Best Church CRM for Small Churches

Small churches have unique needs when it comes to managing their congregations. With limited staff and budget, they require tools that are easy to use, affordable, and streamline multiple tasks like tracking members, donations, and communications. A Church CRM (Church Relationship Management software) can be a game-changer by centralizing all this information, helping even the smallest church stay organized and engaged with its community. Instead of juggling spreadsheets or manual records, the right church CRM lets a small church focus on ministry while the software handles the administrative details.

In this article, we’ll explore the best church CRMs for small churches. These platforms range from budget-friendly options to premium all-in-one suites, each offering features to help your ministry thrive. Whether you need simple member tracking or a full suite of church management tools, there’s a solution here for you. Let’s dive into the top choices and find the one that fits your church’s needs.

1- Breeze ChMS: User-friendly church CRM with simple, flat-rate pricing ideal for small congregations.

2- Planning Center: Modular church management system offering a free core membership database and flexible add-on tools.

3- Tithe.ly Church: All-in-one church platform (CRM + giving + apps) with robust features to grow your ministry.

4- ChMeetings: Budget-friendly church CRM (free for small groups) that covers membership, communication, and events.

5- ChurchTrac: Affordable church management software with all the essentials, including worship planning and accounting.

6- SimpleChurch CRM: Comprehensive yet simple-to-use CRM with volunteer scheduling and online giving for small churches.

7- One Church Software: Integrated church management solution with strong engagement tracking and volunteer coordination.

8- Aplos: Church management and fund accounting platform, perfect for small churches needing robust financial tools.

1. Breeze ChMS (Breeze Church Management Software)

Breeze ChMS is widely recognized as one of the most user-friendly church CRMs on the market. Designed with small and mid-sized churches in mind, Breeze offers a simple, clean interface that volunteers and staff can learn in minutes. It provides all the core features you need to manage your church: a people database, attendance tracking, contributions and online giving management, event scheduling, and basic email/text communication tools. Breeze operates on a flat monthly rate (around $72/month for unlimited members), which means even if your congregation grows, your software costs stay predictable – a big plus for small church budgets.

Breeze’s strength lies in its simplicity and reliability. You can easily add and update member profiles with custom fields (for example, tracking baptism dates or small group involvement) and quickly pull up directories or reports without hassle. Attendance can be tracked by simple check-ins, helping you notice who might be slipping through the cracks. The built-in contribution tracking makes it easy to record tithes and offerings and generate giving statements. While Breeze doesn’t include advanced extras like a built-in website builder or mobile app for congregants, it focuses on doing the day-to-day church management exceptionally well with minimal setup. This focus makes it an excellent choice for small churches that want to get organized quickly without feeling overwhelmed by technology.

Key Features: Member database with unlimited records, attendance tracking, contribution management with online giving integration, event and volunteer management, basic email and text messaging to members, and customizable reports. Everything is included in the single monthly price, and support is known to be responsive and helpful for new users.

Pros:

• Extremely easy to use – ideal for churches with limited tech expertise.
• Flat-rate pricing with no per-member fees, making budgeting simple as your church grows.
• Includes all essential features (membership, giving, events) in one place.

Cons:

• Lacks some advanced features like a native mobile app for members or built-in website tools.
• Email/text features are basic; you might need separate tools for complex communication campaigns.

2. Planning Center

Planning Center is a versatile, modular church management system that’s great for small churches wanting flexibility. Instead of one monolithic app, Planning Center offers a suite of individual applications (modules) – such as People, Services, Groups, Check-Ins, Giving, Registrations, and more – which you can mix and match. The People module (the core CRM for member data) is completely free, allowing even the smallest church to start a member database at no cost. From there, you can add other modules as needed: for example, Services for worship planning and volunteer scheduling, Giving for online donations, or Check-Ins for children’s ministry security. Each module has its own small monthly fee based on usage, so a small church might pay only for two or three modules they really need. This à la carte approach means you’re never paying for features you won’t use.

