Member directory, pastoral care, volunteer scheduling, giving, GDPR: the right software depends on your number-one need, not on a universal ranking. We compared 6 solutions — 3 French, 3 American — with their verified pricing, their strengths and their real limits.
| Software | Language | Free | Price (≈150 members) | Key strength | Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministeo 🇫🇷 | FR, EN, ES, PT | ✓ ≤ 50 members, unlimited time | €49/month all-inclusive | Pastoral care + AI assistant | France (GDPR) |
| Eliakim 🇫🇷 | FR | 60-day trial | €59/month | Volunteer scheduling + worship | France (GDPR) |
| ChurchManager 🇫🇷 | FR | ✓ < 50 members | Not published in detail | Administration + tax receipts | Not specified |
| Planning Center 🇺🇸 | EN | ✓ per module, limited | ≈ $30–100/month depending on modules | Complete ecosystem, Services module | United States |
| Breeze ChMS 🇺🇸 | EN | ✗ | $72/month flat | Simplicity, unlimited flat price | United States |
| ChurchTrac 🇺🇸 | EN | ✓ ≤ 100 people | ≈ $6–18/month | Unbeatable price | United States |
Pricing gathered in July 2026 from the vendors' official websites (ministeo.com, eliakim.net, churchmanager.fr, planningcenter.com, breezechms.com, churchtrac.com). Price lists change — check before you commit.
Six criteria, in order of importance for a church in Europe:
No. 1 · Best for pastoral care and AI
The smart pastoral assistant — caring for people, with AI on top.
Ministeo (that's us) starts from a simple question: who in my congregation needs attention right now? Member records with history, confidential counseling notes encrypted with AES-256 and visible only to their author, prayer requests, appointments synced with Google Calendar, home groups. Its differentiator, unique in the French-speaking market: a conversational AI assistant — "Which members haven't been contacted in 3 weeks?", "Draft a message for the newcomers" — that strictly applies the same access rights as the interface.
Who it's for: pastors and pastoral teams whose priority is caring for people, from the small community to the 2,000-member church. Try it free →
No. 2 · Best for volunteer scheduling and worship
The French-speaking pioneer — more than ten years in the field, more than 2,000 churches.
Eliakim excels at organizing Sunday: one-click volunteer rotas based on availability, complete worship management (song library, transposition, audio/YouTube, sheet music), automatic reminders, pastoral care and team communication. Data is hosted on its own servers in France — a deliberate data-sovereignty positioning. Pricing: Essentiel €29/month (≤ 50 people), Croissance €59 (≤ 150), Impact €99 (≤ 450), Expansion €179 (≤ 1,000), Vision €299 (unlimited), file storage included (5 to 60 GB).
Who it's for: churches whose number-one challenge is coordinating Sunday and worship teams. See our detailed Ministeo vs Eliakim comparison.
No. 3 · Best for administration and tax receipts
The French all-in-one for church administration.
ChurchManager covers church management from the administrative side: members and attendance, events, and above all financial management — donation tracking, budget, and automatic tax receipts, a real time-saver for the treasurer of a French religious association (association cultuelle). Free Starter plan under 50 members, 24/7 email support. The detailed price list and the mobile app are not published on the website (July 2026).
Who it's for: churches whose pain point is paperwork — treasury, giving, French tax receipts (Cerfa forms). See our detailed Ministeo vs ChurchManager comparison.
No. 4 · The most complete for English-speaking churches
The global benchmark — as long as English is no obstacle for anyone.
The most complete ecosystem on the market: People (member database, free), Services (scheduling and worship — the global benchmark), Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, Registrations, Calendar, plus the Church Center member app. Each module is billed separately, in dollars, based on volume: a mid-sized church running several modules commonly pays $50 to $200/month, plus transaction fees on donations. The downside for a church in Europe: everything is in English — interface, support, communications — and data is hosted in the United States.
Who it's for: international or English-speaking churches that want to centralize everything. See our detailed Ministeo vs Planning Center comparison — and note that Ministeo imports members from Planning Center, so the two can work side by side.
No. 5 · The simplest flat-rate option (English only)
One price, everything unlimited — the favorite of small American churches.
Breeze (part of the Tithely group) built its reputation on radical simplicity: $72/month, all-inclusive — unlimited members, unlimited users, online giving, mobile app, free data migration. No module math, no tiers. It is an excellent product… for an English-speaking church: there is no version in any other language, and the flat rate gets expensive for a small European community that could find the equivalent for free or at €24/month from European providers.
Who it's for: small and mid-sized English-speaking churches that want a simple tool with a predictable budget.
No. 6 · The most affordable (English only)
Created by a pastor, for tight budgets.
ChurchTrac is the most affordable option on the market: free up to 100 people, then a few dollars a month (Standard from ~$6/month, Plus ~$18/month with finances, worship and scheduling). Its functional coverage is surprisingly broad for the price — members, giving, children's check-in, budget, worship planning. Its limits are the same as Breeze's: English only, US hosting, and an interface that feels more dated than newer players.
Who it's for: English-speaking churches on a minimal budget.
What is the best church management software in 2026?
It depends on your number-one need: pastoral care with a multilingual AI assistant → Ministeo; volunteer scheduling and worship in French → Eliakim; administration and French tax receipts → ChurchManager; English-speaking church → Planning Center, Breeze or ChurchTrac.
Is there free church management software?
Yes: Ministeo (≤ 50 members, with no time limit), ChurchManager (< 50 members), ChurchTrac (≤ 100 people, English only) and Planning Center's limited free modules.
Which software is available in several languages?
Ministeo (FR, EN, ES, PT). Eliakim and ChurchManager are in French only. Planning Center, Breeze and ChurchTrac are in English only.
Does church software need to be GDPR-compliant?
Absolutely: a membership file reveals religious beliefs — special category data under Article 9 of the GDPR. Hosting in France (Ministeo, Eliakim) greatly simplifies compliance compared with solutions hosted in the United States.
How much does church management software cost?
For 100 to 200 members in 2026: from a few dollars (ChurchTrac) to ~$100/month (Planning Center with several modules), with Ministeo at €24–49/month all-inclusive and Eliakim at €29–59/month. Several free plans exist for small communities.
Can you just stick with Excel?
It's risky: no access control, no encryption, no audit trail — legally fragile for data on religious beliefs. Dedicated software provides access rights, encryption and history.
Create your Ministeo account, import your members (CSV or Planning Center) and try the AI assistant with your real questions. Free up to 50 members, no credit card required.
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