Tithe.ly Fees 2026: What It Really Costs Your Church (Card vs ACH)

By The Solomon Wealth Code Editorial Team · Published · Updated · Reviewed for biblical and financial accuracy.

Tithe.ly charges 2.9% + $0.30 on card gifts and 1% + $0.30 on ACH bank transfers, with a free software tier for churches. This breakdown shows the real dollar cost at every giving level, how Tithe.ly compares to Givelify, Planning Center, Pushpay and Subsplash, and the one change that recovers the most money for ministry.

Short answer: Tithe.ly charges 2.9% + $0.30 per credit or debit card gift and 1% + $0.30 per ACH bank transfer, on top of any paid software tier the church subscribes to. Giving is available on a free tier, so for most small churches the transaction rate is the whole cost — but the card-versus-ACH gap is where the real money is won or lost.

Apply this

Decide the amount first, then the rail. Run our Tithe Calculator to set your giving number, then use the tables below to make sure the largest possible share of it reaches ministry.

Tithe.ly fees at a glance (2026)

Fee type Published rate Who pays it Credit / debit card gift 2.9% + $0.30 Church (unless giver opts to cover it) ACH / bank transfer gift 1% + $0.30 Church (unless giver opts to cover it) Tithe.ly Giving software Free tier available Church Paid tiers (ChMS, church app, websites, media) Monthly subscription, quoted by module Church Text-to-give, kiosk and add-ons Priced separately in most plans Church

Rates are the provider's publicly advertised pricing at the time of writing and change periodically — confirm current numbers with Tithe.ly before signing anything.

What a Tithe.ly gift actually costs in dollars

Percentages hide the size of the loss. Here is the same gift, both ways.

Gift Card fee (2.9% + $0.30) ACH fee (1% + $0.30) Saved by using ACH $50 $1.75 $0.80 $0.95 $100 $3.20 $1.30 $1.90 $250 $7.55 $2.80 $4.75 $500 $14.80 $5.30 $9.50 $1,000 $29.30 $10.30 $19.00 $10,000 $290.30 $100.30 $190.00

Scale it to a congregation. A church receiving $500,000 a year entirely by card pays roughly $14,500 in processing. The same half-million given entirely by bank transfer costs about $5,000. The $9,500 difference is a part-time youth worker or a full missions budget — and it requires no change of vendor at all.

Does Tithe.ly take a cut of my tithe?

Not from your side of the transaction, unless you choose to. By default the fee is deducted from the gift before it settles into the church account, so a $100 card tithe deposits about $96.80. Tithe.ly, like most platforms, offers a checkbox letting the giver cover the fee — check it and the church receives the full $100 while you are charged about $103.20.

If you want the church to receive exactly your tithe amount, either check that box or give by bank transfer. Scripture never specifies a payment rail, but Proverbs 27:23 — "know well the condition of your flocks" — is a fair mandate for knowing what your generosity actually costs to deliver.

Tithe.ly fees vs the alternatives

Platform Card ACH Platform fee Tithe.ly 2.9% + $0.30 1% + $0.30 Free tier available Givelify 2.9% + $0.30 1% + $0.30 No monthly fee Planning Center Giving 2.15% + $0.30 1% (capped) Included in plan pricing Pushpay Quoted per church Quoted (~1%) Annual contract, typically highest Subsplash Quoted per church Quoted Bundled with app/media

Tithe.ly is mid-pack on card rate and standard on ACH. Its advantage is the free entry tier; its cost creeps in when a church stacks paid modules. Planning Center is the cheapest published card rate, but only makes sense if the church already runs Planning Center. Full comparison in our church giving app fees breakdown, and the platform experience itself in our Tithe.ly review.

Three ways to cut Tithe.ly fees this month

  1. Make ACH the default on the giving form, with card as the secondary choice. Defaults move behavior far more than pulpit appeals do.
  2. Ask recurring card donors to switch once a year, showing the specific annual dollar difference. Recurring givers are the largest and most predictable slice of digital volume — converting that cohort cuts fees on the church's steadiest income by roughly two-thirds.
  3. Audit paid modules quarterly. Church app, websites, ChMS and media add up quickly. Pay for what is actively used, not what was bundled during onboarding.

And for individual givers: fewer, larger gifts beat many small ones, because the $0.30 fixed fee is charged per transaction. One monthly $400 tithe costs less to deliver than four weekly $100 tithes.

The stewardship verdict

Fees are not a reason to stop giving digitally. Churches that moved to digital platforms consistently report higher per-household giving and far less seasonal volatility — the fee buys real ministry income. But 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 makes a direct point about handling generous gifts with visible care: "we take pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man." Knowing your effective cost of generosity, and routing it well, is part of that care.