How Online Giving Fees Work [Save Your Church $$$]

Online giving has become crucial for churches to secure their financial future.

But how do you choose the right church giving platform? How do online giving fees work? And how can we save our church money with these fees?

This post covers all of that and much more! Arm yourself with knowledge as you choose the best online giving platform for your congregation!

How Do Online Giving Fees Work?

Every online giving platform has partnered with a merchant processor. The processor coordinates with the credit card companies and banks, the online giving platform acts as a middle-man to between your organization and the processor. That way, your church or ministry doesn't have to stress about knowing all the regulations and maintaining compliance with the law. Those companies handle that for you and you can just take in mobile donations!

But both the processor and the platform have to make money somehow. Here's a breakdown of the kinds of fees processors and platforms charge:

Processing Fees

Processing fees, sometimes called transaction fees, are fees that the processor charges to use their platform.

Most merchant processors do not charge a subscription fee or signup fee. The way they generate revenue is to "skim off the top" of each transaction.

For instance, you'll see many processors and giving platforms charge something like 2.9% + $0.30. Some will also charge a percentage for ACH donations.*

But the sticker prices you see on most church giving platform websites aren't what the merchant processor charges. Read on to learn about the two ways most church mobile giving providers make their money.

*Note: If you see a platform charge a % for ACH donations, move on. It's a made-up fee to squeeze more out of your church. Neither the processor nor the giving platform has to deal with the credit card companies when a donor gives via ACH, so there is no need for them to charge a percentage to recoup expenses.

Platform Fees

Many church online giving platforms charge their own fees on top of the processor fees. These fees show up in a couple of different ways.

The first is by charging a subscription fee. The amount of the fee varies from one company to another, but almost all of them have a subscription fee. Those that don't have a subscription fee use the second fee type mentioned below...

The second fee comes in the form of what's called "Rev-Sharing." Keep reading to learn why Rev Share is so important to know as you choose a platform.

Rev-Sharing

This is a relatively new term, but it's really important for you to understand as you choose a church giving software.

Rev-share, or revenue sharing, is the act of providers taking a cut of the donation.

So we know the merchant processor (the company handling the transaction) takes a percentage fee off every transaction. Rev Sharing is the act of the provider adding their own percentage on top of what the processor charges. In other words, many online giving providers also "skim off the top."

In fact, many church giving platforms earn more through revenue sharing than they do from subscription costs. That's how lucrative this business model is!

Overview of the 13 Most Popular Church Giving Platforms

Below are 13 of the most popular online giving providers and their fees:

• Tithe.ly - Tithe.ly might be the most popular church giving platform. They charge churches $0/month to use their giving feature. However, there is a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee for credit and debit cards. They also charge 1% + $0.30 for ACH donations.
• Pushpay - Pushpay is an extremely popular giving app for churches. However, they are easily the most expensive. So expensive, they don't publically list their monthly or processing fees. They can charge anywhere from $149 to several THOUSAND $$$/month to use their platform. Churches report that their transaction fees are also very high compared to others.
• EasyTithe - Charges only $19/month for their base plan, which is lower than many other options. However, their transaction fee is 3.0% + $0.42, which is one of the highest you'll see on this list. (EasyTithe is owned by MinistryBrands, which also owns other church giving companies like Kindrid, CloverGive, Donor Direct, and more. The pricing for those platforms will be nearly identical to that of EasyTithe).
• Givelify - Givelify lets churches use their platform for free. Givelify fees are 2.9% + $0.30, which is how they generate their revenue.
• Planning Center Giving - The Planning Center online giving fee touts a 2.15% + $0.30 rate on their website. It's one of the lowest rates you'll find anywhere. However, they offer that lower fee by charging churches a monthly subscription fee just to record donations. And the more donations you record, the higher the fee, essentially penalizing your church for growing.
• Subsplash - Their advertised rates are 1.9-2.99% + $0.30 per transaction. The reason they have a range for their rates is that they offer a discount based on the volume of donations your church brings in. They also charge 0.5-1% for ACH donations.
• PayPal - The Paypal nonprofit processing fee is 1.99% + $0.49. That's low! But here's the problem: They don't let donors cover the fee! Also, many churches have reported that PayPal locked their accounts unexpectedly and without explanation. Uh oh!
• Aplos - Aplos is shy about sharing their online giving fees, but a quick look through their terms of service shows that churches on their platform can expect to pay 2.9% + $0.30 for credit/debit card donations and 1% + $0.30 for ACH donations. They also mention that churches that do not have their 501(c)3 status can expect to pay 1% higher on those fees. Yikes! Also, an Aplos subscription is very pricey.
• Breeze - Like others in this list, their fees are 2.9% + $0.30 for credit/debit card donations and 1% + $0.25 for ACH donations.
• Continue to Give - They offer a free price tier, but charge 3.2% + $0.45 per transaction. That's one of the highest rates I've ever seen. Also, the option for members to cover the fee is an add-on that costs extra! And so is ACH giving! Don't let the "free" price tag fool you, your church will spend a lot of money using this platform.
• Elvanto - By now, you can probably guess: Their fees are 2.9% + $0.30 for credit/debit card donations and 1% + $0.30 for ACH donations. Funny how they're all so similar.
• Donorbox - The Donorbox fees are tricky. They advertise a 1.75% rate on their website, which is incredibly low. But when you read the fine print, that's just their platform fee that they're adding on top of the processor fee! This means the effect transaction fee will be much higher than most other option here.
• Vanco - Vanco offers rates as low as 2.65% + $0.39 for cards and 0.9% + $0.39 for ACH, but only if you are on their $49/month plan. They offer even lower rates, but you have to call to get a custom quote. This is likely an option only for churches that bring in a large volume of donations.

