Looking for the right fundraising platform to grow your church? I’ll help you find the best church giving software platforms for your budget and needs. Plus, I’ll share 12 key features to look for in your online giving software.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!Your congregants expect to be able to give online – and when they do, they give more. Churches with an online tithing option see an increase of 32% in their donations on average.
You know you need an easy online giving option…but which platform is right for you? Let’s take a look at eight great options!
Donorbox is an all-in-one church fundraising solution that offers a quick setup process and a variety of powerful features.
More than 100,000 organizations in 96 countries have trusted Donorbox with their online giving, including churches. Donorbox MinistryMomentum is a key pillar of Donorbox, created specifically to help churches strengthen and grow consistent tithing.
As a church leader, you know how much consistent giving helps your ministries and budget planning. That’s why we love that Donorbox specializes in making recurring giving easy with easy-to-embed forms, multiple interval options, and customizable prompts that encouraging recurring gifts.
It’s also budget-friendly, with a free plan (just pay processing and platform fees) that includes tools like donations, events, peer-to-peer, and reporting. No startup costs or contracts.
Take a look at The Calvary Family of Churches uses Donorbox to further their mission:
Donorbox is a strong fundraising and online giving platform with a newer nonprofit CRM, but it doesn’t include built-in church management or volunteer management features like some other platforms.
Learn more about Donorbox pricing.
PayPal is a widely used payment processor trusted by millions worldwide. It offers a convenient giving option for church-goers who already have an account, while still allowing others to tithe without needing to sign up.
Paypay is a popular payment method and very trustworthy, so church members may feel more confident giving with this option. There’s also an option for church members to give in person, which is great for your church foyer or events.
While PayPal makes online giving simple, it isn’t built for churches. On its own, it doesn’t capture supporter information, offer flexible recurring giving, or let supporters cover processing fees. These features are just too important for most churches to go without.
PayPal comes with some other drawbacks as well, which you can read about here.
Tithely is an all-in-one church technology platform built to help churches grow generosity, engage their communities, and simplify ministry operations.
This church giving software offers online and mobile giving, church management tools, messaging, custom website and app, events, and financial reporting – all designed specifically for the unique needs of faith-based organizations.
We love that Tithely is a pastor-created software designed just for churches. They focus on simplicity, reliability, and ministry impact, to help church leaders spend less time managing tools and more time serving people.
Tithely focuses on direct giving, but doesn’t offer peer-to-peer campaigns for supporter-led church fundraising. It also has limited form customization options compared to some other platforms.
Learn more about Tithely pricing.
RebelGive is a solution for church online giving that prides itself on doing things differently. The platform’s flat fee and straightforward approach make it a solid choice for those who want a no-muss, no-fuss solution. With RebelGive, you get what you pay for without any surprises.
Rebel is an affordable platform committed to helping churches cover any online giving fees. RebelGive covers things like NSF, security, PCI, or Visa fees and they invite your church memebrs to cover fees to ensure you receive 100% of their donation goes to your church.
With RebelGive, donation form customization is limited to a logo and picking a color hue. With that in mind, this system may not be the best solution for churches that prioritize customization and a cohesive brand image.
Learn more about RebelGive pricing.
Amplify by Ministry Brands is a multi-platform solution that helps nonprofits and faith-based organizations accept online church tithes. Their mission is to build productive, sustainable relationships between nonprofit organizations and their givers.
They also pride themselves on their reporting capabilities, which allow you to quickly pull data on information such as donation trends, new supporters, and average donation amount.
With Amplify, you can build a fully branded church app that includes online giving right alongside everything else. Church apps are an easy way to bring key parts of church life, like child check-in, events, media, and of course giving, into one easy, accessible place for your members.
Amplify doesn’t include tools like peer-to-peer or crowdfunding, which can make it harder for churches to reach new people or fund specific projects. It’s also not ideal that you have to book a demo or call just to view their pricing.
Amplify does not publicly disclose their pricing. Contact the Amplify team for information on plans and fees.
Pushpay is a contract-based online payment processing service for online church giving. They offer a variety of additional services including church management software, church giving apps (customization available for an undisclosed fee), and donor relationship-building tools.
Pushpay has strong recurring giving features, with ways to encourage one-time supporters to become consistent givers. We also love that church members can easily manage and update their recurring gifts through their own donor portal.
Many Pushpay reviews mention that the platform feels expensive for the features offered. Church fundraising tools like peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding are limited, and Pushpay doesn’t offer a giving kiosk option for in-person donations.
PushPay does not list pricing on its website – instead, it builds a custom pricing quote for each church, plus payment processing fees. Learn more here.
easyTithe offers online donation solutions for churches of all sizes. They provide a relatively straightforward all-in-one portal for collecting donations, recurring gifts, and text gifts. With easyTithe, you can view graphical reports of monthly trends, recurring gifts, forecasting, and more.
easyTithe also offers a free demo to get an in-depth look at this service.
easyTithe’s giving kiosk software is a crowd favorite for reviewers. Church members can give on the spot in the foyer or at an event without needing cash or checks.
As with some other services listed here, easyTithe does not allow for donations via Apple Pay or Google Pay. Donations can be made via credit card, debit card, or ACH bank transfer.
To get details on easyTithe’s plans and pricing, you’ll need to schedule a call, as their plans aren’t publicly listed.
Givelify offers online giving options as well as a giving app for churches and nonprofits. This platform is used by nearly one million donors. With next-day deposits, no monthly fees, and no contracts, this is a simple solution for online church giving.
To get a more interactive look at this system’s features, sign up for a free demo with Givelify.
Givelify has excellent built-in reporting tools through the Analytics Studio. It gives church leaders an easy way to track tithes, send personalized communication, view giving trends, and manage tax information for easy financial reporting.
