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Best Free Church Management Software

Follow up with visitors, take gifts and keep your website current from one chat, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving.

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No contract · No per-person pricing

Read AlignedAI reviews on CapterraRead AlignedAI reviews on Software Advice
Best overall#1 of 9

Aligned Church

Churches that want people, giving, texting and their website run from one chat

  • Run people, giving, texting and your website from one chat
  • Free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving
  • Follow-ups that text and email, set up in a sentence
  • Price doesn't grow as your church does

Price: Free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving; keeping your own giving, a 14-day free trial, then $10/mo per module, up to $50/mo for all five

Start free with Aligned Church

Compared on this page

  • Aligned Church
  • ChurchRaise logo
  • Planning Center logo
  • Gracely logo
  • ChMeetings logo
  • Flocknote logo
  • Tithely logo
  • ChurchCMS logo
  • ChurchCRM logo

The short answer

Aligned Church is the best free church management software for most churches: one chat runs your people, giving, check-in, worship, texting and website, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving, and the price doesn't grow as your church does. If all you need is a free member list, Planning Center People or Gracely's free plan will do.

Updated October 7, 2026 · Prices verified October 6, 2026 · By the Aligned Team

We make Aligned, and we think it's the best pick for most churches. Every fact about another tool comes from its own public pages, read on the dates listed under “How we compared”.

Choosing the best free church management software starts with what kind of free it is, because the kind decides what you'll pay later.

At a glance

The 9 tools, ranked

#ToolBest forCapterraPrice
1Aligned ChurchOur pickBest overall4.9CapterraFree ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving; keeping your own giving, a 14-day free trial, then $10/mo per module, up to $50/mo for all five
2ChurchRaise logoChurchRaiseBest for donor-funded free—Free Platform $0/month, no feature gates or contact limits; Plus+ $20/month to link your own payment processor
3Planning Center logoPlanning CenterBest for a free member list4.7CapterraPeople free for unlimited people; every other product has a free tier (Giving: 10 donations a month), then paid tiers from $15 to $239/month per product
4Gracely logoGracelyBest for unlimited members4.8CapterraFree, unlimited members, no credit card; Standard $19/month billed annually or $29 monthly; Pro $49/month billed annually or $59 monthly
5ChMeetings logoChMeetingsBest for up to 50 people4.9CapterraFree up to 50 people and 50 donations a month; then $12/month up to 100 people, $25/month up to 250, $40/month up to 500
6Flocknote logoFlocknoteBest for email and texting4.7CapterraStarter free for life up to 40 members, $10/month for 41–50, $17/month for 51–70; Complete is Starter + $75/month
7Tithely logoTithelyBest for online giving4.7CapterraGiving $0/month plus processing fees; text giving $19/month; basic people tools free; Church Management $72/month; All Access $119/month
8ChurchCMS logoChurchCMSBest for local gateways—Self-hosted: free forever (MIT licence), no member limits; Managed Hosting $29/month or $290/year; One-Time Setup $99
9ChurchCRM logoChurchCRMBest for self-hosting—Free and open source (MIT), no paid tiers; you pay for hosting, $3–$10/month for shared hosting by its own figures

Star ratings from each product's Capterra listing, read October 6, 2026.

Three kinds of free

  • Free with your giving: Aligned Church, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving, and ChurchRaise.
  • A free plan with limits: ChMeetings (up to 50 people), Flocknote (up to 40 members), Gracely (no online giving), Planning Center and Tithely.
  • Free if you host it: ChurchCRM and ChurchCMS.
  • Not free today: ChurchTrac and Breeze, often listed as free, offer a 30-day free trial, not a free plan.

How we ranked them

  • Work off your plate: you run it by asking in plain language.
  • All in one place: people, giving, check-in, worship, texting and a website.
  • Free as you grow: no size limit or paid-only feature that becomes a bill.
  • Little upkeep: hosted for you, with no server to keep up.

The rankings

Top free church management software tools, ranked

  1. 1

    Aligned Church

    Best overall

    Best for: Churches that want people, giving, texting and their website run from one chat

    • Free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving
    • People, check-in, giving, texting and follow-ups in one chat
    • AI-built website on your own domain, edited by chatting

    People, check-in, groups, events, worship, giving, texting and follow-ups in one workspace you run by chatting or by hand, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving. The price doesn't change with church size: no per-person or per-member pricing.

