On card gifts, Tithely and Givelify publish the same rate: 2.9% + $0.30 per donation (as of October 2026, per tithe.ly/pricing and givelify.com/pricing). The real difference lies in what you get around the gift. Tithely sells a larger menu of church tools and a lower bank-transfer rate. Givelify sells simplicity, with no monthly fee and next-business-day deposits.
This page compares the two platforms for a church board, a treasurer or a pastor who has to pick one. Every fee below comes from the company’s own pricing page, and I name the page each time. Where a page does not say something, I say so and do not guess.
Put it into practice
Work out what a fee percentage costs your own congregation with our Generosity Calculator. Then read the long-form reviews: Tithely review, Tithely fees explained and church giving app fees compared.
The published fees side by side
The table shows what each company lists publicly. “Not confirmed” means the pricing page I read did not state it, so ask the sales team in writing before you sign anything.
| Item (as of October 2026) | Tithely (tithe.ly/pricing) | Givelify (givelify.com/pricing) |
|---|---|---|
| Card gifts | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| American Express | 3.5% + $0.30 | 3.5% + $0.30 |
| Bank (ACH) gifts | 1% + $0.30 | Not confirmed |
| Monthly fee for giving | $0 on the Free Giving plan | None; the page lists no sign-up or monthly fees |
| Text-to-give | $19/month on the Free Giving plan; included with All-Access | Not confirmed |
| Deposits | Weekly by default; daily on request and approval, with a two-day lag | Next business day |
| Bigger plans | All-Access $119/month; Church Management $72; Mobile Church App $89; Website $19 | Not confirmed |
Fees and plan names change. Treat this table as a snapshot, then open both pricing pages the day you decide.
What the percentages cost in real dollars
A percentage on a Sunday offering feels small. Over a year it becomes a line item on the budget. Here is the arithmetic using the published card rate of 2.9% + $0.30.
| Gift | Card fee | Reaches the church | Tithely ACH fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25 | $1.03 | $23.97 | $0.55 |
| $100 | $3.20 | $96.80 | $1.30 |
| $500 | $14.80 | $485.20 | $5.30 |
| $2,000 | $58.30 | $1,941.70 | $20.30 |
Take a church where 100 households each give $200 a month by card. That is 1,200 gifts a year. Each carries a $6.10 fee ($5.80 plus $0.30), so the year’s fees come to $7,320. If those same households moved to bank transfers at Tithely’s published 1% + $0.30, each gift would carry a $2.30 fee, and the year’s total would be $2,760. The difference of $4,560 is roughly a month of part-time ministry salary in many small churches.
This arithmetic favors steering regular givers toward bank transfers on any platform that offers them cheaply. It also explains why both companies offer a way for donors to cover the fee themselves. Tithely lists a “Cover the Fees” option on its Free Giving plan. I could not confirm an equivalent on the Givelify pricing page.
What each platform offers around the gift
Tithely’s free tier lists unlimited donations; online, mobile and text giving; iOS and Android apps; credit, debit, ACH, Apple Pay and Google Pay; custom funds; recurring giving; pledge campaigns; QuickGive; tax receipting; offline cash and check recording with check scanning; and a QuickBooks Online integration. Those items come straight from its pricing page.
Givelify’s page states that donors pay nothing to download or use the app and that refunds carry no fee. It describes next-business-day deposits and no sign-up or maintenance costs for organizations. The page I read did not detail text giving, ACH or its paid tiers. If those matter to you, ask for them in writing.
| Your situation | Likely fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small church, one volunteer treasurer, wants the simplest setup | Givelify | No monthly fee, next-business-day deposits, a donor app |
| Most gifts are recurring bank transfers | Tithely | Published 1% + $0.30 bank rate |
| You also want a website, church app or member database | Tithely | Listed add-ons: Website, Mobile Church App, Church Management |
| The treasurer records cash and checks and uses QuickBooks Online | Tithely | Offline gift recording and a QuickBooks Online integration are listed |
| You need money in the bank fast for a weekly bill run | Givelify | Next-business-day deposits against Tithely’s weekly default |
What Scripture adds to a software decision
The Bible does not rank payment processors. It does give a church leader three habits worth bringing to the board meeting.
The first is counting. Jesus asks, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28, ESV). A board that prices three options in writing is obeying that verse.
The second is order in giving. Paul tells the Corinthians, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper” (1 Corinthians 16:2, ESV). Recurring gifts match that rhythm. A platform that makes weekly or monthly giving easy serves the same pattern, and a lower-cost bank transfer keeps more of each gift for the work.
The third is knowing your holdings. “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds” (Proverbs 27:23, ESV). A treasurer who reads the monthly fee report is doing exactly that with the church’s money.
A seven-step way to decide
1. Pull twelve months of giving. Count gifts by size and by method: cash, check, card, bank transfer. The count of gifts matters as much as the dollars, because of the $0.30 per gift.