Like many online giving platforms, Givelify is missing some built-in fundraising features such as peer-to-peer fundraising, event ticketing, and native email marketing tools.
Learn more about Givelify’s pricing here.
While these depend on what your church is looking for in a giving platform – like simplicity, low fees, free solutions, customization, integrations, or multiple payment methods – there are 12 important factors you can’t miss at all.
Some church donation software takes just minutes to set up, while others require lengthy paperwork. To minimize time and hassle, look for giving software that allows you to easily create an account and a fundraising page in minutes.
For example, Donorbox lets you create a free donation page or an embed form in just 15 minutes, so you can start collecting donations right away
Software and donation fees can really cut into the funds you’re raising. Keep more money in your church’s budget by reviewing the fees for each service you’re considering. Some charge a monthly fee, while others might charge a startup fee or donation processing fee.
One thing that can make a big difference is whether your church members have the option to cover those fees. Many church members are willing to cover donation fees because they realize it helps more of their gift support ministries.
For example, see how Your Catholic Voice Foundation offers this feature on their Donorbox-powered form:
A customized donation form with your church’s brand colors and logo can help you put your best foot forward and encourage church members to give. Additionally, a professional-looking donation form can build feelings of trust with your church members.
Some church giving platforms offer very limited customization, while others make it easy to fully brand your donation forms with your logo, colors, buttons, images, calls to action, and even a custom domain so it feels like a natural extension of your church.
Here’s an example of a branded but simple church donation form:
Create a Branded Donation Form
One way to ensure your church doesn’t leave money on the table is to accept as many legitimate payment options as possible when fundraising. These days, many people prefer to donate with Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, or PayPal. Choose a service that accepts the payment methods your congregation will likely use when donating.
Pro tip: Don’t overlook options like crypto, stock, or after-pay, either. Find a platform like Donorbox that offers dozens of fast payment methods. The more ways people can give, the more opportunities you create for generosity.
See how Grace United Methodist Church offers multiple payment options on their Donorbox form:
Offering flexible recurring donations is a convenient way to collect weekly tithes as well as monthly, quarterly, or annual support. Choosing a system with robust recurring gift capabilities can help boost online tithing for churches.
Some platforms even give you the option to highlight the preferred interval, as you can see in the example below.
A text-to-give campaign can be a powerful way to raise money for a church project, especially for members who don’t have cash or checks on hand. .
Members simply text a custom keyword and instantly receive a link to your online giving form, making it quick and easy to give right from their phone.
Repeating a donation with Donorbox Text-to-Give is even simpler. Your church members won’t have to open the donation page again to make a donation. See how it looks:
To learn more, read our blog post on why text-to-give campaigns are an important part of church fundraising.
With peer-to-peer, you can empower your church members to raise donations on behalf of your church. Members can create their own personalized fundraising page to share with neighbors, friends, and family.
Peer-to-peer is especially great for mission trips, building projects, or church fundraising events. It expands your reach while inspiring church members to participate in your mission.
Here’s a great example of a church using peer-to-peer fundraising to further their mission:
In-person giving matters now more than ever, especially in the foyer during services or at events where people may not have cash or checks.
With apps like Donorbox Live™, easily turn your tablet or mobile device into a church giving kiosk so you can accept donations via card or popular digital wallets.
Some online giving platforms can help you build and strengthen relationships with your church members. Look for a giving tool that allows you to track donor communications and metrics, or that integrates with your existing CRM system if you’re using one.
Build strong donor relationships by keeping track of your members’ birthdays, giving anniversaries, and other milestones. Reach out with a note of gratitude and celebration to build the connection.
When church members make a gift, ideally, they should receive an automated electronic receipt instantaneously. Make sure your chosen giving platform offers this. Otherwise, you may spend unexpected time creating and issuing receipts on your own.
Donorbox, for example, not only sends automatic donation receipts after every donation, but also lets you customize them to fit your church’s tone and brand.
Think about the systems your church might already be using to send emails, manage records, or organize projects. When possible, picking a donation platform that integrates with your existing systems can minimize headaches and administrative time.
Some platforms even integrate with your church management software like Rock RMS and Planning Center, helping keep your donor data in one place.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: your online giving platform must be secure.
Look for a system that has built-in, automatic fraud detection, SSL/TLS encryption, tokenization of financial data, and strong customer authentication.
As you can see, there are a variety of online giving options available for your church, each with its own unique strengths and drawbacks.
With the right online fundraising solution, you’ll be well on your way toward boosting your church’s fundraising efforts and continuing to create positive change in the world.
For more church fundraising platform comparisons, tips, and strategies, check out the rest of the Nonprofit Blog.
Use a platform that supports mobile giving, recurring donations, and digital wallets like Apple Pay. Keep the form simple, branded, and easy to access.
Choose one that’s easy to use, secure, and supports recurring gifts and multiple payment methods – like Donorbox! Low fees and donor management tools are also helpful.
Yes, as long as you use a trusted platform with secure payment processing. Look for features like SSL encryption and fraud protection to keep your congregation’s data safe.
With a background in professional writing, Lydia brings over 10 years of experience in nonprofit communications under her belt, with a strong focus on fundraising and donor engagement. Her passion for supporting nonprofits was sparked during college internships with global mission organizations, where she gained hands-on experience with fundraising marketing strategies.
Lydia went on to serve for more than eight years as a Church Communications Director, overseeing both internal and external communications to clearly communicate the church’s mission, build trust with members, and encourage generosity through accessible tools like online and recurring giving. In this role, she partnered closely with church leadership to support giving campaigns and highlight the real-life impact of financial support through storytelling.
These experiences have continued to fuel her dedication to empowering nonprofits through her writing.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!
