ACS Technologies Pricing and Fees for Churches (2026)
ACS Technologies does not publish a public price list. Pricing is quoted by church size, and most churches pay for Realm, its cloud platform, at around $108 per month on the mid tier (larger congregations pay more), plus Vanco processing fees of roughly 2.75% + $0.30 on every card gift. Budget a recurring subscription plus per-gift fees, not a one-time cost. Confirm the current numbers in a written quote before you sign.
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What Are You Actually Paying ACS Technologies For?
ACS Technologies is a church management company, not just a giving tool. Most of what you pay for is the software that runs your membership records, groups, accounting, and communication. Giving is one module inside that.
The name causes real confusion at budget time, so it helps to line up the products.
Realm
The flagship cloud platform. Church management, giving, and reporting in one login. When a church says it is "on ACS" today, it usually means Realm.
Legacy ACS
The older on-premise software many long-time churches still run. Quoted separately from Realm, and increasingly steered toward the cloud product.
Add-on modules and processing
Extras like Realm Inform reporting, background checks, and the Vanco payment processing behind online giving. Each carries its own line, which is why a quote can be larger than the headline subscription.
The point for a treasurer: your real ACS Technologies cost is the subscription tier, plus per-gift processing, plus any modules you turn on. A single monthly number rarely tells the whole story.
How Much Does ACS Technologies Cost in 2026?
ACS Technologies quotes by church size and product, so the honest answer is that the price depends on your numbers. Here is what churches commonly report, with the fields that require a quote labeled plainly.
| Plan | Who it fits | Reported monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Realm (entry) | Smaller churches, core records and giving | Quote required |
| Realm (mid) | Typical 150-400 seat church | Around $108/mo |
| Realm Inform / Suite | Larger churches, deeper reporting | $179/mo and up |
| Legacy ACS + modules | On-premise holdouts, custom setups | Quote required |
Whatever tier you land on, the subscription is recurring. It renews every year for as long as you use the platform, which is the right model for church management software but worth naming out loud before you compare it to a one-time purchase.
What Are the Giving and Transaction Fees?
Online and mobile gifts in Realm are processed by Vanco, the payment partner behind ACS Technologies giving. Vanco charges a fee on every gift, and that fee is separate from your monthly subscription.
Card gifts
- Roughly 2.75% + $0.30 per gift
- Charged on every card donation
- Most weekend giving runs on cards
ACH bank gifts
- Around $0.45 per gift
- Cheaper, but fewer givers choose it
- Best for recurring donors
Published Vanco rates in 2026 are the source for these numbers, applied conservatively. Confirm the exact rate in your own quote, since processing pricing shifts and a church that negotiates volume can land differently.
The Five-Year Cost for a 200-Seat Church
Here is the arithmetic for a 200-seat church on the mid Realm tier, giving about $150,000 a year online with a 75/25 split between card and ACH gifts. Every number is reproducible from the rates above.
| Line | Five-year total |
|---|---|
| Realm subscription (5 yr at about $108/mo) | ~$6,480 |
| Vanco card fees (2.75% + $0.30 on 75% of $150k/yr) | ~$16,000 |
| Vanco ACH fees (~$0.45 per gift on 25%) | ~$300 |
| Approximate 5-year total | ~$22,800 |
Most of that is processing, which you would pay on almost any platform. The part unique to a subscription model is the $6,480 that recurs whether giving grows or not, and it never reaches zero for as long as you stay.
Where Tap-to-Give Plates Fit (One-Time, Keep Your Platform)
If you run Realm because it manages your church, keep it. Tap.Giving does not replace church management software, and it is not a payment processor. We sell the hardware that gets more people to your giving page in the first place.
A plate is a 4-inch disc with an NFC chip encoded with your existing Realm giving URL. A member holds a phone near it, the giving page opens, and the gift flows through Vanco and into Realm exactly as it does today. Nothing about your ACS Technologies setup changes.
The difference is the cost shape. Tap.Giving plates are $3.50-$5.00 each, one-time, with free shipping and no monthly fees. A 200-seat church ordering 200 plates pays $800 once. There is no second year and no renewal. We sell the plates; you keep the platform you already chose.
I am a pastor, and I built Tap.Giving because our own church wanted a simpler way to give in the moment without switching everything we already ran. The plates were the affordable piece we could not find, so we made them. They work with Realm, Tithely, Pushpay, Givelify, Donorbox, and any giving page with a mobile-friendly URL.
When to stay all-in on ACS Technologies without us: if your bottleneck is member management or accounting, that is Realm's job, not ours. When to add plates: when people would give more if giving took one tap during the offering instead of finding a link later.
FAQ: ACS Technologies Pricing
How much does ACS Technologies cost per month?
There is no public price list. Pricing is quoted by church size and product. Churches on the mid Realm tier commonly report around $108 per month, with larger congregations on Realm Inform paying $179 and up. Legacy ACS and add-on modules are quoted separately. Ask for a written quote that lists every recurring line before you sign.
What are ACS Technologies giving and transaction fees?
Online gifts through Realm are processed by Vanco. Published 2026 rates run about 2.75% + $0.30 per card gift and roughly $0.45 per ACH bank gift. Those fees apply to every gift, on top of the monthly subscription. Confirm the exact rate in your quote, since processing pricing shifts.
Is ACS Technologies the same as Realm?
Realm is the flagship cloud product made by ACS Technologies. The company also sells the older on-premise ACS software and several add-on modules. A church "on ACS" is usually paying for Realm plus whatever modules it turned on, so the real cost is the subscription tier plus per-gift processing plus any extras. For the full head-to-head, see our Realm Connect vs Tap.Giving breakdown.
Do I have to replace ACS Technologies to add tap-to-give?
No. Tap.Giving sells NFC plates, not a giving platform. The plates open the Realm or ACS giving URL you already use, so members can tap a phone to a plate instead of hunting for the link. You keep your platform, your donor records, and your processor. The plates are a one-time hardware cost with no monthly fee from us. Here is how to point plates at a Realm giving page.
Keep Realm. Add tap-to-give for a one-time cost.
The plates open the Realm giving page you already use. No monthly fee from us, free shipping, delivery 2-3 weeks from artwork approval.
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