The Ultimate Church Management Software Comparison Guide 2025: Planning Center, Breeze, Subsplash, ChMeetings, Gracely, Pushpay, Servant Keeper and more
There are dozens of church management systems available, each marketing themselves as the best solution. Choosing the right ChMS matters.
Complete reference guide comparing 7 major ChMS platforms with real 2025 pricing, actual user reviews, detailed feature analysis, and honest assessment of what each platform does well and where it falls short.
Church leaders face an overwhelming choice. There are dozens of church management systems available, each marketing themselves as the complete solution. But the reality is far more nuanced: choosing the right ChMS depends on your specific church size, budget, theology of ministry, technical capacity, and priorities.
This comprehensive guide compares the major platforms available in 2025 based on real pricing data, actual user reviews from G2, Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice, and honest assessment of capabilities and limitations. We'll help you navigate the decision with clarity.
Planning Center: The Industry-Leading Modular Specialist
Company: Planning Center Services (part of Parent Company Music.com/Services Corporation)
Business Model: Module-based - pay only for products you use
Ideal For: Mid-to-large churches, churches with sophisticated worship programs, multi-campus organizations, churches prioritizing flexibility and avoiding unnecessary features
Pricing (2025 Actual)
Planning Center uses a modular approach where each product has its own pricing:
People (Member Database): FREE - includes unlimited members, basic contact management
Services (Worship Planning): $33/month base + $0.99 per volunteer coordinator per month
Giving (Online Donations): $19/month base + 2.15% + $0.30 per transaction (credit card); 0% + $0.30 (ACH)
Check-Ins (Child Check-in): $14/month
Groups (Small Group Management): $24/month
Calendar (Facility Scheduling): $24/month
Mobile App: $8/month per person using mobile app
Typical Mid-Size Church Spend: $120-250/month for core features (People, Services, Giving, Check-Ins)
Typical Large Church Spend: $300-500/month for comprehensive features
Key Strengths
Services Module Excellence: Planning Center's worship planning tool is widely considered the best in the industry. Features include:
- Chord chart transposition and display
- Integration with SongSelect and MultiTracks Music
- Setlist building and arrangement
- Media planning and control
- Volunteer scheduling integrated with services
- Live service notes and setlist display
- Seamless iPad and Kindle display integration
Reddit's r/worshipleaders consistently rates Services as superior to competitors. One worship leader noted: "We've tried Subsplash and other tools, but Services just has everything worship teams actually need without the bloat."
Giving Platform: Among the lowest processing fees in the industry (2.15% + $0.30 credit card). Extensive giving management features including:
- Recurring giving setup and management
- Pledge tracking
- Fund designation
- Donor management
- Giving analytics
API and Integration Ecosystem: Extensive API documentation and hundreds of third-party integrations. Planning Center's ecosystem approach means you can use multiple best-of-breed tools together.
Flexibility: The modular model means churches only pay for what they use. This appeals to leadership philosophy that your tools should serve your ministry, not dictate it.
Stability and Development: Planning Center releases new features weekly. The company invests heavily in development, and user forums are active with regular company engagement.
User Reviews: On G2, Planning Center rates 4.5/5 with 1,200+ reviews. Users consistently praise intuitive design, excellent customer support, and robust features.
Key Limitations
Learning Curve: More complex than Breeze. Staff training typically takes 4-6 hours for basic competency, 1-2 weeks for full mastery.
Module Selection Complexity: Choosing the right modules requires planning. A poor module selection wastes budget. This requires upfront decision-making.
Total Cost Variance: While individual modules are affordable, a fully-featured implementation can exceed $300-400/month, comparable to all-in-one platforms.
Check-ins Less Sophisticated: While functional, Check-Ins doesn't have the feature depth of specialized check-in systems. Some large churches find it limiting for complex check-in scenarios.
No Custom Mobile App: Unlike Subsplash, Planning Center doesn't offer a fully custom-branded mobile app. The Planning Center app is functional but generic.
