If your church still relies entirely on the offering plate, you're leaving a significant portion of your congregation's generosity on the table.
Studies consistently show that churches with online giving receive more total donations than those without it — not because digital giving replaces in-person giving, but because it removes the friction that causes people to give inconsistently. People forget cash, forget their checkbook, or miss a Sunday. Online giving lets them set up recurring contributions and never miss a week, even when they do.
The question isn't whether your church should accept online giving. It's which platform makes the most sense for your size, budget, and congregation.
Here's a practical breakdown of three of the most widely used options.
Tithe.ly
Best for: Small to mid-sized churches looking for simplicity and low upfront cost.
Tithe.ly has become one of the most popular church giving platforms for a reason: it's easy to set up, reasonably priced, and built specifically for churches (not just generic nonprofits).
With Tithe.ly, donors can give through your website, a mobile app, text-to-give, or even an in-app kiosk mode for use on a tablet in your lobby. Setup takes hours, not weeks.
What it costs: Tithe.ly charges a processing fee per transaction (typically around 2.9% + $0.30 for credit/debit). There's no monthly subscription for the base plan, which makes it accessible for smaller churches.
What it does well:
- Fast, painless donor experience
- Recurring giving setup is simple for your congregation
- Integrates with popular church management systems (ChMS) like Planning Center, Breeze, and Elvanto
- Solid reporting dashboard for finance teams
- Text-to-give is genuinely easy to use
Where it falls short: Tithe.ly's advanced features — like the full suite of their "Tithe.ly Sites" website builder or deeper church app tools — require paying for add-ons. As a standalone giving tool, it's excellent. As an all-in-one ministry platform, it gets more expensive fast.
Bottom line: If your church wants to get online giving running quickly without a large commitment, Tithe.ly is a strong starting point.
Planning Center Giving
Best for: Churches already using Planning Center for services, people, or groups management.
Planning Center is a suite of ministry management tools — and Giving is one module within that ecosystem. If your church already uses Planning Center People for your directory, Planning Center Services for worship scheduling, or Planning Center Groups for small group management, adding Giving is a natural fit.
The integration is seamless. When someone gives, their record is automatically linked in Planning Center People. Year-end giving statements are easy to generate. Finance teams and administrators who already live in Planning Center will barely need to learn anything new.
What it costs: Planning Center Giving charges a flat processing fee (no monthly subscription for the giving module specifically). The rate is competitive with other platforms — roughly 2–2.9% per transaction depending on payment method.
What it does well:
- Deep integration with the rest of the Planning Center ecosystem
- Clean, modern donor experience
- Strong administrative tools for finance and membership teams
- Recurring giving, fund designation, and donor management are all well-executed
- Works well with churches of many sizes
Where it falls short: If you're not already in the Planning Center world, it's a significant commitment to adopt the full platform just to get the giving module. Taken in isolation, it doesn't stand out as dramatically as Tithe.ly's standalone simplicity or Pushpay's enterprise features. It's also not the best fit if your staff is small and you don't have someone dedicated to keeping your church management system updated.
Bottom line: For Planning Center churches, Giving is a near-obvious choice. For everyone else, it's worth evaluating as part of a broader platform decision.
Pushpay
Best for: Mid-size to large churches that need enterprise-level features and are willing to pay for them.
Pushpay is the premium option. It's used by thousands of churches across the country — many of them megachurches or multi-site congregations — because it's built for scale and sophistication.
The donor experience is highly polished. Pushpay is known for its fast checkout flow (they've published data showing it significantly reduces donor drop-off). The platform also includes robust church engagement tools: a custom-branded church app, push notifications, sermon series management, and more.
What it costs: Pushpay doesn't publish pricing publicly, which should tell you something. You'll need to talk to a sales rep. For most churches, Pushpay costs significantly more than Tithe.ly or Planning Center — expect a monthly subscription plus processing fees. It's a meaningful budget line, not an incidental one.
What it does well:
- Best-in-class donor experience and checkout flow
- Custom-branded church app (your name, your icon in the App Store)
- Push notifications for service reminders, events, and announcements
- Powerful analytics and engagement data
- Well-suited for multi-campus or high-volume operations
Where it falls short: The cost is real. For a church of 100–200 people, Pushpay may be hard to justify financially. The platform is also more complex to administer — you'll get more features, but you'll need someone who can manage them.
Bottom line: If your church is growing quickly, has multiple campuses, or wants a fully branded digital ministry experience, Pushpay is worth the investment. For smaller churches, the cost-to-benefit ratio may not add up.
A Few Things to Consider Before You Decide
Processing fees matter over time. At scale, even a small difference in per-transaction rates adds up. Run the math based on your church's average monthly giving volume before committing.
Donor adoption is the real success metric. The best platform is the one your congregation will actually use. A simple, familiar-feeling interface matters more than a feature list. Ask if any platform offers a free trial or demo so you can see what donors will experience.
Your staff capacity matters. A powerful platform that no one has time to manage isn't an asset — it's a burden. Be honest about who on your team will own this tool and how much time they have.
Don't neglect your website. Whichever platform you choose, the giving experience on your church's website sets the tone. A giving button that's hard to find, or a checkout that feels disconnected from the rest of your site, will cost you donations. Make sure your giving tool integrates cleanly with your web presence.
The Right Tool Is the One That Fits Your Church
There's no universal winner here. A small church planting community and a multi-site congregation of 3,000 don't need the same giving platform.
If you're just getting started, Tithe.ly will serve you well.
If you're invested in the Planning Center ecosystem, Planning Center Giving is the path of least resistance.
If you're scaling and want a full digital ministry platform, Pushpay is worth the conversation.
And if you're unsure where to start — or you want help setting up online giving in a way that actually integrates well with your website and looks trustworthy to donors — that's exactly the kind of thing we help faith-based organizations figure out. Get in touch and we'll point you in the right direction.