Tithely vs. Pushpay: Which Online Giving Platform Is Better for Your Church?

Someone in your congregation decides to give $100.

Perhaps they're sitting at home on a Tuesday evening. They open your church website, click the giving button, enter their card information, and complete the donation.

It takes less than a minute.

From the donor's perspective, that's the entire transaction. They receive a confirmation and carry on with their evening.

For the church, however, the process is only beginning.

The payment has to be authorized. A processing fee may be deducted. The remaining money needs to reach the church's bank account. The donation must be recorded under the correct person and fund. And eventually, someone will need to reconcile the figures and prepare an accurate giving statement.

If the person decides to give that same amount every month, the system also needs to keep those payments running.

This is where online giving software earns its place in a church office.

Two established options are Tithely and Pushpay. Both allow churches to collect donations online, but they differ in how they package their services, what they charge, and how much attention they give to the administration surrounding each gift.

To understand which one might suit your church, it helps to follow the money.

The First Click: Giving Shouldn't Require Instructions

Imagine a visitor attending your church for the first time.

During the announcements, someone mentions a local food bank project. The visitor wants to contribute $25.

They don't have cash, and they haven't downloaded your church app.

Can they still give easily?

With both Tithely and Pushpay, the answer can be yes.

Each platform provides online donation options that churches can connect to their websites. Donors can use a mobile browser rather than installing an app.

Both support card payments, bank-based giving, and digital wallet options, although availability depends on the payment method and configuration.

Both also allow churches to offer recurring donations.

Those are the essentials, and either platform can handle them.

The differences become more interesting when you look at the details.

Tithely's standard giving offering is designed to make online giving accessible without requiring a monthly software subscription. A church can create a giving account, set up its donation options, and begin accepting contributions.

Pushpay offers online giving as part of a broader set of products for donations, donor relationships, and church engagement. Its giving tools can be customized to reflect the church's branding, and it supports several ways to direct people to a donation page.

For example, a church might place a QR code on a printed bulletin. A visitor scans it with their phone and reaches the giving form.

Neither approach requires a congregation to be particularly technical.

But the church should still test the experience before launching it.

Ask someone unfamiliar with the platform to make a small test donation. Watch whether they understand the form, can select the correct fund, and receive a clear confirmation.

A giving system shouldn't make people wonder whether their donation went through.

Where Does the $100 Go?

Now return to that $100 donation.

The donor has clicked Give. The payment has been accepted.

Does the church receive the full $100?

Not necessarily.

Digital payments generally involve processing fees. These cover the financial services required to move money from a donor's payment method to the church.

A fee commonly includes a percentage of the transaction and a small fixed amount.

This is true even when the giving software itself is free.

Tithely's Published Fees

Tithely's standard US giving rates are:

• 2.9% plus $0.30 for most credit and debit cards.

• 3.5% plus $0.30 for American Express.

• 1% plus $0.30 for ACH bank transfers.

Tithely charges no monthly subscription fee for its basic Giving product.

Let's apply those figures to a $100 donation.

If the donor uses a standard credit card, the processing fee is $3.20.

The church receives $96.80.

If the donor uses an ACH bank transfer, the fee is $1.30.

The church receives $98.70.

ACH is simply an electronic transfer between bank accounts. In the United States, it's a common alternative to paying by card.

For a donor, setting it up may require a little more effort initially. For a church, it can reduce processing costs.

What Does Pushpay Charge?

Pushpay handles pricing differently.

Rather than publishing one universal monthly subscription and processing rate, it provides quotes based on the church's requirements and selected products.

That means you can't make an accurate cost comparison using a single advertised Pushpay percentage.

You need to ask for a proposal.

A useful proposal should explain the software subscription, processing rates, payment-method differences, contract terms, and any additional charges.

This may seem less convenient than Tithely's published pricing, particularly for a small church.

But it also allows churches with larger donation volumes or more complicated requirements to discuss their particular circumstances.

The important thing is to compare actual numbers rather than assume either provider is cheaper.

Why Small Donations Can Be Surprisingly Expensive

A percentage fee is easy to understand.

The fixed fee is the part that often gets overlooked.

Take a $10 donation processed through Tithely using a standard card.

The percentage portion is $0.29. Add the $0.30 fixed fee, and the total cost is $0.59.