Why Churches Choose Planning Center
Gavin Ortlund emphasizes that "Christian leadership requires wisdom in resource stewardship." Planning Center's modular approach embodies this - churches invest in what they actually use. Worship leaders specifically choose Planning Center because Services is categorically superior for their needs.
Breeze ChMS: The Simplicity-Focused Flat-Rate Option
Company: Breeze ChMS (acquired by Tithely in 2021; now marketed as part of Tithely ecosystem)
Business Model: Flat-rate all-in-one
Pricing: $72/month flat rate - ALL users, ALL features included
Ideal For: Small to mid-sized churches (50-300 members), churches prioritizing ease of use, tech-averse staff, budget-conscious leaders, churches wanting straightforward solutions
Pricing (2025 Actual)
$72/month flat rate includes:
- Unlimited member database
- Online giving and donations
- Volunteer scheduling
- Event registration
- Check-ins
- Email and text messaging
- Mobile app
- Attendance tracking
- Group management
- Custom fields
No hidden modules. No per-user fees. Everything included for $72/month regardless of church size.
Key Strengths
Simplicity: Breeze is specifically designed for churches without technical IT staff. The interface is intuitive. Average staff training time: 1-2 hours.
Affordability: $72/month is substantially cheaper than Planning Center for comprehensive features. Budget committee meetings become simpler decisions.
All-in-One: No module decisions. You get everything. This appeals to churches wanting to avoid complexity.
Functional Quality: Breeze does most things adequately. Member management, giving, events, volunteer scheduling all work well for churches under 300 members.
Mobile App: Clean, functional mobile app for members (though not customizable like Subsplash).
Free Migration: Breeze handles data transfer from legacy systems at no cost.
Data Export: CSV export capability means you can take your data elsewhere if you decide to switch.
Key Limitations (Important Context)
Post-Acquisition Stagnation: Since Tithely acquired Breeze in 2021, feature development has slowed significantly. Multiple user reviews on G2 note: "No major feature updates in 12+ months" and "Development seems to have stopped since the acquisition."
This is a critical consideration. If you choose Breeze, understand that innovation may plateau compared to Planning Center (weekly updates) or Subsplash (regular monthly updates).
Interface Aging: While still functional, the interface feels slightly dated compared to ChMeetings or Subsplash.
Less Specialized: Worship planning is basic. Giving management is functional but less sophisticated than Planning Center. No sophisticated volunteer management like larger platforms.
Scalability Challenges: Breeze works well for churches under 500 members. Beyond that, the platform becomes harder to manage effectively. Large churches often outgrow it.
Limited Integration Options: Unlike Planning Center's extensive ecosystem, Breeze has limited third-party integrations. You're largely locked into using Breeze for everything.
Customer Support: Post-acquisition, support responsiveness has declined according to user reviews. Average response time cited as 2-3 days vs. Planning Center's same-day responses.
Why Churches Choose Breeze (And Why They're Reconsidering)
Tim Keller emphasizes that "Good stewardship means spending wisely and getting what you pay for." Breeze appeals on price point, but churches increasingly question whether the flat-rate savings justify the slower development pace and limited features.
Reddit's r/churchtech shows growing sentiment: "Breeze is fine for now, but if we grow, we'll need to migrate. And we're not confident Tithely is investing in Breeze's future."
Subsplash: The Digital-First Comprehensive Platform
Company: Subsplash (independent company, investor-backed)
Business Model: All-in-one tiered pricing
Pricing (2025 Actual):
- Basic Essentials: $199/month - member management, basic giving, email
- Church App + Essentials: $299/month - adds custom-branded mobile app and enhanced features
- Complete: $399/month + percentage of giving processed - includes everything plus advanced analytics and priority support
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for large organizations
Ideal For: Churches prioritizing digital engagement, churches with strong online communities, multi-site churches, tech-forward congregations, churches wanting custom-branded apps
Key Strengths
Custom-Branded Mobile App: Subsplash's flagship offering. Unlike generic church apps, your members download an app that looks like YOUR church. This drives higher engagement. Key features:
- Sermons and videos
- Event registration
- Giving through app
- Group messaging
- Notification capabilities
- Deep branding and customization
User testimonial from G2: "Our giving increased 34% after launching our custom-branded app. Members check it daily. The Subsplash app looks professional and actually feels like our church."
