Best Online Giving Platforms for Churches in 2026: A Pastor's Honest Comparison

Quick Answer: The Best Online Giving Platforms by Church Type

I'm a pastor. I built Tap.Giving because the "all-in-one" giving suites I evaluated wanted a monthly subscription before we received a single dollar, and the biggest ones would not tell me the number without a sales call. That's real money and real time for a small church. So I'll tell you the truth: most churches over-buy on giving software. The best platform for your church is usually the cheapest one that does what you actually use, plus hardware (like NFC plates) that lets people give in the moment.

Below is the honest comparison. Every platform has a "best for" use case. None of them are bad. Some are just wildly more expensive than others for the same job.

How to read the numbers: this page is cited a lot, so every figure here was read off the vendor's own public pricing page on August 2, 2026, and nothing is estimated. Where a vendor does not publish a price, the table says "not published" instead of repeating a secondhand number. Giving platforms change their pricing often, so confirm with the vendor before you sign anything.

Best Online Giving Platform for Small Churches (Under 200 Members)

Tithely Free Tier, the default pick

Tithely's Free Giving tier gives small churches unlimited online and recurring giving, the iOS and Android giving app, Apple Pay and Google Pay, end-of-year tax statements, and a QuickBooks integration, all with no monthly fee. Transaction fees are 2.9% + $0.30 for cards, 1% + $0.30 for ACH, and 3.5% + $0.30 for American Express. It's the fastest path from "we need to accept online donations" to "we're accepting online donations." See the full Tithely pricing breakdown for 2026.

One thing to check first: text-to-give is not part of the free tier. As of August 2, 2026 it is a $19/month add-on, or it comes bundled into Church Management ($72/mo) and All-Access ($119/mo). If text-to-give is a must-have for your church, price that in before you compare Tithely's free tier against anyone else's.

When to choose Tithely: Pick Tithely's free tier if your small church needs online giving today, no setup budget, and integrations with church management software you may add later.

Givelify, if your donors live in apps

Givelify is also free monthly with 2.9% + $0.30 fees (3.5% + $0.30 on American Express), no signup fee and no maintenance cost. It shines if your congregation is already comfortable downloading apps. Donor onboarding is the smoothest of any platform I've used. Givelify does not publish an ACH rate, so ask about bank-transfer gifts if larger donors give that way.

When to choose Givelify: Pick Givelify if you'd rather donors give from a polished mobile app than from a browser link, and you're okay with them downloading another app.

Donorbox, for embedded forms

Donorbox's free Standard plan is strong if you have your own website and want to embed giving forms directly. Model the fee carefully: Standard charges a 2.95% to 3.95% platform fee depending on payment method, and that sits on top of processing (Stripe's nonprofit rate of 2.2% + $0.30 for cards, or 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH). The Pro plan is $150/month and drops the platform fee to 1.75-2%; Premium is quote-only. Flexibility is excellent, but on a small church's volume the free plan's stacked fees can beat a flat-rate competitor or lose to one, so run your own numbers. When to choose Donorbox: pick Donorbox if your church website is the front door and you want giving forms inline rather than a redirect. Considering an alternative? See GivingFuel vs Donorbox for small churches.

Need more guidance? See our deeper guide on NFC giving for small churches.

Best Online Giving Platform for Large Churches (1,000+)

Pushpay, enterprise standard

Pushpay is the default pick for large multi-site churches that need dedicated account management, advanced donor analytics, and a custom mobile app. On pricing, we will simply tell you what is true: as of August 2, 2026 Pushpay publishes no pricing. Their pricing page describes three tiers (Core, Advanced, Complete) and asks you to book a demo "for answers and pricing options." The only dollar figure published anywhere on it is check scanning and remote deposit, which "starts at $0.29 per check." Third-party sites quote wildly different monthly numbers for Pushpay; we are not going to repeat any of them, because none can be checked against the source. Ask Pushpay for a written quote covering the monthly platform fee, the card and ACH processing rates, and the contract term.

When to choose Pushpay: pick Pushpay if you have multiple campuses, a dedicated communications team, and need enterprise-level support, and you are comfortable with a negotiated price rather than a published one.

Subsplash, mid-to-large all-in-one

Subsplash One competes directly with Pushpay for full digital suites, and Subsplash Enterprise adds custom API integrations, multi-campus apps, and a Rock RMS integration. Both are quote-only. What you can verify up front is the giving economics underneath the bundle: 2.3% + $0.30 for cards and 1% for ACH, falling toward 1.9% + $0.30 and 0.5% at volume. On a large church's giving, that spread matters more than the subscription line. When to choose Subsplash over Pushpay: pick Subsplash if you want a published processing rate you can model today and don't need enterprise account management.

SecureGive, kiosk-first and openly priced

SecureGive is a strong pick if your large church wants donation kiosks in the lobby, and it is now the most price-transparent of the three enterprise options. As of August 2, 2026 it publishes Basic at $149/month and Premium at $299/month (Enterprise is call-for-quote), online processing at 1.75% + $0.30 for debit and 2.5% + $0.30 for credit, ACH at a flat $1.50 per transaction, and in-person kiosk rates that run lower still (1.5% + $0.30 debit, 2% + $0.30 credit, 1% + $0.30 pin debit). Add-ons are priced separately: Non-Cash Giving $99/month, Campaigns $49/month, and Church Apps $200/month bundled or $300/month standalone with a $500 one-time setup. Kiosk hardware starts at $1,199 for the iPad series and runs to $5,799 for the Signature series. SecureGive Tap, their NFC product, is quote-only and varies by quantity.

When to choose SecureGive: pick SecureGive if your large-church model still leans on physical kiosks and you want one vendor for software plus kiosk hardware, and you value knowing the price before the call. Note the flat ACH fee cuts both ways: $1.50 on a $1,000 bank gift is excellent, but on a $20 gift it is worse than a percentage rate.

Most Popular Digital Giving Methods Among Congregations

The most-used digital giving methods among congregations in 2026, ranked roughly by adoption:

1. Recurring online giving, the single biggest driver of donation growth, because it keeps giving steady through the weeks people are away.
2. Mobile giving page (browser-based), donors tap a link, give in under 60 seconds. No app download.
3. Text-to-give, still the lowest-friction method for visitors and older donors.
4. NFC tap-to-give, fastest-growing in-service method. No app, no scan, no typing, just tap.
5. Mobile giving apps (Givelify, Pushpay, Subsplash), popular with regular attenders who already gave once.
6. QR code giving, still common, and still the right answer for anyone whose phone will not tap. It just asks more of the donor: open the camera, frame the code, then tap through.

Want the deeper analysis? See best church donation technology in 2026.

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