Chimes beside the church platforms you have heard of
Most church software is rented by the month and runs in the vendor's cloud. Chimes is bought once and runs on your server. Here is how the published prices compare, and where each approach comes out ahead.
| Chimes | Breeze | GivingFire | Planning Center | Pushpay | Tithe.ly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Church management, giving and the church website | Church management and giving | Giving and donation management | Church management, by module | Giving, church app and church management | Giving, with church management, app and website as paid plans |
| How you pay | Once | Monthly, no contract | Monthly | Monthly, by module and usage | Quote from sales | Monthly or yearly |
| Platform fee | $995 once | $72 a month | $49 a month | People free; other products $15 to $239 a month each, by usage | Not published | Giving free; church management $72 a month; All-Access $119 |
| Platform fees over five years | $1,715 with a $12-a-month server, plus email | $4,320 | $2,940 | $9,900 for a church of about 200 (see below) | Not published | $4,320 with church management |
| Card gifts (US) | 2.2% + 30¢, Stripe's nonprofit rate on your own account | 2.9% + 30¢ | Not published | 2.15% + 30¢ | Not published | 2.9% + 30¢ (Amex 3.5% + 30¢) |
| Bank (ACH) gifts | 0.8%, capped at $5 | 1% + 25¢ | Not published | 30¢ | Not published | 1% + 30¢ |
| Where your records live | Your server | Breeze's cloud | GivingFire's cloud | Planning Center's cloud | Pushpay's cloud | Tithe.ly's cloud |
| Customisation | Changed to fit your church, at $30 an hour | Within the vendor's settings and integrations | Within the vendor's settings and integrations | Within the vendor's settings and integrations | Within the vendor's settings and integrations | Within the vendor's settings and integrations |
| Server maintenance | Yours to run, or looked after for you at $30 an hour | Included: Breeze hosts it | Included: GivingFire hosts it | Included: Planning Center hosts it | Included: Pushpay hosts it | Included: Tithe.ly hosts it |
Prices as each provider published them in October 2026, in US dollars. Chimes' card fee is the rate reported for Stripe's nonprofit discount, which a registered church applies to Stripe for when at least 80% of its payments are tax-deductible donations; before approval it is Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢. Five-year figures are the monthly fee times 60, before card processing; Chimes' includes a $12-a-month server and leaves out your Postmark plan. Providers change their prices, so check the sources below before you decide.
Five years for a church of about 200
Planning Center prices each product by how much you use it, so the cost depends on the size of your church. Here are the products that match what Chimes does, for a church of about 200 on a Sunday. Child check-in is left out, because Chimes does not offer it.
- check About 90 households, two thirds of them giving about three times a month
- check About 200 donations a month, cash and cheques included
- check Up to 150 people at the largest registered event
- check Up to 50 volunteers on teams, and up to 200 people in groups
Chimes
| Item | Price | Five years |
|---|---|---|
| Licence Once, for the standard deployment | $995 once | $995 |
| Server A $12-a-month DigitalOcean droplet | $12 a month | $720 |
Five years $1,715
Planning Center
| Item | Price | Five years |
|---|---|---|
| Giving Up to 200 donations a month | $32 a month | $1,920 |
| Registrations Up to 150 at the largest event | $69 a month | $4,140 |
| Services Up to 50 team members | $32 a month | $1,920 |
| Groups Up to 200 people in groups | $32 a month | $1,920 |
| People Unlimited | Free | $0 |
Five years $9,900
Planning Center counts every donation toward its Giving tier, including cash and cheques entered in batches, so a church past 200 a month moves to the next tier. Its card and bank fees are a little lower than Stripe's — about $450 over five years for a church taking $15,000 a month by card — which does not change the order. Neither side counts a website: Chimes includes the church's, while a church on Planning Center usually pays for hosting, a site builder and a certificate as well.
Owned, not rented
You own it
Chimes is bought once and runs on your server. There is no subscription to renew, no annual contract and no price rise to absorb next year.
Stripe's rate, not a platform's
Gifts go through your own Stripe account at Stripe's published rate, and your church applies for Stripe's nonprofit discount itself. No one adds a margin.
Shaped to your church
Hosted platforms run one code base for every customer, so you work within their settings. Chimes is yours: new features, reports and integrations can be built for your church at $30 an hour.
Your records, your database
The directory, the giving history and the pastoral notes sit in a database on your server, not in a vendor's cloud beside thousands of other churches.
One website, not two
Chimes includes your church's public website, served from the same server with its own certificate. The pages and features of your current site can be brought into Chimes, so the separate website host, site-builder subscription and SSL certificate can go.
Where the others are ahead
Planning Center's published per-gift fees are also a little lower than Stripe's. If one of these matters more to you than owning your system, a hosted platform may suit you better.
Child check-in
Kiosks, name tags and security codes for pickup. Planning Center and others offer it; Chimes does not yet.
Kiosk giving
Giving kiosks are standard elsewhere. In Chimes, people give from the member app, the website or by text message; card readers are customisation work.
Paid registrations
Planning Center's Registrations takes payment for camps, retreats and conferences as people sign up. Chimes registrations are free sign-ups with capacity limits.
Self-service groups
In Planning Center, members find groups and ask to join them in the app. In Chimes, the office keeps group membership and members do not see the groups list.
A store app
The Chimes native mobile app is not in the app stores yet, so members use the member app in their phone's browser.
Hosting is in the price
Hosted platforms look after the server as part of their fee. With Chimes the server is yours: your own staff can run it, or I can look after it at $30 an hour.
Sources, checked in October 2026
Work out what Chimes would cost your church.
Tell me what you use today and what it costs you. I will come back with a deployment plan and a straight answer on what moving to Chimes would take.