Eight platforms most churches actually consider in 2026 — Pushpay, Tithely, Givelify, Subsplash, Planning Center, Vanco, Donorbox, and Stablish. Different price points, different philosophies, different fits. We'll tell you who each one is for and where it falls short.
There are roughly thirty church giving platforms competing for your church's signature. Most sound similar, charge differently, and leave a pastor's evaluation spreadsheet half-finished by Wednesday. The honest answer to "which one should we use" depends more on your church than on any feature list.
Here's a real comparison of the eight platforms most churches consider in 2026. We've tried to be fair to every one (yes, including ours) and clear about what each gets right and where each one falls short. The goal is to help you pick the platform that actually fits, not the one with the loudest sales team.
A note on pricing: these are approximations as of mid-2026. Always verify with the vendor — pricing structures shift.
What pastors should actually evaluate
Before diving into platforms, here's the short list of what matters most. If a vendor doesn't get these right, the rest of their feature list doesn't save them.
- Mobile-first giving experience. Most giving happens on a phone now. If a member can't complete a gift in under 90 seconds, you're losing gifts they intended to give.
- Recurring giving as a default. The single biggest lever in church giving is moving members from one-time to recurring. If recurring is a checkbox at step 7, very few will find it.
- Transparent pricing. "Contact us" pricing is a red flag for any small or mid-size church. You should know what it costs without a sales call.
- Pastoral visibility. You need to see giving trends, lapsed givers, and engagement — not just total dollars.
- Modern UX. The giving page is a brand experience. If it looks like 2014, members notice.
- Data ownership. Your donor list belongs to you, not the vendor.
Now to the eight.
1. Pushpay
Who it's for: Mid-to-large churches (500+ attendees) with budget for enterprise software.
Pricing: Custom — typically $10,000–$25,000+ per year depending on church size and module mix.
Strengths. Pushpay is the dominant enterprise player in church tech. Mature feature set, deep ChMS (Church Community Builder, ParishSOFT) integration through their Pushpay/CCB ecosystem, robust admin tooling, strong donor management. They've been doing this for over a decade and it shows in the operational depth.
Weaknesses. Expensive, with opaque pricing that requires a sales conversation to get a number. Their UX has improved but still has dated corners. Smaller churches usually find it overbuilt for their needs and budget.
Best for: Large multi-site churches and megachurches with dedicated finance and IT staff. If you have 1,500+ attendees and need enterprise integration, Pushpay deserves a serious look.
2. Tithely
Who it's for: Small to mid-size churches that want an affordable, full-featured giving platform.
Pricing: Free tier with transaction fees only; premium plans starting around $50/month with reduced rates and added features.
Strengths. Tithely has been the default for SMB-size churches for years and there's a reason — they offer a polished mobile app, broad feature coverage (giving, ChMS-lite, events, websites), and pricing that's accessible. Setup is straightforward.
Weaknesses. Recurring giving setup, while functional, isn't aggressively pushed in the member flow. Members can give one-time without realizing they could've made it recurring with one tap. Their broader product suite (sites, ChMS) is fine but rarely best-in-class for any one thing.
Best for: Churches under 500 attendees that want a complete platform without enterprise pricing.
3. Givelify
Who it's for: Churches that want a free giving platform with no monthly fees.
Pricing: Free; transaction fees of about 2.9% + $0.30 per gift.
Strengths. No monthly cost. Easy to set up. Popular consumer-style mobile app that some donors recognize. Great for one-time gifts and "I want to start giving today" moments.
Weaknesses. Members give to "Givelify" rather than to your church directly — brand visibility lives with Givelify, not you. Customization is limited. Recurring giving conversion is weaker than tools that prioritize the recurring path. If your strategy is to grow recurring givers, Givelify isn't optimized for that.
Best for: Smaller churches or church plants that want zero monthly cost and don't yet need stewardship or recurring-conversion tooling.
4. Subsplash Giving
Who it's for: Churches already using Subsplash's church app and website platform.
Pricing: Bundled with Subsplash's app suite. Varies widely depending on which modules you've licensed.
Strengths. Tight integration with Subsplash's app and website tools. If your church is already deep in their ecosystem, the giving module fits in cleanly. The donor experience inside the church's branded app is smooth.
Weaknesses. Subsplash Giving on its own — without the app and website — is less compelling than dedicated giving platforms. The value comes from the bundle, which means significant commitment to one vendor.
