<p>Tithely and Givelify are the two products most churches actually choose when they are deciding how to move from cash offerings and PayPal to a real giving platform. Both start free, both handle online and mobile giving, and both accept recurring donations. But they optimize for completely different problems, and that difference is worth 10-15 minutes of thinking before you decide.</p>
<p>Tithely is the church-first play: it bundles giving with a basic ChMS, a branded church app, text-to-give, a website builder, and email tools. You get one vendor for most of what a small church runs on, starting free and adding modules as you need them. Givelify is the donor-first play: it built the best giving experience donors actually want to use, works across 60,000+ churches in one app, and lets churches focus on giving and nothing else. One is a small-church operating system; the other is a really good donation button.</p>
The bottom line
Tithely and Givelify solve for opposite priorities. Tithely is the all-in-one platform for a small church that wants one vendor for giving, apps, websites, and basic ChMS—all starting free. Givelify is the giving-only app for a church that wants the best donor experience and doesn't need (or already has) a full ChMS. The decision hinges on whether you need a church-management suite or just a giving app.
The core difference: Tithely is church-first and module-based (giving, app, ChMS, website, email as separate subscriptions under one roof). Givelify is donor-first and giving-only (the simplest, fastest donation flow; no ChMS, no app builder).
Tithe.ly vs Givelify: at a glance
| Tithe.ly | Givelify | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.9 / 5 |
| Starting price | Free (giving only) · paid modules from around $59/mo | Free for donors; ~2.9% + $0.30 per donation |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | iOS · Android · Web · Kiosk | iOS · Android · Web |
| Developer | Tithe.ly | Givelify, LLC |
| Launched | 2012 | 2013 |
| Best for | Churches under 500 attendance who want one vendor for everything | Donors who give to more than one church |
See them in action
Givelify
How they compare, point by point
What you're buying
Tithe.ly
Tithely: A modular stack — free giving, plus subscriptions for app, ChMS, website, email, media. Buy what you need; skip what you don't.
Givelify
Givelify: Giving only. No ChMS, no app, no website builder. Free for churches, $0 monthly; fees only on donations (2.9% + $0.30).
The giving experience
Tithe.ly
Tithely: Clean, straightforward, embedded in the church's branded app or website. Works, fits the stack.
Givelify
Givelify: Obsessively polished donor flow. Three taps from open to confirmation. Donors use Givelify app itself; church gets Givelify branding.
Church-side analytics & reporting
Tithe.ly
Tithely: Functional dashboard showing gifts by fund, donor, date. Breeze integration adds attendance and donor records. Basic reporting; no BI.
Givelify
Givelify: Thin analytics (totals, donor lists, fund splits). No cohort analysis, no lapsed-donor alerts, no deep segmentation. Works for small churches, gaps for larger ones.
Additional modules & tools
Tithe.ly
Tithely: Text-to-give, Breeze ChMS, branded app, website builder, kiosks, media hosting, email. Essentially a small-church OS.
Givelify
Givelify: None. Givelify is giving, full stop. Pair with Planning Center or your existing ChMS for operations.
Pricing structure
Tithe.ly
Tithely: Free giving (just fees), then à la carte for app (~$59/mo), ChMS (~$66/mo), website, media. Can creep if not watched.
Givelify
Givelify: Zero monthly fees. 2.9% + $0.30 per gift, donors can cover it. Completely transparent, impossible to overspend on features.
Best church size
Tithe.ly
Tithely: Sweet spot is 50-500 attendance. Free to start, grows naturally with the church. Works for 2,000+ with caveats (multi-site gaps, limited workflow).
Givelify
Givelify: 30-5,000 attendance. Donor-side strength scales; church-side analytics is always thin. No multi-campus specifics.
Which should you choose?
Tithe.ly
Choose Tithely if you're a small church (under 500) wanting one vendor for everything (giving, app, ChMS, email, website); if you need text-to-give; if your staff is non-technical and needs a low-friction all-in-one; or if you want to migrate off multiple platforms (PayPal, Squarespace, a spreadsheet) onto one system.
Givelify
Choose Givelify if you want the best donor experience and don't need a full ChMS; if you already run Planning Center or another solid church-management system and just need a giving layer; if donors give to multiple churches and you want them to use the same app; or if you want zero monthly fees and only pay per donation.
Strengths at a glance
Tithe.ly
- Free entry tier - giving is genuinely free to set up; you only pay processing fees, with no monthly platform minimum
- True all-in-one stack - giving, app, website, ChMS, kiosks, and media all under one login, billed à la carte
- Breeze ChMS is excellent - the 2022 acquisition gave Tithe.ly the friendliest church-management product on the market for non-technical staff
- Branded church apps without enterprise pricing - custom-branded iOS and Android apps that used to cost $10K+ are now part of a modest monthly fee
Givelify
- Best-in-class donor experience - the giving flow is three taps from open to confirmation, and donors actually finish it
- Find-any-church discovery - geolocation and search surface 60,000+ organizations, so visitors and travelers can give without asking for an envelope
- Tax-ready receipts built in - every gift logs to a donor history view and annual statements export in one tap at year-end
- Recurring giving is a first-class flow - weekly, biweekly, monthly, or per-paycheck schedules with easy edit and pause
Watch-outs
Tithe.ly
- Module sprawl - buying giving, app, ChMS, and websites separately can quietly add up if you are not watching the line items
- Breeze and the rest of Tithe.ly are still integrating - donor records sync, but the two apps still feel like two products in 2026
- Design is functional, not delightful - the admin UI works, but it does not feel as polished as Planning Center or Subsplash
Givelify
- Thin church-side analytics - the giving dashboard is functional but nowhere near what Pushpay or Tithe.ly surface for finance teams
- No full ChMS - there is no people database, no groups, no check-in, no events; pair it with Planning Center or similar
- Processing fees are not the cheapest - 2.9% + $0.30 is industry-standard but smaller churches sometimes find ACH-heavy competitors cheaper at scale
Frequently asked questions
I'm a small church with no tech staff. Tithely or Givelify?
Tithely. You get a branded app, a basic ChMS, email, website builder—everything non-technical staff can operate without help. Givelify is giving-only, so you'd need Planning Center or a spreadsheet for everything else.
We already use Planning Center. Which giving app should we add?
Givelify. Planning Center is your ChMS; you just need the best donor experience on top of it. Givelify is giving-only and integrates with Planning Center. Tithely would be redundant and add monthly line items.
Do we have to use the Givelify app, or can donors give through our website?
Givelify is the giving app, but churches can embed a web-giving link on their website that opens the Givelify donation flow. Donors see Givelify branding in that flow; they do not see the church's branded app unless they download it.
Which one is cheaper for a church giving $50K/year?
Givelify: roughly 2.9% + $0.30 = ~$1,500/year in fees, zero monthly. Tithely free giving (same fee structure) plus maybe $60-70/mo for app + ChMS = ~$2,000/year. Givelify wins. But Tithely wins if you don't have a ChMS and need one.
Is Tithe.ly free?
Yes - Tithe.ly has a free tier (Free (giving only) · paid modules from around $59/mo).
Is Givelify free?
Yes - Givelify has a free tier (Free for donors; ~2.9% + $0.30 per donation).
The most pragmatic all-in-one church platform on the market. Givelify is the giving app donors actually want to open.