The Top Free Church Management Software Tools (2024’s Best-in-Class)
Best Free Church Management Software: Our Shortlist
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.
As a church management newbie many years ago, I quickly came to a stark realization: church budgets can get tiiiiight. Between juggling staff, volunteers, events, and outreach, we barely had room in the budget for the management software we desperately needed. And, without those tools:
- We struggled to track attendance and giving, leading to missed opportunities for connection and support.
- Managing volunteers and scheduling events was a logistical nightmare that wasted time.
- The admin work was eating into our budget and ministry time, and we couldn’t afford expensive solutions.
These issues happened because we weren't using tools that could streamline everything without draining our budget.
That’s why I’ve put together this list of free church management software—so you can save money while getting the tools you need to run your church smoothly. Here are some budget-friendly options that will keep your finances in check while still providing top-notch management features!
Why Can You Trust My Software Reviews?
Since launching TheLeadPastor.com in 2019, my team and I—pastors and church leaders ourselves—have dedicated ourselves to the rigorous task of testing and reviewing free church management software. We understand the difficulty of juggling budget pressures with the importance of having the right management tools for our ministries.
We commit to thorough research to equip our readers with the insights needed to make informed software purchasing decisions. Over the years, we've tested over 2,000 tools for various church management scenarios and crafted over 1,000 detailed reviews.
The 10 Best Free Church Management Software Summary
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| ChMeetings | From $12/month | Website |
| Bitrix24 | From $40/user/month (minimum 5 users) | Website |
| Raklet | From $49/month | Website |
| CahabaWorks | Pricing upon request | Website |
| Continue to Give | Pricing upon request | Website |
| ChurchCRM | No price details | Website |
| ChurchTrac | From $8.10/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Flocknote | From $84/month | Website |
| Realm | Pricing upon request | Website |
| TextEmAll | From $0.05/credit | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareHow to Choose Free Church Management Software
When selecting free church management software, it’s important to get the most value without impacting your budget. Here are five key things to look for:
- Ease of Use for Everyone: Make sure the software is user-friendly, especially for team members who aren’t tech-savvy. An intuitive system with minimal training requirements will save you time and help you avoid costly frustration.
- Membership Management: Opt for software with robust membership management features. For example, ChurchTrac offers tools for tracking attendance and involvement, helping leaders ensure no one slips through the cracks—without paying a dime.
- Good Communication Tools: Look for built-in communication features like mass email, SMS, and event notifications. Free tools that offer these features will keep your congregation connected and engaged while keeping your budget intact.
- Event Management: Choose software that simplifies event scheduling and volunteer coordination. Free options like Planning Center offer tools for managing calendars and volunteers, so you can streamline events without having to invest in pricey solutions.
- Tracking Donations: It’s essential to have accurate donation records. Free platforms like Tithe.ly or Givelify not only track contributions but also generate detailed financial reports, helping you manage church finances without straining your budget.
By focusing on these features, you’ll save both time and money, allowing you to invest more in ministry and less in administrative headaches.
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.
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. You can access it on your PC or on mobile devices running both Android and iOS.
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.
Bitrix24
Best free church management software for for activity & events
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.
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.
CahabaWorks is church management solution 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.
Continue To Give is software designed to help non-profit organizations and religious communities 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.
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.
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.
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.
Realm is an all-in-one church management solution that offers integrated tools and services for pastoral care, ministries, administration, and other church operations. It offers a free trial for its Inform plan, ideal for pastors and church staff looking for better ways to simplify data management and gain insights for church decision-making.
One of the standout features of Realm is its robust reporting tools. These tools allow church administrators to generate a variety of reports that provide insights into membership trends, financial health, and event attendance. This capability is ideal for tracking the growth and engagement of the congregation, and for evaluating the effectiveness of different church programs and initiatives. Additionally, the ability to run and customize these reports ensures that church staff can focus on specific data points that are most relevant to their operational or strategic goals.
Furthermore, Realm enhances administrative efficiency through streamlined data entry and management processes. This includes simplified pathways for entering contributions, managing fund accounts, and tracking donor engagement. The integration of these administrative tasks into a single platform saves time and reduces the likelihood of errors that can occur with manual data handling.
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.
Jon K, an assistant pastor of a mid-size church says:
Church management software has been such a gift to us; it's provided us with so many things we needed. We're working on a budget and need a robust system. We can create forms, manage giving, organize children's ministry activities, and keep track of everyone. Our software gives us everything we need in one place.
Getting started was relatively easy. There was a lot of administrative stuff at the start, but once we got through that, it was smooth sailing. It was easy to keep using after the initial onboarding section.
To make things simpler, I recommend taking a good look through the various tutorials, taking advantage of their online system, and chatting with the software representatives.
Selection Criteria for Free Church Management Software
When choosing free church management software, it’s crucial to find tools that meet the practical needs of your church—without stretching your budget. After testing and researching these tools, I’ve developed the following criteria to help guide your decision-making process:
Core Features – 25% of total weighting score
Free church management software usually covers the basics like membership database management, tracking attendance and donations, scheduling events, generating reports, and accessing data via mobile apps.
