ChurchPlan

ChurchPlan is a church administration platform with a member-facing mobile app, bringing giving, people, events and ministry tools together. It is best suited to churches and parishes that want a branded app and can match their needs to tiered feature bundles. The free Essentials plan covers core giving and member records, but events and education require paid plans.

Overview

ChurchPlan combines online giving, member records, communications and church operations in an app and admin portal. Unlimited people records and household relationships give churches room to maintain a broad membership database without a people cap on Essentials. The trade-off is that useful capabilities are divided by plan: a church needing events or ticketing must pay for Engagement, while education and liturgy tools sit in the higher-priced Education tier.

Giving supports cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, recurring donations and automated tax receipts. Stripe processes card transactions, and ChurchPlan says standard processing applies without extra ChurchPlan fees. Its pricing page identifies receipts for CRA, IRS, ATO and IRD, as well as UK summaries prepared for HMRC. The company says its privacy and compliance posture covers PIPEDA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and Australian and New Zealand privacy laws.

Key features

Giving and member records

Recurring gifts, automated receipts, donation links and QR codes make Essentials a credible starting point for churches that chiefly need digital giving and a member-facing app. Household relationship links add useful context to unlimited member records. Essentials does not include the events and ticketing tools that may matter to congregations managing registrations.

Events and communications

Engagement adds event publishing, free or paid registration, QR tickets and mobile check-in, alongside announcements, push notifications and mobile admin search and outreach. That bundle suits churches coordinating attendance and member communications; it is a substantial step up from the free plan if event operations are central.

Education and administration

Education adds ministries and Sunday school, curriculum and lesson-plan management, attendance tracking, parent access to children's curriculum, liturgies, a church calendar and website publishing. This is the tier for churches that need education and ministry workflows alongside administration. Enterprise extends the offer to multi-parish and diocesan administration, API access, webhooks, custom integrations, and dedicated success and support.

Pricing

• Essentials: free, billed Free forever. It includes unlimited members, online giving and automated tax receipts, a personalized church mobile app, donation links and QR codes, with no credit card required. It fits churches focused on core giving and records, but excludes Engagement's events and ticketing.
• Engagement: $99 a month, billed $1,188 billed yearly. It adds events and ticketing, QR admission and check-in, announcements, push notifications, and mobile admin search and outreach. It fits churches that need event registration and communications.
• Education: $199 a month, billed $2,388 billed yearly. It includes ministries and Sunday school, curriculum, attendance tracking, liturgies, a church calendar and website publishing. It is aimed at churches with education and ministry needs; the price is a significant step above Engagement.
• Enterprise: custom pricing, billed annually with volume pricing. It includes multi-parish and diocese administration, API access and webhooks, custom integrations, and dedicated success and support. It is intended for larger or multi-site organizations that need those administration and integration capabilities.

ChurchPlan presents paid plans with annual billing totals. Essentials is free forever, while the paid plan details do not state a trial or renewal term. Churches should compare the bundle contents against their requirements before choosing a tier, especially if event tools or education features are essential.

Platforms

ChurchPlan supports Android, iOS and web, and offers API access as an Enterprise feature. A branded mobile app is part of Essentials, so even a church using the free tier can provide a church-specific member app.

Who it's for

ChurchPlan is built for churches and parishes, including dioceses and multi-church organizations. Essentials is most compelling for a congregation that wants unlimited member records, giving and a branded app without a subscription. Engagement is the practical fit when event registration and check-in are needed; Education makes sense when curriculum, attendance and liturgies are part of the same operational need. Organizations needing multi-parish administration or custom integrations should consider Enterprise. Churches wanting events or education without the corresponding paid bundle should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Essentials is free forever and includes unlimited members, online giving, automated receipts and a personalized app, making the core package unusually broad for a no-cost starting point.
• Pros: Giving supports recurring donations and multiple digital payment methods, with receipts spanning several jurisdictions.
• Pros: Event registration, QR check-in and education tools address operational needs beyond basic member records and donations.
• Cons: Events and ticketing are reserved for Engagement, so congregations needing registration cannot rely on Essentials alone.
• Cons: Education costs $199 a month, placing curriculum, attendance and liturgy capabilities in a higher-priced tier.
• Cons: Enterprise uses custom annual volume pricing, so multi-parish organizations cannot compare its cost from a fixed published rate.

Alternatives

ChMeetings is worth comparing for churches that want a free plan with a defined cap of 50 people and 50 donations per month, or a free trial. Faith Teams offers a free account for up to 100 active people, with online giving to be activated within 30 days; consider it if that cap suits your congregation. Planning Center has separate free Calendar, People and Services plans, including an unlimited database and reporting in People, making it a relevant alternative for churches considering a modular setup.

Tithely Giving offers a free giving plan with no monthly fees and transaction fees, or a Giving + Church Management plan at $72 a month; it may suit churches prioritizing a lower-cost giving-and-management bundle. FellowshipOne is another church-management option, with custom pricing through a consultant. Rock RMS is a free, self-hosted option with a recommended donation of $4.45 per average weekend attendee per year; consider it if self-hosting fits your organization. ChurchTrac starts at $29 a month for 75 people and offers a free trial, making its per-person plan structure a useful comparison. Asoriba is another freemium option available on web, iOS and Android.

For a broader comparison, see Church Management Software.

Verdict

ChurchPlan is a strong fit for churches that want unlimited member records, digital giving and a branded app at no cost, with a clear path to events or education tools as needs grow. Its main limitation is the tier split: event operations start at $99 a month billed yearly, and education costs more. Choose it when those bundles align with your requirements; look elsewhere if you need those capabilities without moving to a paid tier.