For most small and mid-size churches, Tithe.ly is the right call. It offers published, month-to-month pricing, a bundled ChMS, website builder, and included app, all without locking you into a multi-year contract. Pushpay makes sense only if your organization processes high giving volume and will genuinely use enterprise donor analytics and dedicated account management.
The sharpest trade-offs:
- Contracts: Tithe.ly is month-to-month with no lock-in; Pushpay typically requires annual or multi-year agreements.
- Pricing transparency: Tithe.ly publishes its All-Access bundle price, historically around $119/month, and also offers a free giving-only tier for quick startup. Pushpay pricing is quote-based and sales-gated.
- Bundled value: Tithe.ly All-Access includes ChMS, website, and a branded app. Pushpay focuses on giving optimization and pairs with Church Community Builder (CCB) for deeper ChMS features.
- Analytics depth: Pushpay’s lapse prediction and multi-campus dashboards are genuinely stronger, but only matter if your team actively uses them.
- Migration: Tithe.ly’s self-serve setup can go live within a day; Pushpay implementations typically run 2–6 weeks with a structured CSM onboarding.
The scale tipping point is generally at a moderate size of weekend attendance where larger churches may benefit more from Pushpay. Below that threshold, analysts recommend auditing which Pushpay features you actually use before renewing. Most mid-size churches pay for enterprise capabilities they never touch.
Table of Contents
- What fundraising campaign tools do Tithe.ly and Pushpay include?
- How much can you customize the donation interface?
- Which payment methods do these platforms support?
- Hyphenateconsulting helps churches choose and migrate without the guesswork
What fundraising campaign tools do Tithe.ly and Pushpay include?
Tithe.ly handles standard campaign needs well: pledge campaigns, recurring gift prompts, text-to-give, and giving pages you can embed on your website. Its campaign dashboard lets staff track progress without needing a developer.
Pushpay goes further on the analytics side. Its donor-conversion tools include lapse prediction, recurring giving optimization dashboards, and campaign-specific reporting that can inform outreach timing. Case studies report significant giving increases in specific campaigns, though experts caution that results depend heavily on ministry culture and staff follow-through, not the platform alone.
For event management, neither platform was built for physical operations like volunteer scheduling or facility management. Plan for a separate tool to cover those gaps.
How much can you customize the donation interface?
Tithe.ly lets you match your church’s branding on giving pages: logo, colors, and custom fields. The experience is clean and functional, though less polished than Pushpay’s white-labeled donor app.
Pushpay’s branded donor app is its clearest differentiator. Churches get a fully custom-branded mobile app with push notifications, giving, and content in one place. For large congregations where app adoption drives recurring giving, that level of customization has real value. For a 200-member church, it’s likely more than you need.
Which payment methods do these platforms support?
Both platforms accept credit and debit cards at standard industry rates, ACH bank transfers at lower fees, and text-to-give. Pushpay’s transaction rates typically align with standard card processing rates around 2.9% + $0.30, and may only drop below this at very high giving volume.
Digital wallet support (Apple Pay, Google Pay) is available on both. ACH is worth prioritizing in your setup since it carries lower processing costs and works well for recurring donors.
Hyphenateconsulting helps churches choose and migrate without the guesswork
Choosing between Tithe.ly and Pushpay is one decision. Running the actual cost math, mapping your donor data, and getting your team trained is the work that follows. Hyphenateconsulting works specifically with nonprofits and churches on exactly this: platform ROI modeling, CSV donor data migration, giving page setup, and donor engagement strategy to make sure adoption actually happens after launch. For organizations running capital campaigns, Hyphenateconsulting also pairs platform strategy with grant writing services so your digital giving and funding strategy work together. Every engagement includes educational resources so your staff leaves more capable, not more dependent. See what a consulting engagement covers and book a free platform audit to get started.
| Platform | Pricing model | Best for | Core features included | Transaction fees | Contract length | Migration ease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tithe.ly | Published; All-Access bundle price | Small to mid-size churches/nonprofits | Giving, ChMS, website builder, branded app | card transaction fee typically around 2.9% + $0.30, matching industry standards | Month-to-month | Self-serve; live within a day |
| Pushpay | Quote-based | Large, multi-site churches | Giving, donor analytics, branded app (CCB for ChMS) | Varies; may drop at high volume | Annual/multi-year | 2–6 weeks with CSM |
| Church Community Builder (CCB) | Bundled with Pushpay | Enterprise/multi-campus orgs | Member management, process queues, multi-campus reporting | Via Pushpay | Annual/multi-year | Weeks; CSM-coordinated |
