ per debit/credit gift OR 0.75% + 39¢ per ACH gift | Website |
| Gyve | doesn’t charge sign-up or monthly fees, just transaction fees at 2.5% + $0.30 or $1.30 depending on the feature. | Website |
| DONATION | Costs nothing during the initial year and $20/year for renewals, while DONATION Standard costs $100/year | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareOther Church Giving App Options
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.
- PushPay
Best for fundraising events
- Donorbox
Best church website add-on
- Givelify
Best for giving via QR code
- SimpleChurch CRM
Best for reports generation
- Church Office Online
Best for kiosks
- Acts246
Best for large churches
- Elexio
Best for a long trial
- grplife Church Edition
Best for newsletter donation solicitation
- Aware3
Best for multichannel giving
- ShelbySystems
Best for recurring donations
- One Church Software
Best for service planning
- Tithe.ly
Best for check donations
Other Church Financial Software Reviews
If you are looking for other financial software for churches, here are a few other but similar lists I've put together on this site.
- Church Finance Software
- Church Accounting Software
- Church Bookkeeping Software
- Church Payroll Software
- Donor Management Software Comparison
How I Selected the Best Church Giving Apps
Perhaps you're wondering how I selected the best church giving apps for this list? To build this list, I evaluated and compared a wide range of church giving apps with positive user ratings.
After determining my long list of top choices, I further honed my list by using the selection criteria below to see how each platform stacked up against the next one. I also drew on my years of church leadership experience to pinpoint the features that add a lot of value.
Comparison Criteria
What do I look for when I select the best church giving apps? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria.
Core Functionality:
Each church giving app will be a bit different when it comes to their key focus and lists of features. To be include on this list, however, they must cover the following at minimum:
- Ability to collect church donations and tithes from congregants, either by wen, by app, or even in person with kiosks, check scanning, or other soluitons
- Provide detailed financial reports and dashboards for church leaders to track donations
Key Features:
Church giving apps typically offer several key features to facilitate online donations and financial contributions. Here are some common features you can find in church giving apps:
- Secure Donations: Church giving apps prioritize the security of financial transactions, employing encryption and other security measures to protect sensitive information.
- Online Giving: These apps enable members of the church community to make donations electronically using various payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Recurring Donations: Church giving apps often provide the option to set up recurring donations, allowing individuals to contribute automatically on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, etc.) without manual intervention.
- Designated Funds: They allow donors to specify the purpose or fund to which their donations should be directed. This feature ensures that contributions go towards specific causes, such as mission trips, building projects, or charitable initiatives.
- Pledge Tracking: Some apps enable users to keep track of their pledges or commitments and monitor progress towards meeting their financial goals.
- Event Registration and Ticketing: Church giving apps may include features for event registration and ticketing, enabling members to sign up and pay for church events, conferences, or special services.
- Fundraising Campaigns: These apps often support fundraising campaigns for specific causes or projects, allowing churches to set goals, share progress updates, and collect donations towards those campaigns.
- Customization and Branding: Some apps offer customization options, allowing churches to tailor the app's appearance and branding to align with their unique identity and visual style.
- Communication and Engagement: In addition to facilitating financial contributions, church giving apps may include features for communication and engagement, such as sending notifications, event reminders, or thank-you messages to donors.
It's important to note that the specific features can vary among different church giving apps. Churches often select apps based on their unique requirements and preferences.
Usability:
Church giving apps are meant to be employed by, well, churches, who often don't have a full staff or IT team (duh). This means that any new apps or software being used must be easy to learn, use, and troubleshoot. Additionally, you want the giving experience to be streamlined and intuitive from the end-user's perspective (AKA your donors) because any frustrations they encounter might cause them to leave the app without completing the donation. You'll also want quality-of-life features like multiple ways to pay, app access by web or any smart device, and easy-to-configure recurring donations.
Software Integrations:
Many church giving platforms integrate with church management systems (ChMS), making it easier to synchronize donation records, track giving history, and generate reports for financial management and tax purposes. However, I'd love to see church giving apps that integrate with all sorts of useful software, like accounting software, calendar and event planning software, reporting tools, and membership databases. The more these tools can interconnect, the easier it is to use them together in a unified church leadership strategy.
Value for Price:
Church giving apps help you raise much-needed funds for your church facility and church community. Any online giving app for churches will have maitienece requirements that mean they have to charge for their services, but I tried to pick those that weren't intent on gouging you for every penny they could. Fees and costs should be equivalent to the depth and breadth of features offered. Freemium plans, free trials, and discounts for NGOs are always a nice bonus, too.
