ChurchPlan

Overview

ChurchPlan brings church administration and member-facing services into one system for churches and parishes. Its free Essentials plan makes it a practical starting point for congregations that need giving tools and a mobile app; events, education and multi-church administration require paid plans. The main trade-off is recurring annual billing for those broader capabilities, alongside standard Stripe card-processing charges.

Its breadth is the clearest advantage: giving, member records, events and education sit within the same product rather than separate workflows. That scope will suit churches seeking one operating system, but may be more than a congregation needs if its priority is a single function such as worship planning or directory management.

Key features

Giving and payments

Online and recurring giving, a searchable donation ledger and automated tax receipts cover core donation administration. Essentials also includes donation links and QR codes, so a church can use the free plan for basic digital giving. Stripe handles card payments, and ChurchPlan says it does not store card numbers or full payment credentials. There are no per-member, donor-tipping, service or per-ticket fees, but standard Stripe processing still applies.

Events and member services

Paid Engagement adds event publishing, registration and payment collection, QR tickets and attendee check-in. Announcements and push notifications extend the member-facing side, while mobile admin search and outreach give administrators tools on mobile. These are useful additions for churches that run registrations or need to coordinate event entry; a congregation that does not need event management can remain on Essentials.

Member profiles can hold family relationships, engagement information, and emergency or health details. The range may help churches keep useful context alongside administration, though handling sensitive records makes the stated security and privacy approach especially relevant. ChurchPlan says data is encrypted in transit with 256-bit TLS and at rest with AES-256, passwords are bcrypt-hashed, and church records are isolated at the database level. It also says records are not pooled across churches or sold, and only event details selected for publication are shared publicly.

Education and integrations

Education adds ministries, Sunday school, curriculum and lesson plans, attendance tracking, liturgies and worship services, plus church website publishing. That makes the $199 a month plan more compelling for churches that will use education and worship tools as well as events; it is harder to justify if those functions are not part of the church's needs. Enterprise extends the package to multi-church and diocese administration, API access, webhooks, custom integrations, and dedicated success and support.

ChurchPlan describes its privacy posture as aligned with PIPEDA, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, Australian privacy principles, and New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020. It states a 99.5% uptime SLA, breach notification within 72 hours, and a 90-day data export window after termination. These commitments matter to churches assessing service continuity and record handling, without removing the need to consider what sensitive information they choose to maintain.

Pricing

Essentials includes unlimited members, online giving and automated tax receipts, a personalized church mobile app, and donation links and QR codes. It gives up the events and communications tools introduced by Engagement, while Education builds on Engagement rather than offering those features separately. Enterprise pricing is custom, so networks must assess its volume pricing directly. Paid plans are billed yearly at the stated annual totals, and Stripe processing charges apply to card payments; ChurchPlan says it adds no per-member, service, donor-tipping or per-ticket fees.

Platforms

ChurchPlan is available on web, Android and iOS, with API access included in Enterprise. The combination of a member app and admin portal makes it relevant to churches serving members on mobile while managing operations online; API access is reserved for organizations on the top plan.

Who it's for

ChurchPlan is best suited to churches and parishes that want giving, member information and church services under one roof, with a path from a free plan to event and education tools. Essentials is a sensible fit for a congregation focused on giving and a member app. Engagement suits churches running registrations and ticketed events, while Education is for those that also need ministry and Sunday school administration. Dioceses and multi-church networks are the stated audience for Enterprise.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Essentials includes unlimited members and giving tools at no subscription cost, so churches can start without a member cap.
• Pros: Paid tiers add a coherent progression from event operations to education and multi-church administration.
• Pros: ChurchPlan says it adds no per-member, service, donor-tipping or per-ticket fees, keeping software charges distinct from Stripe processing.
• Cons: Engagement and Education are billed yearly at $1,188 and $2,388 respectively, making the commitment substantial for churches that need only one added capability.
• Cons: Enterprise has custom annual volume pricing, so organizations cannot compare a fixed subscription amount from the plan alone.
• Cons: Essentials excludes events and ticketing, and Education requires the Engagement package as its base.

Alternatives

Planning Center is worth considering for churches that prefer a collection of free tools: its Calendar plan includes one room, People includes an unlimited database and reporting, and Services covers five team members. Its freemium model and Android, iOS, web and API platforms make it a relevant alternative, though its listed free allowances are specific to those plans.

B1 Checkin may suit churches focused on check-in that want a free product with no tiers or per-member pricing; it supports Android, iOS and web. HolyJot is a free alternative for individuals and churches seeking journaling, faith conversations and community features rather than ChurchPlan's broader operating tools.

ChurchTrac is a paid option with a free trial and plans priced by people count, so it may suit churches evaluating a paid people-based plan. MosesTab Worship Planning is a freemium web alternative for churches prioritizing worship planning; its free plan has caps including one admin, one group and ministry, five events, three forms and 500 MB of storage.

Rolio offers a free web plan capped at 25 members and two groups, making it a more limited directory-oriented option for small congregations. MyUCD is another free alternative for web, iOS and Android. For category-specific choices, browse Church Directory Software, Church Event Management Software, Church App Builders, and Church Giving Software.

Verdict

ChurchPlan is a strong fit for churches that want giving, member records and member-facing services in one system, especially if they can make use of its event or education tiers. Its unlimited-member free plan is a useful entry point; choose another tool if you need only one focused church function or cannot justify annual billing for the paid capabilities.