Best for: Churches already invested in Subsplash who want their giving to live inside the same app members already use.
5. Planning Center Giving
Who it's for: Churches using Planning Center for ChMS, Services, Groups, or Check-Ins.
Pricing: Around $39–$119 per month depending on church size, plus transaction fees.
Strengths. Seamless integration with the rest of Planning Center's modules. If you already use PCO for service planning or check-ins, adding Giving is a natural extension. Donor data flows into your existing PCO database.
Weaknesses. Only makes sense if you're already on Planning Center. Outside of that ecosystem, it's a fine-but-not-exceptional giving platform.
Best for: Existing Planning Center customers who want to keep all of their member data in one place.
6. Vanco
Who it's for: Mainline denominational churches that have used Vanco historically or have denominational partnerships.
Pricing: Variable, often tied to denominational arrangements.
Strengths. Long history in church giving. Strong denominational relationships, especially with mainline traditions. Broad feature set.
Weaknesses. Some interfaces still feel like older church-tech. Mobile experience is improving but lags newer entrants. Less innovation in the recurring-giving and engagement side.
Best for: Mainline denominational churches with existing Vanco relationships, especially if you have a denominational discount.
7. Donorbox
Who it's for: Smaller churches and church plants that want a lightweight, embeddable giving form.
Pricing: Free tier; paid plans starting at $19/month plus transaction fees.
Strengths. Easy to embed on any website. Strong design out of the box. Works for any nonprofit, not just churches.
Weaknesses. Not church-specific — lacks ChMS integration and denominational features. Reporting is general-nonprofit-focused, not pastor-focused.
Best for: Church plants or smaller churches that want a simple, well-designed embeddable giving form without church-specific features.
8. Stablish
Who it's for: Churches that see giving and stewardship as one discipleship problem, not two.
Pricing: Intelligent Giving (the giving platform) is free for churches. The full Stewardship + Giving plan is $0.49 per attendee per month at Founding Partner pricing ($0.99 future list, locked in for life for early partners).
Strengths. Stablish is the only platform on this list that bundles a modern giving platform with an AI-coached stewardship app for every member. Built on a 4-bucket biblical framework called The Money Map (Giving, Fixed Costs, Savings, Free Spending), with bank-linked transactions and personalized AI nudges toward biblical generosity. Modern mobile-first giving with transparent pricing.
Weaknesses. Newer entrant — Stablish launched in 2024, so the operational track record is shorter than Pushpay's or Vanco's. ChMS integrations are limited to a few systems today (more on the roadmap). Some pastors will want to wait for more case studies before adopting.
Best for: Churches that want every member discipled financially, not just churches that want a way to receive donations. If your stewardship sermon series produces a two-week bump and then nothing, Stablish was built for that pattern. Stablish also works alongside existing giving platforms — many churches keep Pushpay, Tithely, or Givelify as their gift processor and add Stablish on the stewardship + irregular-giver-conversion side without switching.
Disclosure: We make Stablish. We've tried to describe it the same way we'd describe a competitor — honestly, with a real weakness, and clear about who it's wrong for.
Recommendations by church size
- Under 200 attendees: Givelify (free) or Stablish Intelligent Giving (also free). If you want stewardship coaching too, Stablish full plan.
- 200–1,000 attendees: Tithely, Planning Center Giving (if you're already on PCO), or Stablish. The choice usually comes down to whether you want a stewardship app bundled.
- 1,000–5,000 attendees: Pushpay or Stablish. Pushpay if you need enterprise integrations and have the budget; Stablish if you want a stewardship layer that lasts past the sermon.
- 5,000+ (multi-site or megachurch): Pushpay or Stablish (Tailored plan). Both can scale; the question is whether you want the integration depth or the engagement layer.
Recommendations by need
- Just need a giving platform, free is required: Givelify, Stablish Intelligent Giving (free), or Donorbox free tier.
- Want giving + stewardship coaching bundled: Stablish (the only platform on this list that does both natively).
- Need ChMS integration with my existing church management system: Planning Center Giving (PCO), Pushpay (CCB/ParishSOFT), or Subsplash (their own).
- Want everything in one branded church app: Subsplash or Pushpay.
- Already on a denominational platform with discounts: Vanco.