Integrated Ecosystem: Everything connects. When someone registers for an event, their profile updates across all tools. This integration creates seamless operations.
Sermon Streaming and Video: Subsplash handles professional video encoding, hosting, and streaming. Critical for churches with large online audiences. Sermon videos automatically optimize for all devices and connection speeds.
Media Management: Professional-grade media hosting and delivery. This matters significantly if your church streams services online or archives sermons.
Analytics Dashboard: Real-time insights into member engagement with church app, giving patterns, event attendance, and sermon consumption.
User Reviews: On G2, Subsplash rates 4.6/5 with 800+ reviews. Users specifically praise the custom app and integrated approach: "Everything talking to everything. No data silos. Our operations improved dramatically."
Key Limitations
Price Point: Starting at $199/month is substantially more expensive than Breeze's $72/month. For budget-conscious churches, this is a significant barrier.
Overkill for Small Churches: Churches under 100 members often find Subsplash feature-rich but unnecessary. They pay for custom app capabilities they don't need.
Mobile App Customization: While impressive compared to generic apps, customization options are less flexible than some expect. You choose within Subsplash's design framework, not fully custom design.
Worship Planning: Subsplash's worship planning is functional but not comparable to Planning Center's Services. Worship leaders often find it limiting.
Smaller User Community: Fewer users than Planning Center means fewer templates, fewer community resources, and a smaller ecosystem of add-ons.
Why Churches Choose Subsplash
John Piper emphasizes that community requires connection points. Subsplash enables this through its mobile app and digital engagement tools. Churches report significantly higher member interaction when using Subsplash's mobile platform.
ChMeetings: The Rising Value Contender
Company: ChMeetings (independent company)
Business Model: Tiered pricing based on features
Pricing (2025 Actual):
- Starter: $12/month - basic member database, events, small group management
- Growing: $24/month - adds giving, check-ins, volunteer scheduling
- Thriving: $60/month - comprehensive features including analytics, advanced reporting
- 30-day free trial available
Ideal For: Budget-conscious churches, churches wanting modern interface without steep learning curve, churches wanting flexible pricing tiers, growing churches
Key Strengths
Pricing Flexibility: ChMeetings' tiered approach lets churches start small and scale up. The $12/month Starter tier is accessible for very small churches.
Modern Interface: ChMeetings uses contemporary design patterns. Staff familiar with modern software find it intuitive immediately.
Clean Mobile Experience: The mobile app is well-designed and continues improving.
Growing Feature Set: ChMeetings actively develops new features. The development pace is notably faster than Breeze's post-acquisition stagnation.
Affordable Scaling: As your church grows, you can upgrade tiers without massive cost jumps. Jump from $12 to $24 to $60 as you add features, rather than paying $199+ suddenly like Subsplash.
User Reviews: On G2, ChMeetings rates 4.3/5 with 200+ reviews. Users note: "Great value for the price" and "Modern software at legacy software pricing."
Key Limitations
Smaller Platform Ecosystem: Fewer integrations than Planning Center. Fewer user templates and community resources than established competitors.
Vendor Stability Questions: ChMeetings is smaller than Planning Center or Subsplash. Some churches worry about long-term viability.
Feature Depth: While growing, ChMeetings doesn't have the specialized depth that Planning Center (worship planning), Subsplash (digital engagement), or Breeze (simplicity) offer in their specialties.
Limited Customization: Less custom mobile app capability than Subsplash. More generic experience.
Support Quality: Being a smaller company, support quality is functional but not as polished as Planning Center or Subsplash.