2. Price both platforms with your own numbers. Use the formulas above. Add the monthly cost of any add-on you will use.
3. List the tools you need. Text giving, pledge campaigns, a church website, check scanning, accounting integration. Cross off the ones nobody will use.
4. Ask for missing answers in writing. For Givelify, ask about bank-transfer rates and text giving. For Tithely, ask which plan covers the tools you picked.
5. Read the fund and receipt features. Year-end giving statements save the treasurer hours in January. Confirm how each platform produces them.
6. Test with a small group of givers. Ask five regular donors to try both donor experiences. Their frustration or ease counts for more than any feature list.
7. Revisit yearly. Fees move. Put a review on the January calendar and compare the fee total to last year’s.
Whichever you pick, tell the congregation what the fee is and offer the lower-cost method. Transparency about money is part of the stewardship the church preaches.
A mixed-giving example
Suppose a church has 80 regular givers who each send $150 a month by card. Each gift carries a fee of $4.65 ($4.35 plus $0.30), so the monthly fee total is $372 and the yearly total is $4,464.
Now suppose the pastor explains the fee in a Sunday announcement and 40 of those households switch to bank transfers on a platform that publishes a 1% + $0.30 rate, as Tithely does. Those 40 gifts now cost $1.80 each ($1.50 plus $0.30). The other 40 stay on cards at $4.65. The monthly fee total drops to $258 and the yearly total to $3,096. That saves $1,368 a year without a single member giving less.
The numbers are invented for illustration, yet the pattern holds for any congregation. The monthly or yearly cost of an add-on, such as the $19 per month listed for text-to-give on Tithely’s Free Giving plan (which comes to $228 a year), should be weighed against the fee savings it could produce. Add each cost to the same spreadsheet.
Questions to put to each company in writing
A pricing page gives a starting point. A treasurer should send the same short list to both sales teams and keep the replies on file.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What is the rate for bank-transfer gifts? | It is the cheapest route for recurring gifts |
| Is there a charge for text-to-give? | Tithely lists $19 per month on its free plan; Givelify’s page did not say |
| What happens on a chargeback or failed gift? | The treasurer needs to know who absorbs the cost |
| Can I export all giving data if we leave? | It protects the church from lock-in |
| How are year-end statements produced? | Donors need them for tax records |
| Is there a contract or a trial period? | Tithely lists no contracts on its free plan and a 30-day free trial on plans |
Because tax records matter to donors, point your members to our page on whether tithing is tax deductible each January.
Which one fits your church: three pictures
Three short pictures show how the choice plays out. The numbers are illustrations built from the published card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 and Tithely’s published bank rate of 1% + $0.30. Replace them with your own giving data before you decide.
A small church with a volunteer treasurer. Thirty households give $100 a month by card. Each gift carries a $3.20 fee, so a month costs $96 and a year costs $1,152. Because the card rates match on both platforms, the choice rests on simplicity, deposit speed and the donor app. If all thirty moved to bank transfers at 1% + $0.30, each fee would fall to $1.30. The month would cost $39 and the year $468, which is $684 less. That saving needs a platform that publishes a cheap bank rate and a pastor willing to explain the option.
A mid-size church with many small gifts. Suppose 200 gifts of $50 arrive each month by card. Each fee is $1.75, which is 3.5% of the gift because the flat $0.30 adds 0.6 points to the percentage. The month’s fees total $350 and the year’s total $4,200. If 50 of those gifts move to bank transfers, they drop to $0.80 each ($40 in all), while the other 150 stay at $1.75 ($262.50 in all). The month then costs $302.50, a saving of $47.50 a month or $570 a year. Small gifts feel the flat fee most, so a church with many of them gains the most from nudging regular givers toward bank transfers.
A church that wants more than giving. The add-ons Tithely lists are Church Management at $72 a month, Mobile Church App at $89 and Website at $19. Together they come to $180 a month. All-Access is listed at $119 a month, or $1,428 a year. The two figures differ by $61 a month, yet the sum tells you nothing until you confirm exactly which tools All-Access includes. Ask in writing, then price only the tools your people will use.
A board checklist before the vote
Print this list and bring it to the meeting. Every item can be answered from your own records or from a written reply.
- Twelve months of giving data sit in one file, sorted by method and by gift size.
- Both platforms are priced with that data, and the spreadsheet is saved.
- The first-year tools are named, and the unused ones are crossed off.
- Written answers to the questions in the table above have arrived from both companies.
- Year-end giving statements are confirmed, including how they are produced and delivered.
- Two or three regular givers have tried each donor experience and reported back.
- A plan exists to tell the congregation the fee and to offer the lower-cost method.
- A date in January is on the calendar to review the year’s fee total.
If any line stays blank, the decision can wait a month. A short delay costs far less than a switch you regret.
Internal study path
Continue with the Tithely review, the breakdown of Tithely fees, the comparison of church giving app fees, our tithing app reviews, the apps page and the tithing hub.