Planning Center is known for its depth and quality. The Services module, for instance, is considered a gold standard for scheduling volunteers and planning worship sets (many churches use it just for that). All modules integrate with the central People database, so your member information stays consistent across everything. For a small church, Planning Center offers room to grow: you can start with basic functionality and gradually adopt more as your ministry expands. The trade-off is that it can be a bit overwhelming at first to decide which modules to use, and setting up each part requires some configuration. Also, costs can add up if you turn on many modules (though each is reasonably priced, using many of them at once might become less budget-friendly over time). Still, if you appreciate flexibility and want a professional-grade tool that scales from 50 members to 500 or more, Planning Center is a top choice.

Key Features: Free People module (unlimited members), powerful volunteer scheduling and service planning tool, online giving with donor receipts, group management, event registrations, child check-in system, and a mobile app (Church Center) for member engagement. You choose which features to enable.

Pros:

• Highly flexible – use only the modules you need, keeping costs under control.
• Free core CRM (People) for basic member management, great for starting out.
• Robust, church-tested features (especially for worship planning and scheduling).

Cons:

• Modular system means initial setup involves more decisions and configuration.
• Total cost can grow as you add multiple modules or as your attendance increases in each module.

3. Tithe.ly Church

Tithe.ly is known for its online giving platform, but it also offers an all-in-one church management suite that can serve as a powerful CRM for small churches. With Tithe.ly’s church management tools (which include what used to be Breeze and Elvanto under the hood), you get a comprehensive solution: membership management, donation tracking, event management, communications, a church app, website builder, and more. Essentially, Tithe.ly can replace a handful of separate services by providing one integrated platform for your church’s digital needs. For a small church aiming to modernize and consolidate systems, this is very appealing. You can manage your congregation’s contact info (Tithe.ly People), process tithes and offerings (Tithe.ly Giving), set up small group rosters, send out bulk emails or texts, and even create a custom mobile app or website for your church – all through Tithe.ly’s ecosystem.

One of Tithe.ly’s big advantages is streamlined giving and engagement. Members can give online or via text easily, and those contributions automatically reflect in the CRM. The communication tools and app help keep your congregation engaged through push notifications, announcements, and media (like sermon videos or blogs). Tithe.ly’s pricing is offered in packages: their All Access plan (around $119/month) includes everything (giving, ChMS, app, site, messaging, etc.), which for a small church might be at the high end of budget. However, you can also opt for individual products à la carte – for example, just use their giving, or just the ChMS – which can lower the cost if you don’t need the full suite right away. Tithe.ly’s comprehensive nature means it’s a bit more complex than single-purpose solutions, and you’ll want to take time to train on the parts you use. For tech-savvy teams, the payoff is a unified system where all your church data and digital tools work together seamlessly.

Key Features: All-in-one platform including a full CRM (membership database and volunteer management), online and text giving with an integrated donor database, event registration and calendar, mass messaging (email and SMS) tool, church website builder, custom church mobile app, and even a worship planning module. It’s cloud-based and accessible via web or mobile.

Pros:

• Comprehensive solution covering nearly every digital need of a church (no need for multiple vendors).
• Strong online giving tools with no monthly fee for giving alone (they make money via small transaction fees), plus automatic donor receipt tracking.
• Offers a mobile app and website integration to boost your church’s online presence and engagement.

Cons:

• The full suite is relatively expensive for a small church if you get everything (All Access plan).
• So many features can feel overwhelming; not every small church will utilize every tool in the bundle.

4. ChMeetings

ChMeetings is a budget-friendly church CRM specifically tailored to small and growing churches. In fact, it offers a free plan for churches with up to 50 members, making it perfect for church plants or very small congregations to get started at no cost. As your church grows, ChMeetings remains affordable (with plans starting around $12/month for larger member limits). Despite its low cost, this platform is impressively full-featured: you get people management (members and groups), attendance tracking, event scheduling and registration, communications via email and SMS, and even contributions management with finance reports. The interface is modern and cloud-based, accessible on any device, and they also have a mobile app for on-the-go access.