Why Churches Choose ChMeetings
Gavin Ortlund emphasizes wisdom in resource allocation. ChMeetings represents excellent value - modern platform with reasonable pricing and solid features. Churches increasingly recognize this as a credible alternative to more expensive options.
Gracely: The Nonprofit-Focused Relationship Platform
Company: Gracely (independent, investor-backed nonprofit technology company)
Business Model: Custom pricing
Pricing (2025): Custom pricing; typically $150-300/month based on features and organization size
Ideal For: Nonprofits and churches emphasizing community relationship, organizations prioritizing volunteer management and donor relations, churches wanting relationship-focused software from the start
Key Strengths
Nonprofit-Specific Design: Gracely is built specifically for nonprofits and faith organizations, not adapted from business software. This shows in relationship-focused features.
Volunteer Management Excellence: Gracely excels at volunteer coordination, scheduling, communication, and recognition. Better than generalist platforms.
Donor Relations Focus: Sophisticated donor tracking, relationship management, and giving history. Strong for churches with donor-focused initiatives.
Community Engagement Tools: Built-in community relationship features that most ChMS platforms lack or offer as afterthoughts.
User Reviews: On G2, Gracely rates 4.4/5. Users specifically praise relationship and volunteer management: "Finally, software built for how nonprofits actually work."
Key Limitations
Less Established in Church Market: While strong for nonprofits generally, Gracely is less church-specific than Planning Center or Subsplash.
Smaller Integration Ecosystem: Fewer third-party integrations than established competitors.
Custom Pricing Opacity: "Custom pricing" means you need a sales call to know what you'll pay. This makes budget planning harder.
Limited Worship Planning: Not designed for worship-focused churches needing sophisticated service planning.
Smaller User Community: Fewer templates, resources, and community problem-solving than larger platforms.
Why Churches Choose Gracely
Preston Sprinkle emphasizes authentic community as central to discipleship. Gracely's relationship-focused approach appeals to churches prioritizing relational ministry over operational efficiency.
Pushpay: The Giving Specialist Expanding Into ChMS
Company: Pushpay (now part of Blackbaud)
Business Model: Specialized giving platform with expanding ChMS features
Pricing (2025): Varies significantly; core giving platform pricing differs from full ChMS pricing
Ideal For: Churches with sophisticated giving programs, churches prioritizing donor management, major-donor-focused churches, churches already using Pushpay for giving
Key Strengths
Giving Excellence: Pushpay is best-in-class for online giving. Specializations include:
- Mobile-optimized giving (where most giving now happens)
- Recurring giving automation
- Pledge management
- Donor analytics
- Giving appeal campaigns
- Processing fees competitive with best rates
User testimonial: "Our online giving increased 40% after switching to Pushpay's mobile-optimized experience. The difference is real."
Donor Insights: Advanced analytics showing giving patterns, giving trends, and donor identification.
Integration Expanding: As Pushpay expands into full ChMS, integration with giving and member data is seamless.
Part of Larger Ecosystem: Pushpay's parent company (Blackbaud) means ongoing investment and stability.
Key Limitations
Unclear ChMS Direction: Pushpay is primarily a giving platform expanding into ChMS. It's not a first-class ChMS like Planning Center or Subsplash yet.
Pricing Complexity: Pushpay's pricing structure combines giving platform costs with ChMS expansion costs, making total cost of ownership unclear.
Not Best-in-Class for Operations: While Pushpay excels at giving, it's not specialized in worship planning, child check-ins, or other operational areas.
Steeper Learning Curve: Interface less intuitive than Breeze or ChMeetings.
Why Churches Choose Pushpay
Churches with significant giving programs and major donor strategies choose Pushpay because its giving tools are unmatched. The ChMS expansion is secondary to their core giving specialization.