    Price: Free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving; keeping your own giving, a 14-day free trial, then $10/mo per module, up to $50/mo for all five

    Start free with Aligned Church
  2. 2ChurchRaise logo

    ChurchRaise

    Best for donor-funded free

    Best for: Churches that want a free all-in-one platform with AI drafting tools

    • The whole ChMS free, with no feature gates or contact limits
    • Nine AI assistants, with 1,000 free credits
    • Card 2.2% + 30¢ for qualifying organizations; bank 0.8%

    Funded by an optional donor tip or a giver-paid service fee, it includes a website builder and email. Check-in runs in a browser with no child security labels documented, and texts go through your own Twilio account.

    Price: Free Platform $0/month, no feature gates or contact limits; Plus+ $20/month to link your own payment processor

    ChurchRaise's site
  3. 3Planning Center logo

    Planning Center

    Best for a free member list

    Best for: Churches that want a free member database of any size

    • People: a free member database for any number of people
    • A free tier of every other product, plus the Church Center app
    • Card 2.15% + $0.30; a flat $0.30 per bank gift

    Its card rate is the lowest published here, but the free tiers are small (10 gifts a month, 10 check-ins a day, 15 people in groups), and Church Center can't use your own domain.

    Price: People free for unlimited people; every other product has a free tier (Giving: 10 donations a month), then paid tiers from $15 to $239/month per product

    Planning Center's site
  4. 4Gracely logo

    Gracely

    Best for unlimited members

    Best for: Churches that want an unlimited member database free and can add giving later

    • Free plan with unlimited members, families, groups and events
    • A website portal and the My Gracely app on every plan
    • Free migration from your old system

    Gracely adds no fee to gifts, but the limits come fast: 10 emails a month and 2 admins, online giving only from Standard, and child check-in and volunteer scheduling only on Pro.

    Price: Free, unlimited members, no credit card; Standard $19/month billed annually or $29 monthly; Pro $49/month billed annually or $59 monthly

    Gracely's site
  5. 5ChMeetings logo

    ChMeetings

    Best for up to 50 people

    Best for: Churches of up to 50 people that want giving and check-in free

    • Free up to 50 people and 50 donations a month
    • People, groups, check-in and the member app on the free plan
    • No ChMeetings fee on gifts beyond Stripe or PayPal processing

    Email and event registration start at $12/month, up to 100 people, and volunteer scheduling, worship planning and accounting at $25/month, up to 250. Texts cost extra, and free data migration is for paid plans only.

    Price: Free up to 50 people and 50 donations a month; then $12/month up to 100 people, $25/month up to 250, $40/month up to 500

    ChMeetings's site
  6. 6Flocknote logo

    Flocknote

    Best for email and texting

    Best for: Small churches and parishes whose main need is email and texting

    • Free for life up to 40 members
    • Unlimited email and standard texting on the free plan
    • Online giving with text-to-give, no monthly fee

    Gifts cost 2.9% + 30¢ by card and 1.1% + 30¢ by bank. It's a communication tool first: the household database is in Complete, $75/month more.

    Price: Starter free for life up to 40 members, $10/month for 41–50, $17/month for 51–70; Complete is Starter + $75/month

    Flocknote's site
  7. 7Tithely logo

    Tithely

    Best for online giving

    Best for: Churches that mainly want online giving with no monthly fee, and a basic people list

    • No monthly fee for online giving; text giving $19/month
    • Basic people tools free on every account
    • All Access free for a year for qualifying church plants

    Gifts cost 2.9% + $0.30 by card (American Express 3.5% + $0.30) and 1% + $0.30 by bank, and text giving is $19/month unless you're on All Access. Check-in, volunteers, groups and texting are in Church Management, and All Access adds the app and website.

    Price: Giving $0/month plus processing fees; text giving $19/month; basic people tools free; Church Management $72/month; All Access $119/month

    Tithely's site
  8. 8ChurchCMS logo

    ChurchCMS

    Best for local gateways

    Best for: Churches that can run a server, including those taking gifts through local gateways

    • Free forever if you host it (MIT licence), no member limits
    • Giving through M-Pesa, Flutterwave, GCash, PIX or Stripe
    • Website builder, volunteer rosters and live streaming included

    Host it yourself and everything is free, from online giving with no ChurchCMS platform fee to an Android member app; the iOS app is still coming soon. Attendance is scanned from QR-coded member ID cards.

