Key takeaways
- Build a like-for-like estimate around the work your church needs.
- Keep subscription charges separate from donation-processing fees.
- Use current published prices and verify what the selected plan includes.
Start with the same requirements for every provider
Write a short list of required work before comparing prices. A directory-only plan is not equivalent to a package that also includes service planning, online giving, reporting, or a branded app. Conversely, paying for a capability your team will not use does not make a plan better value.
Record how each provider measures the limit: stored people, active contacts, locations, staff seats, or another unit. Use the provider’s definition instead of substituting average attendance. Check what happens when your church approaches that limit and whether the next plan changes the tools available.
| Cost category | What to record | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Current monthly price or annual total for the required plan. | Does this plan include every required workflow? |
| Optional apps | Current branded-app or other add-on charges. | What setup and publication work is included? |
| Giving processing | Provider fees and the payment methods you expect to use. | Which fees are separate from the software subscription? |
| Messages and media | Any usage charges or limits relevant to your plan. | What happens when usage exceeds an allowance? |
| Transition | Export, cleanup, import, training, and parallel-operation effort. | Who owns this work and how much time is available? |
| Ongoing administration | Staff time to maintain data and support the team. | Can the intended team sustain the process? |
Compare monthly and annual billing correctly
An annual price is the amount billed for a year, not necessarily a monthly amount multiplied by twelve. If you calculate a monthly equivalent for comparison, label it clearly and keep the amount due at purchase visible. Compare cancellation and renewal terms directly with the provider before committing.
ChurchFoundry’s pricing page switches between monthly prices and annual totals. Use it to compare the current offer. Free-plan limits, paid-plan features, and available add-ons are listed there so you can compare the current offer.
Keep online giving fees separate
A church-management subscription and the processing of a donation are different charges. Payment methods, provider terms, and the way fees are covered can change the amount the church receives. Estimate processing using the actual provider’s current terms and your expected payment mix; do not assume the subscription includes those costs.
ChurchFoundry uses Stripe for online giving, and processing fees are separate from the software subscription. Ask the authorized finance team to review the church’s own setup and reports. This budgeting worksheet does not calculate a promised processing rate or replace a review of the provider’s terms.
Include the time needed to make the software useful
A lower subscription can still require more staff effort if the church must maintain duplicate records or assemble reports manually. A more expensive plan can also waste money if nobody has time to configure and maintain the features. Include both money and staff capacity in the decision.
For a practical estimate, separate recurring charges from one-time transition work. List the people responsible for cleanup, permissions, import review, and training. If two subscriptions will overlap while you validate the move, include that overlap explicitly instead of treating the old system as already retired.
- Recurring estimate: selected subscription plus required add-ons and expected usage charges.
- Giving estimate: separately assessed processing costs using the provider’s current terms.
- Transition estimate: staff or provider effort for cleanup, migration, review, and training.
- Review point: revisit the estimate when people limits, locations, or required workflows change.
Use the trial to test value, not just appearance
Choose a few tasks that currently cause work: finding a household, assigning a guest follow-up, arranging a volunteer, or reviewing a report. Have the staff who own those tasks try the process and note where they still need help. Those observations are more useful than an unsupported promise that software will save a fixed number of hours.
ChurchFoundry offers a 30-day trial without a credit card. Start with the published plans and your required workflows, then decide whether the result is worth the ongoing cost for your church. Keep your evaluation notes so the decision can be revisited as ministry needs change.
By Moriah LLC, makers of ChurchFoundry · Reviewed