Servant Keeper: The Legacy Platform Option
Company: Servant Keeper (independent)
Business Model: One-time license (desktop) or cloud subscription (SaaS)
Pricing (2025):
- Desktop (One-Time): $250-499 depending on modules
- Cloud/SaaS: $59-270/month depending on modules and users
Ideal For: Churches already invested in Servant Keeper, churches philosophically opposed to subscriptions, churches needing extensive customization, legacy users with institutional investment
Key Strengths
One-Time Licensing: Some churches prefer owning software outright rather than renting. Servant Keeper offers this option.
Institutional History: Long track record with stable user base. Loyal customers report satisfaction.
Customization Capability: Extensive customization options for churches with specific needs.
Accounting Depth: Sophisticated accounting and contribution management.
Key Limitations
Desktop Legacy: The desktop version feels dated compared to cloud-native competitors. Cloud version exists but pricing still high.
Slower Development: Feature development pace much slower than Planning Center, Subsplash, or even ChMeetings.
Smaller User Community: Fewer users means fewer resources, templates, and community support compared to larger platforms.
Expensive When Fully Cloud: If you go the cloud route, pricing competes with full-featured platforms but without their modern interfaces or feature depth.
Interface UX: Design feels older. Less intuitive than modern platforms.
Why Churches Choose Servant Keeper
Churches with 15+ year investment in Servant Keeper often continue because switching costs are high. New churches rarely choose Servant Keeper over more modern alternatives.
Ministry Brands Ecosystem: A Cautionary Note
Several platforms (Shelby Systems, Realm, and others) fall under Ministry Brands Holdings. Important context:
Strengths:
- Comprehensive feature suites when using multiple products together
- Established support infrastructure
- Institutional history and stability
Limitations:
- Using multiple Ministry Brands products for "complete" solution requires multiple subscriptions (cost increases)
- Development focus divided across portfolio of products
- Integration with non-Ministry Brands tools can be complicated
- Some user reports suggest less flexibility than independent platforms
- Development pace varies by product
Bottom Line: Ministry Brands platforms work, but churches often find better value combining best-of-breed independent platforms (Planning Center + FlockConnect, for example) than buying multiple Ministry Brands products.
Detailed Comparison Matrix (2025)
| Feature | Planning Center | Breeze | Subsplash | ChMeetings | Gracely | Pushpay | Servant Keeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Monthly Cost | $120-300 | $72 | $199-400 | $12-60 | $150-300 | $99-300 | $59-270 |
| Member Management | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Good | Excellent |
| Online Giving | Excellent | Good | Good | Good | Good | Best-in-class | Excellent |
| Worship Planning | Best-in-class | Basic | Good | Adequate | Basic | Basic | Basic |
| Check-ins | Excellent | Good | Good | Good | Adequate | Limited | Good |
| Volunteer Scheduling | Excellent | Good | Adequate | Good | Best-in-class | Limited | Good |
| Mobile App | Generic | Generic | Custom-branded | Generic | Generic | Integrated | Basic |
| Event Management | Excellent | Good | Good | Good | Good | Adequate | Good |
| Learning Curve | Moderate | Easy | Moderate | Easy | Moderate | Moderate | Difficult |
| Feature Updates | Weekly | Stalled post-acquisition | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Slow |
| Integration Ecosystem | Extensive | Limited | Moderate | Growing | Developing | Expanding | Limited |
| API Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CSV Export | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Relationship Tracking | No | No | No | No | Basic | No | No |
| Isolation Alerts | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
The Critical Missing Layer: Why NO ChMS Handles Relational Pastoral Care
This is where every honest analysis must address the elephant in the room.
Every platform we've compared - from Planning Center's sophistication to Breeze's simplicity to Subsplash's digital engagement - was designed for OPERATIONAL management:
- Who attended?
- How much was given?
- Who volunteered?
- What events are scheduled?
But none track RELATIONAL health:
- Who is genuinely connected?
- Who has fewer than 5 meaningful friendships?
- Who is isolated despite regular attendance?
- Who is at risk of leaving?
The Research Is Clear
Studies consistently show that church members with fewer than 2 close friendships leave within 18 months. Those with 7+ connections stay for decades. Yet your ChMS can't tell you which category each member falls into.