The church receives $9.41.

That's 5.9% of the donation.

Now consider a $200 donation.

The percentage portion is $5.80. Add $0.30, and the total fee is $6.10.

The church receives $193.90.

In that case, the effective fee is 3.05%.

The published processing rate hasn't changed. But the fixed charge takes a much larger share of the smaller gift.

This matters for churches that receive frequent donations of $5, $10, or $20.

It also matters for fundraising campaigns that encourage many small contributions.

When evaluating a giving provider, don't look only at how much money your church receives each month.

Look at the number and size of the individual transactions.

Two churches collecting $10,000 in online donations could have noticeably different processing costs if one receives 50 large gifts and the other receives 500 small ones.

Should You Ask Donors to Cover the Fees?

Both Tithely and Pushpay offer options that allow donors to contribute toward processing fees.

This can reduce the amount deducted from the church's intended contribution.

For example, someone giving $100 may be offered the option to add enough to help cover the transaction cost.

Some donors appreciate having that choice.

Others prefer to give a fixed amount and let the church handle its operating expenses.

There's no need to turn this into a complicated decision.

The important thing is to make the option clear and voluntary.

Churches should also avoid assuming that every donor will cover the fee when preparing budgets.

If you're comparing providers, ask exactly how the fee-covering feature works and whether the additional amount is calculated to account for processing on the entire transaction.

Small details like that can affect the amount ultimately deposited.

The Donation Is Complete. Now Someone Has to Record It.

The next part of the journey is less visible but just as important.

Your church receives money for several purposes.

There may be a general operating fund, a building project, missionary support, benevolence, and a special Christmas collection.

When someone gives online, the contribution needs to be assigned correctly.

Both Tithely and Pushpay support designated giving funds and contribution reporting.

That allows a church to distinguish between donations intended for different purposes.

But consider what happens when someone makes a mistake.

A member intends to give $75 to the building fund but accidentally selects the general fund.

Can the church correct the record without changing the underlying payment?

Who has permission to make that adjustment?

Will the correction appear properly in the reporting?

These aren't glamorous software features. They're the kinds of questions a treasurer eventually needs answered.

Tithely provides donation management, reporting, and giving statements through its platform.

Pushpay also offers gift management and financial reporting, including the ability to record different contribution types.

Both can help churches move away from manually entering every online donation into a spreadsheet.

The practical difference depends on the church's existing systems and how much financial administration it needs to manage.

The Tuesday-Morning Bank Reconciliation

Let's say your church receives 37 online donations over a weekend.

On Tuesday, a deposit appears in the bank account.

The amount doesn't match the total donations exactly because fees have been deducted.

The treasurer needs to understand how the deposit relates to the individual contributions.

This process is called reconciliation.

In simple terms, it means checking that the money received and the records maintained by the church agree.

Both Tithely and Pushpay provide financial reports intended to help administrators perform this work.

Tithely includes transaction and deposit reporting with its giving platform.

Pushpay offers reporting and reconciliation tools, including batch reconciliation and data exports.

The right choice may depend on how your treasurer currently works.

If your church records donations in an accounting program, find out whether the giving platform can transfer relevant information to that system.

An integration is a connection that allows two programs to exchange information.

Without an integration, someone may need to download a report from the giving system and enter or import the figures into the accounting software.

That may be perfectly manageable for a small congregation.

For a church receiving hundreds of transactions every week, however, reducing repetitive data entry can save considerable time.

Ask each provider to demonstrate a real reconciliation process.

Don't settle for seeing a dashboard with attractive charts.

Ask how a deposit is matched to the donations that produced it.

The Gift That Never Arrived

So far, we've followed a successful donation.

But not every payment succeeds.

Cards expire. Banks decline transactions. Payment details change. Occasionally, payment services experience interruptions.

Now imagine a church member who has arranged to give $150 every month.

They've been doing so for two years.

Their card expires, and the next payment fails.

They don't notice because they assumed the donation would happen automatically.

The church may not realize the contribution has stopped.

Nobody intended to cancel anything. The payment simply didn't go through.

For churches that depend on recurring contributions, this is an important issue.

Tithely's Approach

Tithely supports recurring giving and includes an automated credit card updater service among its giving features.

