Pushpay and Subsplash are the two platforms large and growing churches most often weigh against each other. Both bundle giving, a custom-branded app, and media into one system — but they're built for different sizes of church and different priorities.
We've reviewed both. Below is how they differ on scale, apps and media reach, church-management depth, and price, followed by a clear recommendation for each kind of church.
The bottom line
Both are capable, and the decision usually comes down to size and what you need most. Pushpay is the megachurch and multi-site standard: enterprise-grade giving plus genuinely deep church management through Church Community Builder, backed by a customer-success model built for large operations. Subsplash is the thoughtful mid-to-large church's default: a beautiful branded app, the deepest TV-app reach in the category, and vendor consolidation at a meaningfully lower price. Choose Pushpay if giving infrastructure and multi-site ChMS are your priority and budget isn't the constraint; choose Subsplash if you want a polished app and media reach without megachurch pricing.
The core difference: Enterprise giving-plus-ChMS versus app-and-media reach. Pushpay leads with enterprise donation infrastructure and deep church management. Subsplash leads with a best-in-class branded app, TV apps, and sermon media — at a fraction of Pushpay's entry cost.
Pushpay vs Subsplash: at a glance
| Pushpay | Subsplash | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 2.7 / 5 | 5.0 / 5 |
| Starting price | Around $1,475/mo (custom-quoted; varies widely by size and modules) | Custom - typically $300-$2,000+/mo |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Platforms | iOS · Android · Web (admin console + custom-branded member apps) | iOS · Android · Web · Roku · Apple TV · Fire TV |
| Developer | Pushpay Holdings (acquired Church Community Builder in 2018) | Subsplash, Inc. |
| Launched | 2011 | 2005 |
| Best for | Multi-campus churches with 1,000+ weekly attendance | Multisite and megachurches (1,000+ attendees) |
See them in action
Subsplash
How they compare, point by point
Scale and church fit
Pushpay
Pushpay is built for megachurches and multi-site operations, with a customer-success model that takes large-church complexity seriously.
Subsplash
Subsplash fits mid-to-large churches best; below roughly 200 attendees its price-to-use ratio breaks down, but from there up it consolidates several vendors into one.
Apps and media reach
Pushpay
Pushpay ships custom-branded member apps that stitch together sermons, giving, groups, and events — your church's own app, not a generic shell.
Subsplash
Subsplash also ships fully custom-branded apps and adds the category's standout differentiator: TV apps on Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV, plus sermon hosting with automatic transcription that publishes to app, web, and TV at once.
Church management depth
Pushpay
Through the Church Community Builder acquisition, Pushpay's ChMS is genuinely deep — groups, workflows, volunteer scheduling, and check-in built for multi-site reality.
Subsplash
Subsplash centers on engagement, media, and giving rather than heavy back-office ChMS. If deep multi-site people-management is your bottleneck, this is where Pushpay pulls ahead.
Pricing and contracts
Pushpay
Pushpay is enterprise-priced — entry commonly cited around $1,475/mo — with quote-only, opaque pricing and typically multi-year contracts. That cost is the dealbreaker for most average-sized congregations.
Subsplash
Subsplash is also quote-only but far more accessible, often cited around $300-$500/mo, on annual contracts. It's the more realistic budget for a church that wants a premium app without megachurch spend.
Which should you choose?
Pushpay
Choose Pushpay if you're a megachurch or multi-site operation, enterprise giving and deep Church Community Builder church management are your priorities, and you can absorb four-figures-per-month pricing on a multi-year contract. Its giving infrastructure and ChMS depth are built for seven-figure budgets.
Subsplash
Choose Subsplash if you want a beautiful custom-branded app, the deepest TV-app reach in the category, and sermon media that publishes everywhere at once — all without megachurch pricing. For most growing mid-to-large churches, it delivers the app and media experience that matters at a far more realistic cost.
If deep multi-site ChMS is your bottleneck, Pushpay is worth its premium; if a premium app and media reach are the goal, Subsplash gets you most of the way for a fraction of the price. Get a live quote for each — both hide their numbers behind a sales call.
Strengths at a glance
Pushpay
- Enterprise-grade giving infrastructure - recurring donations, pledge campaigns, kiosk hardware, text-to-give, and gift-management reporting that scales to seven-figure annual budgets without flinching
- Church Community Builder integration - the ChMS side is genuinely deep, with strong groups, processes (workflows), volunteer scheduling, and check-in built for multi-site reality
- Custom-branded member apps - your church gets its own app in the App Store and Play Store, not a generic Pushpay-branded shell, with sermons, giving, groups, and events stitched together
- Multi-campus support that actually works - separate campus dashboards, campus-scoped permissions, and consolidated reporting up the chain, which is exactly what regional and multi-site churches need
Subsplash
- Fully custom-branded apps - your logo, your colors, your app icon in the App Store and Google Play, not a generic shell
- TV apps on Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV - the differentiator no competitor matches at this depth
- Sermon hosting with automatic transcription - upload once and it goes to the app, website, and TV apps with searchable text
- Integrated giving that stays inside your brand - donors never see a third-party checkout
Watch-outs
Pushpay
- Cost is the dealbreaker for most churches - entry pricing in the four-figures-per-month range puts this out of reach for the average US congregation, which runs under 100 in weekly attendance
- Pricing is quote-only and opaque - you cannot self-serve a number on the website, which means a sales call before you even know if you are in the right ballpark
- Long-term contracts - Pushpay typically asks for multi-year commitments, which is rough on churches whose budgets swing year-to-year
Subsplash
- Opaque pricing - you cannot see a number on the marketing site, and quotes vary widely
- Annual contracts - month-to-month is not the norm and exit is not casual
- Overkill for churches under ~200 attendees - the price-to-use ratio breaks down fast at small scale
Frequently asked questions
Is Pushpay or Subsplash more expensive?
Pushpay is significantly more expensive, with entry pricing commonly cited around $1,475/mo, versus Subsplash often in the $300-$500/mo range. Both use quote-only pricing, so exact numbers require a sales conversation.
Which platform is better for a small church?
Neither is ideal for very small churches. Subsplash is the more accessible of the two but its value breaks down below roughly 200 attendees, and Pushpay is built for megachurch and multi-site scale. Smaller congregations usually get better value from lighter, lower-cost church-app and giving tools.
Is Pushpay free?
Pushpay starts at Around $1,475/mo (custom-quoted; varies widely by size and modules); there's no free tier.
Is Subsplash free?
Subsplash starts at Custom - typically $300-$2,000+/mo; there's no free tier.
Pushpay is the enterprise-class giving + ChMS + church-app stack the megachurch world quietly standardized on. Subsplash is the high-end church platform of choice for mid-to-large congregations that want a single vendor to handle the app, the website, giving, streaming, and TV apps.