Churchory is church management software for small churches and the volunteers who run them. Start free with Core (your people directory, families, roles, church-wide email and push, and the member app), then add only the one or two products you actually need, often Sunday check-in and serving plus Care, at $99 a year ($25 a month) each. There are no headcount tiers, our team migrates your data for free, and everything sits on one directory, so the second product is easier than the first.
What should church software for a small church do?
Good small church software does a few things well rather than everything: one accurate list of your people and households, a way to reach the whole church or one group, and help with the job that eats your week, usually Sunday check-in, the serving schedule or caring for people. It should be something a volunteer can learn on a Sunday afternoon, and it should be priced so a church of 60 is not paying for a system designed for 2,000.
That is what Churchory is built for. Core is free forever, each product is $99 a year, and nothing is priced by headcount. If you are comparing several options, our buyer's guide to the best church management software for small churches compares the five that small churches weigh most.
What makes a small church different?
A small church runs on relationships and a handful of willing people. Everyone knows everyone, which is the gift, and it is also why nothing gets written down: the pastor knows who is in hospital, the pianist knows who is on the coffee rota, and the information leaves the building with them. There is rarely a paid administrator. The bulletin is often typed by one faithful volunteer, and the budget for software sits somewhere below the line for the boiler.
Small churches also feel gaps more sharply. When one family is away, the nursery is empty. When one volunteer cancels, the whole Sunday shifts. And a first-time guest is noticed by everyone, which means following up with them well matters even more.
Who builds Churchory?
Churchory is built by a husband-and-wife team in Duluth, Georgia. Our family goes to 4Pointes Church in Dunwoody, and we started building Churchory for our own church. We've served in leadership on several teams at church over the years, so we know how much of that work runs on tools that were never built to work together: a check-in system here, a group text there, a spreadsheet that one faithful volunteer keeps up.
Between us we've spent more than twenty years building software at large technology companies. Churchory is what we wanted for our own church: one directory, products you add only when a real need shows up, and a price a small church can plan around. When you write in, you reach the two of us, not a ticket queue. There's more on the about page.
Why do small churches struggle with church management software?
Most church software was priced and designed for bigger churches. Small churches tell us the same things:
- It costs too much for what we use. Bundled systems sell twenty features to a church that needs three.
- It is too complicated for volunteers. If the setup needs a weekend course, it will not be kept up.
- We tried free tools and ended up with five of them. A spreadsheet for people, a group text, a shared calendar, an email tool and a paper sign-in sheet.
- Pricing by headcount feels like a tax on growth. Every time you approach a tier line, the bill jumps.
How does Churchory work for a small church?
Churchory is modular: you pick the products you need, at $99 a year ($25 a month) each, and they all sit on one people directory. That foundation is called Core, and it is free forever. It includes the directory of people and real households, roles and permissions, church-wide email and push announcements, and the Churchory web app plus Churchory Mobile for iOS and Android. See the Core page.
There are no people-count tiers on the new plans. A church of 40 and a church of 400 pay the same for the same products.
Which products should a small church start with?
Most small churches start with one or two products and add more only when a real need shows up. These are the combinations we see make the most sense:
| If your main need is… | Start with | Yearly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowing who came, who is new, and who is serving | Sunday | $99 | $25 |
| Caring for people well: meals, prayer, guest follow-up | Sunday + Care | $198 | $50 |
| A few home groups or Bible studies | Sunday + Care + Groups | $297 | $75 |
| A children's program with check-in | Sunday + Kids | $198 | $50 |
| Everything, including your own app | Churchory One | $599 | $129 |
Yearly billing saves $201 a product, and $949 on Churchory One. Churchory One becomes the better deal from the sixth product on monthly billing (five products are $125 a month, six are $150, One is $129) and from the seventh on yearly billing (six products are $594 a year, seven are $693, One is $599). Prices are in US dollars. There is no contract and you can cancel any month.
What does a small church get for that price?
One platform instead of the five free tools many small churches end up juggling, on one directory so nobody types the same family in twice. If you pay for a separate check-in tool, chat app and newsletter tool today, add up what those cost and compare it with $99 a year per product or $599 a year for everything. Core is free forever, Churchory takes no platform fee on giving (only Stripe's processing fees apply), our team migrates your data for free, and the questions you send are answered by the husband-and-wife team who build Churchory.