People Also Ask
Here are a few questions I wanted to cover in relation to church giving apps.
What Are The Benefits Of A Church Giving App?
Using a church giving app offers several benefits for both the church and its members. Here are some of the advantages of any church donation app:
- Convenience: Church giving apps provide a convenient way for members to make donations anytime and anywhere. They eliminate the need for physical checks or cash, allowing individuals to give electronically with just a few taps on their mobile devices.
- Increased Giving: By offering digital giving options, churches can potentially increase overall giving. Many people prefer electronic transactions and find it easier to give regularly when they have the flexibility of setting up recurring gifts through an app.
- Financial Stewardship: Church giving apps can help individuals manage their finances more effectively. The apps often include features for tracking giving history, generating contribution statements, and providing financial transparency, enabling donors to have a clear record of their contributions for personal budgeting and tax purposes.
- Enhanced Engagement: Church giving apps can foster greater engagement within the church community. They often include communication features, such as notifications or updates, that keep members informed about events, campaigns, or urgent needs. This increased engagement can strengthen the sense of belonging and connection among churchgoers.
- Streamlined Administration: Using a church giving app can streamline administrative tasks for the church staff. The apps integrate with church management systems, automating the donation recording process, reducing manual data entry, and generating reports for financial management and tracking purposes.
- Expanded Reach: Church giving apps can extend the reach of a church’s ministry beyond the physical congregation. They allow people who may not regularly attend services but still want to support the church’s mission to contribute remotely. This can be especially beneficial for individuals who have moved away but still wish to maintain their connection and support.
- Targeted Fundraising: Church giving apps often enable churches to run targeted fundraising campaigns for specific causes or projects. These campaigns can help raise funds more efficiently by allowing donors to contribute directly to a particular initiative, such as mission trips, community outreach programs, or building projects.
- Adapting to Digital Culture: Using a church giving app demonstrates a church’s willingness to adapt to the digital age and meet the preferences of a tech-savvy generation. It provides a modern and accessible platform for financial transactions, aligning with the way people manage their finances and make payments in various aspects of their lives.
Online giving apps for churches offer convenience, financial transparency, engagement, and administrative efficiency, benefiting both the church and its members in their commitment to supporting the church’s mission and ministries.
How much do church giving apps cost?
The cost of church giving apps can vary depending on several factors, such as the features included, the size of the church, and the specific pricing models of the app providers. Some church donation apps offer free basic versions with limited features, while others may charge a monthly or annual subscription fee that can range from $20 to $100 per month. For larger churches or those requiring advanced features like custom branding or extensive integrations, the costs can range from $100 to $300 or more per month.
Additionally, transaction fees are often associated with processing donations, typically ranging from 2% to 3% of each transaction, with additional per-transaction fees ranging from $0.25 to $0.50. It’s essential for churches to carefully evaluate pricing structures and consider the specific needs and budget of their congregation when selecting a church giving app.
Are their any free giving apps for churches?
Donation apps are not typically free because sending and receiving donations costs money but here are a few options you can consider. These online giving apps for churches are all free or have free versions/free workarounds.
- Give Lively: Free for non-profits
- PayPal: Send and receive money for free
- Website Tip Jar: Add a tips button to your church website
- E-transfer: Many bank e-transfer services are free to use
What is the easiest church giving app to use?
Determining the easiest church giving app to use depends on individual preferences and needs. I found apps like Tithe.ly, EasyTithe, and Pushpay to be user-friendly and intuitive. These apps offer simple and streamlined interfaces, making it easy for both church administrators and members to navigate and process donations. These church donation apps typically provide straightforward donation options, clear instructions, and convenient features like recurring giving and designated funds. I recommend that you explore different church giving apps, try out their free trials or demos, and assess which app aligns best with the specific requirements and ease of use desired by the church and its members.
Church Giving Apps for Easy Fundraising
Church giving apps can help make donations easy for church administrators and church members because it makes donating easy, convenient, and secure. If you don’t have a church giving app yet for your church, look at the features of the apps listed above so you can choose the app that will suit your church’s needs.
Online giving apps for churches are only one of the many software solutions I recommend for growing churches. If you want to learn more about other software and apps that can help your church grow, be sure to read more informative articles at The Lead Pastor.