What we wish more platforms did
A few patterns we hope the next generation of church giving software gets right:
- Bundle giving with stewardship. Generosity flows from financial health. Asking members to give faithfully without helping them manage their money is half the work.
- Make recurring the default, not a checkbox. Recurring givers contribute roughly 120% more annually than one-time givers. Most platforms still treat recurring as a hidden option.
- Give pastors visibility into engagement, not just dollars. Total giving is a lagging indicator. Engagement, lapsed-giver alerts, and trends are leading indicators.
- Charge per attendee, not per feature. Per-feature gates penalize the churches that need the most tools.
Don't want to switch giving platforms?
A reality most comparison posts skip: switching giving platforms is hard. Members get confused, recurring donations break, reconciliation gets messy. Most churches stay on what they have, even when something better exists.
If that's you, Stablish is unique on this list — it can run alongside your existing platform rather than replacing it. Keep your gift processor. Add Stablish on the stewardship + irregular-giver-conversion side. Roughly 70% of churchgoers give irregularly (Christmas, maybe once mid-year, then nothing); Stablish is built specifically for that segment. Integrations with major giving platforms are on our roadmap.
The other platforms on this list are full-replacement plays — switching to them means migrating giving. Stablish is the only platform here designed to layer on top of what you already have.
How to choose
If you're picking a platform today, here's the actual decision tree we'd walk a pastor friend through:
- Does my church already use a ChMS (Planning Center, Church Community Builder, ParishSOFT, etc.)? If yes, your ChMS's giving module is usually the path of least resistance.
- Do I want stewardship coaching for my members? If yes, Stablish is the only option on this list that does both giving and stewardship in one platform.
- Is budget the dominant constraint? If yes, Givelify or Stablish Intelligent Giving (both free) are the starting point.
- Am I a 1,500+ attendee church with dedicated staff? Pushpay deserves a real evaluation alongside Stablish Tailored.
Whichever you choose, the deeper work is the same: discipling generous, faithful Christians who steward what God has entrusted them with. The platform is the obstacle removed. The Spirit does the rest.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." — 1 Corinthians 3:6 (ESV)
If you want to see what Stablish would look like for your church specifically, book a 15-minute walk-through. No pitch. Just an honest look at whether it would actually serve your team.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest church giving software?
Givelify and Stablish Intelligent Giving are both free for churches — no monthly fees, just standard payment processing on transactions. Donorbox has a free tier as well. For paid platforms, Tithely's free tier and Planning Center Giving at ~$39/month are the most affordable starting points.
What is the best church giving platform for small churches?
For churches under 200 attendees, the best free options are Givelify and Stablish Intelligent Giving. If you want a stewardship coaching app bundled with giving, Stablish at $0.49/attendee/month (Founding Partner pricing) is uniquely positioned for small churches. Tithely is a strong paid option in this size range.
What is the best church giving platform for megachurches?
For 1,500+ attendee churches, Pushpay has been the dominant enterprise player for over a decade — strong ChMS integration and operational depth. Stablish's Tailored plan is the newer alternative; it brings AI-coached stewardship for every member, which Pushpay doesn't offer. The choice comes down to whether you prioritize integration depth or engagement layer.
Do I really need a stewardship app — can't members just use a budgeting app like Mint or YNAB?
They can, but most won't. Generic budgeting apps require members to download, set up, and stick with them — and most don't. A church-sponsored stewardship app shows up to the member, runs in the background, and reinforces biblical financial principles. It's also the only way to give every member of your congregation the same tool, regardless of whether they would have signed up on their own.
Why isn't [other giving platform] on this list?
We picked the eight platforms that come up most often in pastor conversations as of mid-2026. Other platforms exist (Easy Tithe, Continue To Give, Faithlife Giving, etc.), but they tend to serve narrower segments. If you're considering a platform we didn't cover, the same evaluation criteria apply — mobile experience, recurring giving conversion, transparent pricing, pastor visibility, and modern UX.
How much should a church spend on giving software?
It depends on size and need. Free platforms (Givelify, Stablish Intelligent Giving) work for churches that just need to receive donations. Mid-tier paid platforms run $40-200/month + transaction fees. Enterprise platforms (Pushpay) range from $10K-$50K+/year. As a rough rule, a church should spend less than 1-2% of annual giving on the giving platform — the goal is to grow giving, not consume it.