You probably picked up on some similarities, with many charging something like 2.9% + $0.30 for card transactions and 1% + $0.30 for ACH donations.

How Can Churches Save Money On Donation Processing Fees?

There are two factors influencing the fees you pay:

The first is obvious - Which platform you choose will greatly influence how much your church loses to fees.

The second factor is the donor payment method.

You probably noticed in the section above that processors and platforms have different fees for ACH donations than the credit card fees. That's because ACH is a bank-to-bank transfer. No card companies are involved, so the cost to the processor is much lower.

That means you have the chance to reduce the fees your church pays by promoting the ACH giving option to your members.

Which Online Donation Platform Is Best?

Which platform is right for your church depends on your needs.

The fees play a big factor, but they're not the only reason to choose one platform over another. You should also consider other features the platform offers, opportunities to brand the giving portal, etc.

But below are the best online giving platforms for most churches:

The Best Online Giving Provider for Large Churches

For large churches (1000+ members), platforms like Vanco or Subsplash will be your best option.

Unlike other providers, they offer volume-based discounts. Even though they charge a much higher subscription fee than other platforms, your church takes in enough donations that you will likely see a cost savings benefit with the lower transaction fees.

Schedule a call and a demo with those providers so you can see for yourself what they offer and what rates you can negotiate with them.

The Best Online Giving Provider for Small and Medium Sized Churches

For churches under 1000 members (which is about 98% of all churches) ChurchTrac has some of the lowest fees you'll find anywhere. Why? Because we're part of the minority of church giving platforms that doesn't do rev-share. In other words, the fee you see is the fee from the processor (not us). We don't add our own donation fee on top of that.

And we also don't charge extra to use the giving feature or make online giving an extra cost. You can record an unlimited number of donations in ChurchTrac with any paid subscription.

If you qualify for Stripe's nonprofit discount, the Stripe processing fee is a mere 2.2% + $30 for credit and debit card donations and only $0.25 flat rate for ACH. Imagine how much your church can save by paying just $0.25 per transaction!

Again, we do not add a fee to the transaction or charge an extra subscription fee for the giving platform. No rev-share, no price gouging! That way, your church keeps more of the donation!

Pro Tip: How to Minimize Online Giving Fees

Now that we've covered online giving fees, how they work, and which online giving platform is best for churches, let's talk about how your church can minimize the fees you'll pay.

Choose the Right Platform

You have to choose the right platform for your church. It needs features that you and your leaders want. It would also be best if it integrates with or is included with the church management system you're already using.

You also need to count the cost of each platform. This is more than just choosing the platform with the lowest percentage rate, though.

Watch our video where we break down several of the most popular giving platforms, their fees, and how to choose the right platform for your church:

How to know the cost:

How much money did your church receive in online donations last year? Subtract the percentage listed on the platform's pricing page (2.9% in most cases) from that amount and that's close to what you'll pay in fees.

But you also need to factor in the platform's subscription cost. Because if they're charging you just to have an online and mobile giving platform, that price factors into the overall cost of doing business with them.

Communicating with Donors

The best thing your church can do to save money is to encourage donors to do what benefits your church. That means promoting the ACH option as your preferred way they send an online donation. No matter which platform you choose, this will save your church SO MUCH MONEY.

But you can take the cost savings even further by mentioning the option for donors to cover the fee. Donors want to know their money is going to something they support. If they know some of their money is going to the processor, they'll be more likely to help your church keep the full donation.

Now You Know How Online Giving Fees Work!

And knowing is half the battle, right?

Arm yourself with this knowledge, calculate the fees, and communicate what's best with your members as you choose the best online giving platform for your church.