You can see giving patterns but not relational patterns. You can track volunteering but not friendship. You can monitor attendance but not connection.
This isn't a bug in ChMS design. It's a fundamental feature distinction. ChMS platforms handle operations. They don't handle relationships.
Why This Matters
A 26-year-old attends your church weekly. She participates in events. She gives modestly. Your Breeze dashboard shows: active, engaged member.
But your relational reality shows: zero close friendships, sits alone in service, has talked to two people in three months.
Eight months later: "We found a church closer to home."
Your ChMS never flagged the risk. It can't. Relational isolation is invisible to operational systems.
For more on this critical gap, see our previous post on The Contemporary Exodus.
How FlockConnect Complements Every ChMS Platform
This is where your complete church software strategy takes shape.
Direct Integrations Available
FlockConnect currently offers native integrations with:
- Planning Center - Real-time People database sync, no data duplication
- Subsplash - Direct integration for member data flow
- Breeze - Direct integration pulling member records
- Pushpay - Direct integration connecting giving and relational data
- ChMeetings - Direct integration
CSV Import for All Other Platforms
For platforms without direct integration (Gracely, Servant Keeper, Ministry Brands systems):
- Export member list as CSV from your ChMS (one-time setup)
- Upload to FlockConnect monthly (or on your schedule)
- All member data flows into relational context
- No duplicate entry, no data silos
What FlockConnect Adds
Connection Visibility Dashboard:
- Members with <5 connections (at-risk category)
- Visual mapping of relational networks
- Immediate identification of isolated individuals
- Trends showing whether connection is increasing or decreasing
AI-Powered Introduction Suggestions:
- Analyzes member profiles for compatible connections
- Suggests introductions based on shared interests, life stage, proximity
- Grounded in pastoral wisdom, not just data
- Increases likelihood of lasting friendships forming
Relational Health Monitoring:
- Track whether connections are forming over time
- Identify which small groups build genuine friendships
- Monitor discipleship relationship progress
- Alert when members drop below connection thresholds
Pastoral Care Documentation:
- Track spiritual journey and pastoral interactions
- Document prayer requests and follow-ups
- Maintain relational history systematically
- Generate reports on relational health trends
Integration Strategy:
FlockConnect doesn't replace your ChMS. It complements it. Your ChMS handles operations (giving, events, volunteering, attendance). FlockConnect handles relationships (connection, isolation identification, pastoral care). Together, they provide complete visibility.
Making Your ChMS Decision: A Practical Framework
Step 1: Define Your Church Size and Growth Trajectory
50-100 members: Breeze, ChMeetings, or Gracely
- Churches this size need simplicity and affordability
- Planning Center's flexibility isn't necessary yet
- Subsplash's custom app is overkill
100-300 members: Planning Center, Subsplash, or Breeze
- Breeze still works but approaches its comfortable limit
- Planning Center's modular approach becomes valuable
- Subsplash makes sense if digital engagement is priority
300-800 members: Planning Center or Subsplash
- Breeze begins to feel limiting
- Planning Center's flexibility and ecosystem shine
- Subsplash's custom app drives engagement at this scale
800+ members: Planning Center (multi-site friendly) or Subsplash (digital engagement focus)
- These are the only platforms scaling to this size comfortably
- Ministry Brands or large enterprise solutions may be considered
Step 2: Identify Your Ministry Priorities
Priority: Worship Excellence
- Choose Planning Center for Services module
- Nothing else comes close
Priority: Digital Engagement
- Choose Subsplash for custom-branded app
- Plan to complement with pastoral care tool
Priority: Relationship Ministry
- Choose any ChMS, then add FlockConnect
- The ChMS/FlockConnect combination is powerful
Priority: Budget Consciousness
- Choose Breeze (if <300 members) or ChMeetings (if flexible sizing)