    Price: Self-hosted: free forever (MIT licence), no member limits; Managed Hosting $29/month or $290/year; One-Time Setup $99

    ChurchCMS's site
  9. 9ChurchCRM logo

    ChurchCRM

    Best for self-hosting

    Best for: Churches with an IT volunteer that want to own their data and host it themselves

    • Free and open source (MIT), with nothing behind a paywall
    • People, families, groups, events and kiosk check-in
    • In 49 languages, run by volunteers since 2013

    You install it on your own server or shared hosting; the project sells no hosted version. It records gifts, and its pages describe no way to take them online.

    Price: Free and open source (MIT), no paid tiers; you pay for hosting, $3–$10/month for shared hosting by its own figures

    ChurchCRM's site

About a minute

See Aligned Church at work

Side by side

The free plans side by side

Our pickAligned Church4.9CapterraChurchRaise logoChurchRaisePlanning Center logoPlanning Center4.7CapterraGracely logoGracely4.8CapterraChurchCRM logoChurchCRM
What's freeFree ($0/mo) when you use Aligned GivingThe whole platform, no contact limitsPeople, unlimitedA small free tier of every other productUnlimited members, groups, events and attendance10 emails a month and 2 adminsAll of the software (MIT licence)
What costs extraKeeping your own giving: a 14-day free trial, then $10/mo per module, up to $50/mo for all fivePlus+ $20/month to link your own processorTexts via your own Twilio accountEach product past its free tier, $15 to $239/monthOnline giving on Standard, $19/month billed annually or $29 monthlyChild check-in and volunteers on Pro, $49 or $59Hosting, $3–$10/month shared by its own figures
Online giving feesCard 2.9% + 30¢ and bank (ACH) 1% + 30¢ per gift, no monthly feeCard 2.2% + 30¢ for qualifying organizationsBank 0.8%, never more than $5 a giftCard 2.15% + $0.30Bank (ACH) 0% + $0.30No online giving on the free planFrom Standard, no Gracely fee, and Stripe's 2.2% + $0.30 per transactionNone published: it records gifts, and its pages describe no online giving

Star ratings from each product's Capterra listing, read October 6, 2026.

How to choose the best free church management software

  • You want the work off your plate: Aligned Church, and our team can move your recurring gifts and saved cards over by hand, which can take up to two months.
  • You're small and staying small: ChMeetings or Flocknote, until you pass their limits.
  • Someone on your team runs servers: ChurchCRM or ChurchCMS.

What church leaders say about Aligned

Reviews from our Capterra and Uneed listings.

4.9 on Capterra4.8 on Uneed
Capterra

Well Done Good and Faithful Program (so far)

“This program is, as far as I can tell now, very adaptable and useful. I have gone PRO and will further test it. I will follow up after I give it a full "shake down."”

Kevin L., Teaching Elder Co Pastor ·

“I've tried using general-purpose AI for sermon prep and always ended up spending more time correcting theology than writing. AlignedAI solved that on day one. It's built around your doctrine and preferred translations, so what comes back actually fits the pulpit instead of sounding like it was written by someone who skimmed a Wikipedia page on Christianity. The study and exegesis tools are the standout for me — being able to dig into a passage with Strong's, get word-level context, and then move straight into outlining has cut my prep time significantly without cutting corners. The sermon writer learns your voice rather than flattening it, so the drafts read like a starting point I'd actually written, not something I have to rescue. Beyond preaching, the Bible study builder, media repurposing, and church workflow tools have quietly become part of how our whole staff operates. What I appreciate most is the posture: it's upfront that it's an assistant, not a substitute for prayer, study, or pastoral discernment. That honesty made me trust it more, not less. And the fact that the core of it is free is remarkable for a small church budget. Highly recommend to any pastor or church leader who's been curious about AI but wary of where it might lead them.”

@bluetroop1 ·

Capterra

“I am really finding this to be useful. The customer service was excellent and was able to resolve an issue that was my error.”

Tina P., Volunteer ·

Capterra

User Friendly

“My overall experience is good. I am just really trying to see if this can be consistent. I do a lot of research for studies and need to see if this program meets all of my needs.”

Jean P., Officer ·

“Very helpful in answering my biblical questions.”