Why do so many small churches start with Sunday and Care?
Because those two cover the work a small church does every single week. Sunday is one product for serving schedules, worship planning and Sunday check-in, so you know who was in the room, who is new, and who is on next week. Care adds meal trains, prayer chains and follow-ups.
Together they close the gap small churches feel most: a first-time guest who checks in on Sunday lands on a follow-up list with someone's name next to them, instead of on a card in a basket. When someone has surgery, a meal train goes out with a public link, so relatives and neighbours without an account can claim a slot or send a gift card instead of cooking.
How hard is it for a volunteer to set up?
It is designed for exactly that person. Setup is done on the web, and you only set up the products you bought, so a church with one product has one product to learn. Start with the directory and that product, and add the rest later. Churchory's team will also migrate your existing data for free from Planning Center, Breeze, Church Community Builder, Tithe.ly and Elvanto, Realm, Servant Keeper, ChurchTrac or a spreadsheet, with 12 to 24 months of history. Giving ledgers are not migrated. The switching page explains how.
Churchory is built and supported directly by a husband-and-wife team, so when you write in, you reach the people who make it.
Can a small church keep access tight with only a few volunteers?
Yes, and it matters more in a small church, where one login is often shared. Churchory's permissions are a grid of 23 areas, each set separately, so the person who runs check-in can do that without seeing everyone's address, and the person who types the bulletin can draft it without being able to publish it. Churchory creates a few roles for you, including Welcome Team for Sunday check-in and Deacon, a church office that carries no access on its own. The church administrators page explains roles in more detail.
What about online giving?
Online giving is its own product. Giving runs through your church's own Stripe account, with gifts from $1 to $25,000, funds, recurring gifts, an option for givers to cover the fee, and year-end statements. Churchory never holds your money. Many small churches add it once the rest is in place.
Does a small church need its own branded app?
Usually not at first. Free Core includes Churchory Mobile, so your members already have an app. Your church's own app, under your name in the App Store and Google Play, comes only with Churchory One; Apple also charges its own $99 a year for the developer account it is published under. The branded app page explains what is involved.
Where should a small church go next?
If you are planting rather than established, the church plants page is a closer fit. Pastors can read the pastors page, and if you are weighing Churchory against what you use now, the side-by-side buyer's guide, the comparison page and pricing have the details.
Frequently asked questions
What is small church management software?
Small church management software keeps a small church's people, families and weekly ministry in one place: the directory, Sunday check-in, serving schedules, care and church-wide messages. The difference from software built for large churches is that a volunteer can run it and the price fits a small budget. Churchory starts free with Core and lets you add only the products you use, at $99 a year ($25 a month) each.
Is there free church software for small churches?
Yes. Churchory Core is free forever with no card: the people directory and real households, roles and permissions, church-wide email and push announcements, and Churchory Mobile for iOS and Android. Many small churches run on Core alone for a while and add a product such as Sunday or Care when a need shows up.
How much does Churchory cost for a church of 50 people?
The same as for a church of 500: $99 a year ($25 a month) per product, or $599 a year ($129 a month) for everything with Churchory One. The new plans have no people-count tiers, so a small church is not charged by headcount.
Can volunteers run Churchory without technical help?
Yes. Churchory is built for churches where the administrator is often a volunteer, and our team migrates your existing data for free. Support comes directly from the husband-and-wife team who build it.
Do our members need to download an app?
No, but most find it easiest. Members can use the Churchory web app, or Churchory Mobile on iOS and Android, which is free with Core.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every church gets 45 days free with no card, including the products you pick and Core. Adding another product during the trial is one click and free, and nothing switches off automatically when it ends.
Who is Churchory for?
Churchory is for small and mid-size churches, and especially for the pastors, church administrators and ministry leaders who run them with a few staff and a lot of volunteers. Nothing in it assumes a full-time IT person: the kiosk, the sign-up links and the apps are built for the volunteer who was trained once and is standing at a table at 9:58 on a Sunday.
Does each product work on its own?
Yes. Every product runs on Core by itself except Retreat Builder, which needs Events because every retreat is an event. Products light up extra features when you own them together: Groups plus Chat gives each group its own channel, Sunday plus Care puts first-time guests on the follow-up list, and Events plus Newsletters pulls upcoming events into a newsletter.