To make my list of the best free software, the tool needed to handle real-world church needs, such as:
- Tracking membership engagement and attendance
- Managing donations and creating financial reports
- Scheduling teams and events
- Sending mass emails and SMS messages
- Organizing attendee data—all without a price tag.
Additional Standout Features – 25% of total weighting score
Some free options go above the basics by offering unique features that can save you time and money, including:
- Automated Reporting: Minimize manual data entry with automatic attendance and financial reports.
- Event Management: Simplify event creation and registration—even for volunteers with little tech experience.
- Customizable Workflows: Automating processes like new membership onboarding or prayer requests can help you get more done without spending extra.
- Donation Tracking & Online Giving: Choose software that integrates online giving directly into member profiles, so donation tracking is seamless and cost-effective.
Usability – 10% of total weighting score
Usability is key when looking for free software that can get the job done without causing frustration:
- Simple, clean design for non-tech-savvy users
- Drag-and-drop calendars for scheduling events
- Easy management of membership data and communication—all saving you time and effort.
Onboarding – 10% of total weighting score
Look for software with fast, straightforward onboarding to avoid wasting time:
- Training videos, templates, and product tours to get up to speed quickly
- Clear instructions for migrating existing data
- Webinars, tutorials, or chat support to guide you through setup—without costing extra.
Customer Support – 10% of total weighting score
Free software is only as good as the support behind it, so you’ll want responsive, helpful customer service:
- Access to live chat, email, or phone support
- Detailed help centers or knowledge bases for self-help
- Community forums for peer support and shared troubleshooting—all without an added cost.
Value for Money – 10% of total weighting score
Since you’re looking for free software, it’s important to get the most value out of it:
- Free versions that include essential features for small churches
- Transparent pricing for when you’re ready to scale, with clear feature breakdowns for any future upgrades—so you only pay for what you need.
Customer Reviews – 10% of total weighting score
Feedback from real users can offer valuable insight into whether the software is truly saving churches time and money:
- Positive reviews for key features like membership management and communication
- Consistent praise for customer support and ease of use—without hidden costs or frustrations.
These are the criteria we’ve developed over the years to ensure you find free church management software that fits your needs and your budget. With the right tool in place, you can save money while focusing more on ministry and less on operations.
Trends in Free Church Management Software for 2024
As 2024 unfolds, free church management software continues to evolve, with new features aimed at helping church leaders reduce administrative burdens and focus more on ministry—all while saving money. We’ve been keeping a close eye on product updates, press releases, and new releases to identify the latest trends. Here’s what we’re seeing:
Enhanced Church Engagement Tools
- Automated Communication: More free tools now include automated workflows that send personalized follow-up emails to new members, ensuring consistent engagement without increasing your workload—or your budget.
- Journey Mapping: Some platforms now offer visual tracking of members' spiritual growth, helping churches support individuals while saving time on manual updates.
- Smart Scheduling Algorithms: These tools automatically assign volunteers to roles based on availability and skills, minimizing manual adjustments and ensuring the right people are in the right places—all without costing extra.
Advanced Donation and Financial Management
- Direct Integration with Donation Platforms: Many free tools now provide seamless online giving, automatically syncing donations with attendee profiles, so you can track contributions without investing in expensive financial software.
- Enhanced Reporting: Automated giving statements and customizable financial summaries are now standard in some free options, helping you manage church finances more easily—without added costs.
Innovative Management Features
- Virtual Event Hosting: As the demand for online events grows, more free tools now offer built-in virtual hosting capabilities, allowing you to organize webinars and online conferences without having to pay for additional platforms.
In Decline: Traditional Communication Channels
- Email Newsletters: Engagement with traditional email newsletters is decreasing. Feedback shows that members prefer text or in-app messaging, which are often included in free software, helping churches communicate effectively without needing additional services.
These trends show how free church management software is shifting towards greater automation, personalization, and user-friendly features, helping churches save both time and money while still staying on top of their operations.
What is Free Church Management Software?
Free church management software helps pastors and church leaders organize essential aspects of their ministry—like managing member information, tracking donations, and scheduling events—without the added expense.
This software typically includes a centralized database that allows you to handle key tasks such as:
- Tracking attendance
- Generating basic donation reports
- Scheduling services, Bible studies, and other events
Think of it as an all-in-one tool that combines a church directory, scheduler, and financial tracker. With free church management software, you can cut down on admin tasks and costs, freeing up more time and budget for what really matters—ministry.
Features of Free Church Management Software
When selecting free church management software, it’s important to find tools that help reduce the time (and money) spent on administrative tasks. Here are some features that will help you get the most value without the cost:
- Attendee Database Management: A centralized system tracks members' attendance, involvement, and contact information. You’ll have easy access to key details, allowing for more personalized ministry without the extra admin costs.
- Automated Reporting: Financial and attendance reports are generated automatically, saving you from manual number-crunching and freeing up time for ministry.
- Scheduling: Assigning tasks and organizing teams is simplified, helping events run smoothly and reducing the time spent coordinating—at no added cost.