@ksager75 ·

Capterra

GREAT SOFTWARE FOR PASTORS

“It has been amazing with its ease of use and versatility! I highly recommend this software for all of my ministry poartners!”

Michael R., Senior Pastor ·

Capterra

Finally an AI that tailor the responses in accordance to one's belief.

“I have truly had a great experience with all the tasks I requested. Overall, I believe that AlignedAi will be a great asset to ministers, Bible teachers, and students of the Word of God.”

David T., General Board Director ·

“The hottest AI Church Management software on the market. So excited to use this software and grow our church!”

@jason ·

Capterra

A great tool for the toolbox--and it's definitely not a dull one!

“It's worth using. The more input you give the better the result. It doesn't dismiss your personal input but helps sharpen it if needed. If not--it tells you so!”

Randy B., Sr. Pastor ·

Capterra

AlignedAI Review

“I have now developed six messages and am quite pleased that the tool has captured my voice and tone.”

Michael R., Pastor ·

“The assistant is like having your professor in seminary standing beside you, correcting. Encouraging and reminding you to study, research and work with the text , the Scripture.”

BeautyofGd ·

Capterra

The best Pastoral Helper

“I have had an amazing experience with Aligned AI. From making workflows and automations as well as deeper study and ease of making study guides.”

Eric M., Pastor ·

Capterra

A Great AI for Pastors and Teachers

“Aligned AI is a very good AI that is helpful in my teaching and preaching tasks. I reviewed a worship service with a call to worship that seemed to do too much. It revised the call and inserted the out-of-place script in the best location.”

Wayne C., Minister of the Word, Worship Pastor ·

“Really enjoy using this tool and really appreciate its ability to answer questions based on teachings from different denominations.”

ChristianTechJobs ·

Capterra

I Absolutely Love It!!

“I will use this platform for a majority, if not all, of my future AI questions. I am growing in my spirituality and love having an AI app tailored to that.”

Brian W., Pastor ·

Capterra

Budding potential

“I’m quite satisfied that it has great potential to give me an opportunity to learn and grow in my studies as well as provide for those I teach”

Bonnie M., Blogger ·

“Useful to clarify and summarize your work, or go the other way and get started with AlignedAI and use it as one of your sources. It is versatile in that it can help with sermons, Bible studies, creating devotionals...I don't know what else. It is quite helpful tool. It listens to your sermons, looks at your web page and asks some of your prefered phrases and terms. A good tool for your toolbelt.”

@stevehay.writer ·

Capterra

Highly recommend

“Absolutely Great! Helped me grow in understanding and breakdown scripture and its context. It has also taught me more in depth.”

Patricia Z., Owner and Founder ·

Capterra

Best tool I’ve used so far

“I don’t consider myself very techy, but I do have very creative ideas so it really helped me put everything together and I love all the different options. I think one of my favorite things was when I brought up a certain subject matter or scripture it not only gave me the Greek word but also help me understand with added content for the time and place in certain situations that happened in the Bible.”

Jennifer S., Pastor ·

Capterra

Good for starters.

“Liked it very much. I liked that it tried to tailor to my beliefs and the way I try to study. Very nice job.”

Sean P., Host ·

“Wow, Aligned AI is amazing! What great ideas they provide for my research. They adapt to your situation and needs. I highly recommend.”

Candy ·

Capterra

Still evaluating

“It has been very pleasant so far. The depth of the theological answers has been good for generating deeper thought and further study.”

Noah F., Pastor ·

Capterra

Pleasantly Surprised

“So far my overall experience has been very positive. I will definitely be doing more research and learning from it.”

Kimberley C., Teacher ·

“AlignedAI is an amazing resource, for preparing devotions and sermons.”

DougER ·

Capterra

Overall Review of Aligned

“My overall experience so far is good. I have used it for devotional prep, Bible study prep and sermon prep.”

Kathy M., Director ·

Capterra

Great and helpful IA app.

“Excellent and very helpful in all the ways. im just staring few days ago and already I see a lot of advantages in this great app”

Leo B., Pastor ·

“Have used AlignedAI for the past couple of days, and have been pleased with the conversations and the things produced that I can adapt for use in my lessons and sermons. It's worth giving it a try as it is geared toward a religious mindset. Very much recommended.”

paulcoupons123 ·

Capterra

Useful and will continue to use it

“I cannot complain at all. While I think the image generation needs some work, the most useful part of it is functioning super well.”