For small churches, ChMeetings shines by keeping things simple yet comprehensive. It has a multilingual interface (supporting 20+ languages), which is great if your church or staff prefer languages other than English. You can quickly add events to the calendar, send reminders to members, and handle child check-ins securely. One standout aspect is the ability to set up automated follow-ups – for example, if someone is a first-time visitor, the system can prompt you to follow up with them, or automatically send a welcome email. ChMeetings also recently introduced worship service planning tools (for coordinating volunteers, songs, and service outlines) all within the app – a feature often only found in higher-end systems. While it might not have every advanced integration that some bigger platforms do, it does support key connections (like exporting data to other systems, and integration with tools like Mailchimp for newsletters). Overall, ChMeetings offers tremendous value for small churches by covering all the basics and then some, without a steep learning curve or price tag.

Key Features: Free tier for up to 50 people, member and family database, group management, attendance tracking, events and calendar management, email and text messaging to congregation, volunteer and service planning tools, online giving tracking, and a customizable mobile app (you can even rebrand the app for your church with higher-tier plans). Data is securely stored in the cloud and can be accessed by multiple leaders with proper permissions.

Pros:

• Free plan available (for up to 50 members) and affordable paid plans for growing churches.
• Well-rounded features including communications and event management, given the low cost.
• Easy to use with a clean interface; plus a mobile app for both admins and members to stay connected.

Cons:

• Not as widely known, so your team might not find as many third-party tutorials or community support compared to bigger-name software.
• Certain advanced integrations or niche features (e.g., complex accounting) are not present – it focuses on core church management functions.

5. ChurchTrac

ChurchTrac is an all-in-one church management software that is remarkably affordable, making it a favorite among small churches. Plans start as low as $9/month (with a 30-day free trial to kick the tires), yet ChurchTrac doesn’t skimp on features. It includes membership management, a detailed church accounting module, contribution tracking, event scheduling, worship service planning, volunteer scheduling, and even a built-in database for song lyrics and chord charts for your worship team. For a small church needing to centralize everything in one place without breaking the bank, ChurchTrac is a strong contender. It’s a cloud-based system, so you can access it from any computer or device, and your data is backed up online.

One thing that stands out about ChurchTrac is its focus on being a total church hub – not just a CRM for people’s information, but also a tool to coordinate the weekly operations of a church. You can manage your member directory, print or email reports (like contact lists or giving statements), and keep track of attendance easily. Then switch to the Worship module to plan your Sunday service flow, assign volunteers to roles (greeters, nursery, etc.), and select songs (integrated with services like SongSelect for lyrics). On the finance side, ChurchTrac’s accounting tools let you budget, record expenses, and handle fund accounting, so you might not need a separate accounting software for your church. Given its low price, the interface is simpler and not as flashy as some higher-end systems, and you may find a few limits if you have a very large database or need complex customization. However, for the majority of small churches, ChurchTrac covers more than enough – it’s designed to save time and money by putting everything in one straightforward application.

Key Features: Member and family database, attendance tracking, donation and pledge tracking with giving statements, full accounting ledger (track budgets, accounts, and transactions), event calendar, child check-in, worship planning (order of service creation and volunteer/schedule management), and basic communication tools (emails and text via add-on). It even offers a Church Connect feature – an online member portal where people can update their info, give online, and view a member directory or church news.

Pros:

• Incredible value with one of the lowest price points for a capable church management system.
• Includes modules that other CRMs often don’t (worship planning, accounting) without needing third-party apps.
• Simple to navigate, with many tutorial resources – great for churches with limited tech-savvy staff.

Cons:

• The user interface, while easy, is a bit dated in appearance compared to more expensive systems.
• Some advanced features (like detailed analytics or integrations with external apps) are limited.

6. SimpleChurch CRM

SimpleChurch CRM is a church management platform designed specifically for small churches, as its name implies. It provides a balanced mix of features to handle daily church operations and foster better connections with your congregation. With SimpleChurch, you can maintain a complete member directory, organize people into groups (for ministries, small groups, etc.), and track attendance easily. It also offers built-in volunteer scheduling tools – ensuring you can plan out who’s serving in various roles each Sunday and for events, which is a lifesaver in small churches where volunteers wear many hats. Additionally, SimpleChurch CRM includes online giving and donation management, so you can accept tithes and offerings through the system and have those contributions tied to member profiles for reporting. A mobile app is available as well, enabling both church staff and members to interact with the system on the go (members can check in to events or see their giving history, for instance).