- Event Management: Create events, set up registration, and schedule follow-up notifications with minimal effort, making event planning stress-free.
- Mass Communication Tools: Use mass email, SMS messaging, and notifications to reach your entire congregation quickly. These free tools ensure effective communication without added expenses.
- Donation Tracking and Online Giving: Track donations and enable online giving, providing transparency and simplifying year-end reporting, all while making it easier for your congregation to give—without needing expensive financial software.
- Customizable Forms and Workflows: Automate processes like onboarding new members, collecting prayer requests, or signing up for events, cutting down on paperwork and saving time.
- Document Storage and Sharing: Store important documents like church policies, training materials, and reports in a centralized location, making collaboration easier and avoiding the need for additional file-sharing tools.
- Mobile App Access: Manage church operations on the go with real-time updates on engagement, giving, and event registrations, all through free mobile apps.
- Integration Capabilities: Many free platforms integrate with existing software, like accounting or email tools, streamlining your workflow and reducing duplicate work.
These features allow you to save time and money on daily operations, freeing you up to focus on ministry. By choosing software with these capabilities, you can eliminate costly administrative tasks and invest more in the spiritual growth of your congregation.
Benefits of Free Church Management Software
For pastors seeking ways to simplify church operations while staying within a tight budget, free church management software offers several advantages. Here are five key benefits:
- Unified Database: With a single, free database, you can easily track attendance, engagement, and contact information, improving your ability to connect with your congregation—without additional costs.
- Automatic Donation Tracking: Free software automatically tracks donations and generates financial reports, saving time on bookkeeping and ensuring financial transparency.
- Scheduling: Scheduling tools make it easy to assign tasks, manage teams, and share schedules, reducing the administrative workload and saving you the cost of separate scheduling tools.
- Mass Communication: Free tools for sending mass emails, SMS messages, and notifications keep everyone informed, ensuring effective communication with no extra expenses.
- Event Management: Simple, integrated event scheduling, registration, and follow-up tools help you manage events smoothly, freeing up more time for meaningful interactions with your congregation.
By using free church management software, you can streamline your administrative tasks and focus more on growing your ministry—all while keeping your budget in check.
Costs & Pricing for Free Church Management Software
This article focuses on software tools that allow free access or have a zero-cost entry point. Most free plans have escalations or upgrades into paid plans. I recommend looking into what those upgrades involve as you narrow down your own list.
Review the different plan types and pricing below, and find a solution that aligns with your church's size and needs.
| Plan Type | Average Price | Common Features |
| Free Plan | $0 | Limited member database, basic donation tracking, event management, simple communication tools, limited reporting. |
| Basic Plan | $30/month | Expanded member database, scheduling, mass email, donation tracking with reporting, attendance tracking, calendar and event management. |
| Standard Plan | $70/month | All features of Basic Plan, plus automated workflows, customizable forms, SMS messaging, comprehensive financial reports, check-in, and mobile app access. |
| Advanced Plan | $150/month | All features of Standard Plan, plus virtual event hosting, smart scheduling, member journey mapping, API integration, unlimited users, and dedicated customer support. |
| Enterprise Plan | Custom Pricing | All features of Advanced Plan, plus multi-campus support, custom workflows, advanced reporting, personalized onboarding, and priority customer support. |
Starting with a free entry point is great for small congregations or new churches. Most of these options allow you to scale up pricing as your needs increase.
Free Church Management Software - Frequently Asked Questions
How secure is my congregation’s data when using free church management software?
Most free church management software platforms take data security seriously, using encryption, firewalls, and regular security checks to protect your information. Trusted tools like Tithe.ly and Planning Center adhere to privacy regulations like GDPR. Always review the vendor’s privacy policy and security features to ensure your data is safe, even with a free plan.
Are there any hidden fees with free church management software?
While most free plans provide essential features at no cost, some platforms may have optional fees for advanced features like online giving, text messaging, or premium customer support. Always read the pricing details and terms of service to be clear about any potential costs. The good news is that most platforms are upfront about their pricing, but it’s smart to double-check with the vendor.
Can I import membership data from our existing system or spreadsheets into the new software?
Yes, many free church management software options allow you to import data from spreadsheets or other systems. Breeze and ChurchTrac, for instance, provide guided import tools and templates to simplify the process. Some platforms even offer support for data migration, so you can transition without hiring expensive help.
How reliable is the customer support for free church management software?
Customer support can vary based on whether you’re using a free or paid plan. Free plans generally include access to a help center or email support, while more comprehensive support, like live chat or phone assistance, is often reserved for paid users. Make sure the support level offered aligns with your needs to avoid unexpected frustrations.
Are there integrations with other tools we already use, like accounting or communication platforms?
Many free church management software solutions offer integrations with popular tools like QuickBooks for accounting, Mailchimp for email campaigns, and Zoom for virtual meetings. Platforms like Planning Center and Tithe.ly also have open APIs for custom integrations. Be sure to check if the free version supports the integrations you need, so you don’t have to invest in additional tools.
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