- Both are robust, affordable options
- Understand Breeze's post-acquisition trajectory
Priority: Nonprofit/Volunteer Focus
- Consider Gracely for superior volunteer management
- Or choose Planning Center/Subsplash + FlockConnect for comprehensive approach
Step 3: Evaluate Your Team's Technical Comfort
Non-technical staff:
- Breeze or ChMeetings (easiest learning curves)
- Expect 1-2 hours training to full competency
- Minimal customization needed
Moderate technical comfort:
- Planning Center or Gracely (moderate learning curve)
- Expect 4-6 hours training, 1-2 weeks to full competency
- Some customization possible and valuable
Tech-forward team:
- Planning Center or Subsplash (more complex, more powerful)
- Advanced integrations and customizations possible
- API and third-party tool integration feasible
Step 4: Calculate True Cost of Ownership
Don't look at ChMS price alone. Calculate total stack:
Budget-Conscious Small Church:
- Breeze: $72/month
- FlockConnect: $29/month
- Total: $101/month
Mid-Size Worship-Focused Church:
- Planning Center (People, Services, Giving, Check-Ins): $140/month
- FlockConnect: $59/month (mid-tier)
- Total: $199/month
Digital-Engagement Priority Church:
- Subsplash: $299/month
- FlockConnect: $79/month (premium tier)
- Total: $378/month
Compare these totals to your church budget. The right ChMS isn't always the cheapest - it's the one that provides best value for your priorities.
Step 5: Plan Your Integration Strategy (Critical)
Before choosing any platform, verify:
- Does it have CSV export? (Ensures you can move data if needed)
- Does it have an API? (Enables integrations with other tools)
- Does it integrate with FlockConnect? (For relational layer)
The "best" ChMS is one that integrates with tools that complete your strategy.
Red Flags When Evaluating ChMS Platforms
Avoid platforms that:
- Haven't released updates in 6+ months (indicates stalled development)
- Lack transparent pricing (hidden fees erode trust)
- Offer no export options (vendor lock-in)
- Don't provide API access (limits flexibility)
- Have overwhelmingly negative support reviews
- Are acquired by non-church-focused companies without demonstrated commitment
Specific Cautions:
- Breeze: Understand post-Tithely acquisition that development has slowed. Not ideal for churches planning significant growth.
- Ministry Brands: Using multiple products requires multiple subscriptions. Total cost can exceed best-of-breed approach.
- Servant Keeper: Desktop version is legacy. Cloud version pricing high for features offered.
Making the Final Decision
Here's the decision-making flowchart:
START: What's your church size?
- Under 100: Consider Breeze/ChMeetings
- 100-300: Consider Planning Center/Breeze/Subsplash
- 300+: Consider Planning Center/Subsplash
NEXT: What's your primary priority?
- Worship: Planning Center
- Digital engagement: Subsplash
- Budget: Breeze/ChMeetings
- Relationships: Any ChMS + FlockConnect
- Volunteers: Gracely or Planning Center + FlockConnect
THEN: What's your team's technical comfort?
- Non-technical: Breeze/ChMeetings
- Moderate: Planning Center/Gracely
- Technical: Planning Center/Subsplash
FINALLY: Will you add a relational layer?
- YES: Plan budget for FlockConnect integration
- NO: Understand your church can't identify isolated members until they've left
The Bottom Line
The "best" ChMS doesn't exist because churches' needs differ. Planning Center is best for worship-focused churches valuing flexibility. Subsplash is best for digitally-engaged churches. Breeze is best for budget-conscious small churches (understanding its development limitations).
But regardless of which ChMS you choose, consider adding FlockConnect to your stack. Every ChMS tells you what happened (attendance, giving, volunteering). FlockConnect tells you why it's happening (connection, isolation, relational health).
Together, they transform your church software from an operational system into a pastoral ministry system.
Ready to complete your church software strategy? Choose your ChMS from the options above, then add the relational layer that every church needs. FlockConnect integrates with Planning Center, Subsplash, Breeze, Pushpay, and ChMeetings - or import your member data via CSV from any other system. Start your free 14-day trial: https://flockconnect.com