The strength of SimpleChurch CRM lies in covering all the essentials in one easy-to-use interface. It’s known for being pretty intuitive – you won’t need extensive training to get started. The dashboard gives a quick view of your attendance, recent giving, and upcoming events, helping you stay on top of the pulse of your church. For communications, SimpleChurch lets you send emails or texts to specific groups or the whole church, right from the platform. This is great for sending out prayer requests, event reminders, or last-minute service changes to everyone quickly. In terms of pricing, SimpleChurch is typically a subscription model based on church size (you might need to contact for a quote), but it’s generally priced to be affordable for small-to-mid size congregations and is often noted as a good value. One minor downside is that the interface, while straightforward, isn’t as modern-looking as some competitors, and a few specific features might be less developed (for example, some users wish for more flexibility in custom reports, or more modern design in the app). Overall, SimpleChurch CRM lives up to its name by keeping church management simple and effective.

Key Features: People and family management with group categorization, attendance tracking, volunteer management and scheduling, online giving integration (with donor and pledge tracking), basic event management, mass email/text messaging, and a mobile app for iOS/Android. It also integrates with services like Mailchimp and Planning Center (if you use other tools in tandem). All data is cloud-hosted for access anywhere.

Pros:

• Designed with small churches in mind, so it’s easy to navigate and not over-engineered.
• Combines member management, volunteer scheduling, and giving in one place – core needs for most churches.
• Good value for the feature set, with positive feedback on requiring minimal training to get started.

Cons:

• The software’s design/UI is a bit dated, and some advanced features (like certain report customizations) are not as robust.
• Lacks some bells and whistles of larger systems (for instance, no built-in child check-in hardware integration, though you can manually track).

7. One Church Software

One Church Software is an integrated church management system that offers a rich set of features ideal for small and mid-sized churches wanting to streamline operations. It brings together member management, event planning, service scheduling, donation tracking, and communications all under one roof. With One Church, you can track attendance and involvement for each person, manage small groups and ministry teams, coordinate volunteers for events or Sunday services, and handle your contributions and finance reporting. One of its highlights is a strong member engagement tracking – you can easily see a person’s involvement at a glance (attendance history, group membership, volunteering, giving records), which helps church leaders follow up and minister more effectively. This holistic view is great for small churches to ensure no one falls through the cracks.

One Church Software is also known for its user-friendly modern interface and a solid mobile app for both staff and congregation. For example, the system supports a children’s check-in feature to improve security in kids ministry, and it can send automated email reminders to volunteers about upcoming serving dates. It integrates with popular services like Mailchimp (for newsletters), Planning Center (if you still use the Services module), and even worship planning tools like PraiseCharts. They offer a generous 30-day free trial to explore the system, and pricing starts around $50-$60/month, which includes a good amount of functionality out of the box (with unlimited users, though some features scale with church size). While not the cheapest option, One Church packs a lot of power – effectively giving you what larger church systems provide, but in a scaled way that suits a smaller church context as well. The customer support is frequently praised, which is important when adopting a new CRM. If there’s a con, it might be that because it’s so feature-rich, you’ll want to take time to implement it fully so you get the most value (it can do a lot, so smaller churches should prioritize which features matter most to them initially).

Key Features: Centralized people database with robust search and filter capabilities, event management (with event check-in and registrations), volunteer scheduling and coordination, built-in email and text messaging tools, donation and pledge tracking with reporting, child check-in system, a mobile app for members (to check events, give, or update their info), and various integrations (online giving platforms like Pushpay or Stripe, communication tools, etc.). It also has an API for tech-savvy churches that want to build custom integrations.

Pros:

• Full-featured platform that covers membership, events, giving, and more – reducing the need for multiple systems.
• Modern, intuitive interface and mobile app enhance usability for both staff and members.
• Great engagement tracking and reports, helping small church leaders make data-informed ministry decisions.

Cons:

• Mid-range cost – not as low as some bare-bones options (but you get a lot of functionality for the price).
• So comprehensive that it may feel overwhelming at first; implementation requires some time investment to customize to your church’s workflow.