Ross P., Youth Pastor ·

Capterra

Faith based AI

“My overall experience with Aligned AI was a good one. I was able to chat right away with issues and they were fixed timely.”

Cynthia S., Co-owner ·

“Excellent product that is saving me time and making our Ministry more efficient. I really appreciate the accurate alignment to our faith and that fact that fundamental "voice" of the tool eliminates much of the correction required from secular AI tools. We did have one small connector issue that was corrected with a quick email to support. I have recommended to our lead Pastor as well and look forward to future enhancements and connectors!”

@martin ·

Capterra

Great pastor's assistant

“I love the way I can put in my thoughts, scripture and it will take and help me build either a children's sermon daily devotion for the week or a sermon series.”

John S., pastor ·

Capterra

Review for this app

“Great. I can cut my time in preparing outlines for the congregation to follow alo g woth each sunday.”

Nathan W., Ceo ·

“This product can give you deep, practical study and/or write a devotion. It is amazing.”

@preachervanderberg ·

Capterra

Love this site

“So far so good. It has been very helpful in both my ministry/sermon preparation and in a recent class I took for ordination”

Keith K., Lead Pastor ·

Capterra

Great tool to spark creativity

“Overall my experience is very positive. I think with some on-going adjustments the platform will only improve.”

Byrene H., Assistant to the President ·

“I LOVE AlignedAI. It is so helpful that I was able to train it with my resources.”

@jefferyanselmi ·

Capterra

Exceeded my expectations

“I love the product. It’s helping me to be much more efficient. I was skeptical at first. But wow I’m loving how tailored the results are to my style of learning.”

Joel S., Pastor ·

Capterra

My new tool to go even deeper into God's Word!

“I have loved AlignedAI. It has been such a great tool for studying the word and thinking about portions of scripture in a different context. Has also been great with word studies!”

Kemily S., Founder ·

“Very intuitive to use. Totally met my expectations.”

@mwhtsde ·

Capterra

Highly recommend to all pastors

“I think this tool is phenomenal. It has helped me organize thoughts and concepts in the scriptures. It has fueled my passion for preaching and teaching by helping me understand Scripture from my biblical and denominational viewpoint.”

Tim W., Pastor ·

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

  • Aligned Church, for most churches: one chat runs your people, check-in, groups, events, worship, giving, texting and follow-ups, with an AI-built website on your own domain, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving.

  • Aligned Church is free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving, and gifts through Aligned Giving cost card 2.9% + 30¢ and bank (ACH) 1% + 30¢ per gift, no monthly fee. A church that keeps its own giving platform gets a 14-day free trial, then pays $10/mo per module, up to $50/mo for all five.

  • Yes. Aligned Church is free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving, and ChurchCRM and ChurchCMS are free open-source software you run on your own server, so you pay only for hosting.

  • Partly. People, its member database, is free for any number of people, and so are the Church Center app and web pages. Every other product has a small free tier (Giving up to 10 donations a month, Check-Ins 10 a day, Groups 15 members), then paid tiers from $15 to $239/month per product.

  • Not any more. ChurchTrac's pricing page has no free plan: it's a 30-day free trial with no credit card, then $29/month for up to 75 names, up to $119/month for unlimited names, with every feature in every tier.

  • Not all of it. Online giving has no monthly, setup or contract fee, and every account gets basic people tools free, but text giving is $19/month, Church Management $72/month, and All Access, with the app, website and text giving, $119/month.

  • Usually one of four things: a size limit you'll outgrow (ChMeetings at 50 people, Flocknote at 40 members), features held back for paid plans, a server to run (ChurchCRM, ChurchCMS), or fees on your giving, which you pay on every gift. With Aligned Giving, donors can choose to cover the processing fee at checkout.

Run your church from one chat

People, giving, check-in, worship, texting and your website, free ($0/mo) when you use Aligned Giving. No contract, no per-person pricing.

Start free with Aligned Church

How we compared

Every fact about another tool comes from its own public pages: its website, pricing page and help center, read on the dates below. We don't sign up for or log in to other companies' products. Prices change, so each one is re-checked before this page goes live and every quarter after. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

All 48 sources

Product names and logos belong to their owners and appear here only to identify each product. Aligned isn't affiliated with, or endorsed by, any other company named on this page.