8. Aplos

Aplos is slightly different from other church CRMs on this list because it is built with fund accounting at its core. It’s a powerful option for small churches that not only want to manage people and donations, but also need to keep church finances and bookkeeping in order. Aplos combines a church management system (for tracking members, contributions, groups, and events) with a full-fledged nonprofit accounting software. This means along with typical CRM functions like contact management and communication tools, you get features for managing budgets, designated funds (like missions, building funds, etc.), generating financial statements, and tracking every dollar with precision. For many small churches without a dedicated accountant, Aplos can be a lifesaver, ensuring your financial books are accurate and compliant while you handle your ministry data in the same platform.

With Aplos, you can create an online giving portal, accept donations (and even text-to-give), and have those contributions automatically logged into both the donor’s record and your accounting ledgers. It also supports event registrations, email marketing (to your members or donors), and volunteer management in a simpler form. The interface is geared to be friendly for non-accountants – it hides a lot of the complexity of accounting behind easy workflows (for example, tracking a fund or printing contribution statements is straightforward). They offer church-specific customization, like tracking pastoral housing allowances or generating contribution receipts that meet IRS requirements. Pricing for Aplos starts around $79/month for their basic church package, which includes the accounting, donations, and people tracking features (with higher plans if you have larger needs or want advanced accounting like fixed asset tracking). While this price is higher than some other CRMs, remember that Aplos could replace two systems (your CRM and your QuickBooks, for instance). One potential drawback is that if your church’s accounting needs are simple, you might not fully utilize the accounting power you’re paying for. Also, Aplos’s member management features, while solid, are not as deep in areas like worship planning or child check-in as some dedicated church CRMs. However, for many small churches, the trade-off is worth it if finances are a top priority.

Key Features: True fund accounting software (track funds, budgets, expenses, and generate financial reports specific to nonprofits/churches), donor management with online giving forms and recurring donations, contact management for members and donors, group and event management (create events, track RSVPs), email newsletter and communication tools, and volunteer management (basic assignment and tracking). Aplos also provides a contributions module to track tithes/offerings and prepare yearly giving statements. Everything is cloud-based, and data integrates between the CRM side and accounting side automatically.

Pros:

• Uniquely offers integrated accounting and CRM, ensuring your finances are accurate and saving time on data entry.
• Professional financial reports and fund tracking help maintain transparency and accountability (important even for small churches).
• Includes robust donation tools (online giving, text giving) with automatic tracking, plus communication tools to stay in touch with givers and members.

Cons:

• Higher starting price than many other small-church CRMs, which could be a stretch for very tight budgets.
• Focuses on finance and admin; it doesn’t have some church-specific features like built-in worship scheduling or advanced check-in without using other add-ons.

Conclusion: Finding the Best CRM for Your Small Church

Choosing the best church CRM for a small church comes down to understanding your church’s priorities and constraints. Start by considering what matters most for your ministry: Is it keeping costs as low as possible? Streamlining volunteer scheduling and service planning? Integrating online giving? Or maybe having top-notch ease-of-use for non-technical staff? Each of the options above has its own strengths. For example, if budget is the #1 concern and you want core features, a solution like ChurchTrac or ChMeetings might be perfect. If you value a super polished interface and specific powerful modules, Planning Center or One Church Software could be the right fit. For all-in-one convenience, especially if you want to consolidate tools, look at Tithe.ly or Aplos (the latter if finance is a big piece of the puzzle). And if you simply want something reliable and volunteer-friendly to cover members, giving, and basic communications, Breeze or SimpleChurch CRM are excellent choices.

Tips for making your decision: Take advantage of free trials and demos – most of these platforms offer them. Have a few key people on your team (staff or volunteers) try out the software and give feedback on how comfortable they feel with it. Consider the level of customer support and training resources available, since a supportive vendor can make a huge difference for a small church implementing new tech. Also, plan for the future: choose a CRM that can grow with you for a while, so you’re not switching again in a year or two.

In the end, the best church CRM for your small church is one that makes your ministry easier, not harder. It should save you time, improve your organization’s communication and follow-up, and fit within your budget. All the options in our list have helped many churches like yours. Evaluate your needs, try out your top candidates, and you’ll be well on your way to picking a CRM that helps you nurture your congregation and advance your mission more effectively. Happy church CRM hunting!