The purpose is to help maintain recurring payments when card information changes.

Donors can also manage their giving arrangements.

These features can reduce some of the administrative work involved in maintaining scheduled contributions.

Pushpay's Everygift Tools

Pushpay has made failed payment management a prominent part of its giving platform.

Its Everygift collection includes several related features.

Expiring Card Notifications can prompt donors to update payment details before an expiration causes a problem.

Failed Payment Recovery helps donors address declined recurring transactions and may allow them to make up missed gifts.

Assured Payments is designed to manage certain payment interruptions by queuing transactions for processing when service is restored.

Pushpay also offers recurring giving suggestions intended to help donors establish regular contribution schedules.

These features are especially relevant when a church receives a large share of its income through recurring digital giving.

However, no system can guarantee that every donation will succeed.

It's worth asking both providers what happens when a scheduled payment fails, what the donor sees, and what action church staff must take.

That conversation may reveal more about the day-to-day value of a platform than its list of payment methods.

What Does Recurring Giving Mean for a Church Budget?

Recurring contributions can make financial planning more predictable.

If a church knows that a portion of its monthly giving comes from scheduled donations, it has a clearer picture of expected income.

That doesn't mean recurring gifts are guaranteed.

Donors can change or cancel their arrangements, and payments can fail.

But regular giving patterns can help a finance committee plan responsibly.

Suppose a church receives $12,000 each month through recurring donations.

If 3% of those scheduled payments fail during a particular month, that's $360 in contributions that may need attention.

Whether that amount can be recovered depends on the reasons for failure and the donors' decisions.

Pushpay's recovery tools are designed to address situations like these.

Tithely also provides features to support recurring giving.

When evaluating either provider, ask for a demonstration of the recurring donation management screen.

You should be able to understand how staff identify payment problems and how donors are notified.

The best process is one that respects donors while keeping financial records accurate.

When a Church Needs More Than a Giving Button

Online giving software often starts as a fairly simple purchase.

The church needs a donation form.

Then someone asks whether it can send giving statements.

Another person wants to track pledges for a building project.

The finance committee wants better reports.

Eventually, the church may begin considering whether its giving software should connect to membership records, events, or communication tools.

Both companies offer products beyond basic donations.

Tithely provides church management software, websites, custom church apps, messaging, and worship-related tools.

Its basic Giving product has no monthly subscription fee, while its broader products are available through paid plans.

For example, Tithely advertises Church Management at $72 per month and All Access at $119 per month.

Pushpay offers giving software alongside church management, mobile apps, donor engagement, and other administrative products.

It also supports connections with numerous external software systems.

That flexibility can matter if your church already has a database or accounting system it wants to keep.

But here's something worth remembering.

You don't have to buy all your church software from one company.

If your current membership database works well, there may be little reason to replace it simply because you're choosing a new donation platform.

On the other hand, if your church is already planning a broader software change, evaluating a connected package may make sense.

The key is to decide what you're trying to improve before getting drawn into a demonstration of features you didn't originally need.

A Church of 90 and a Church of 900 May Reach Different Decisions

Consider two congregations.

The first has around 90 regular attendees.

A volunteer treasurer handles the accounts, the church already has a basic website, and most members give by cash, check, or bank transfer.

The church wants to make online giving available, but it doesn't expect hundreds of digital donations every month.

For this congregation, Tithely's free giving plan is an obvious place to begin looking.

It provides a way to accept donations without adding a monthly software subscription.

The church can evaluate whether members use the service before considering more extensive tools.

Now consider a congregation with 900 attendees across two locations.

It has dedicated administrative staff, several giving campaigns, and a substantial number of recurring donors.

The finance team wants more detailed reporting and tools for identifying interrupted payments.

This church may find Pushpay's Everygift features, integrations, and broader donor management capabilities worth investigating.

But it should also request a detailed Tithely proposal.

Tithely's larger software packages may meet many of the same operational needs.

The point isn't that small churches belong with Tithely and large churches belong with Pushpay.

It's that different churches place different values on simplicity, flexibility, financial reporting, and ongoing donor management.

Before You Change Giving Providers, Consider the Donors You Already Have

There's one issue that deserves particular attention if your church already accepts recurring online gifts.

Changing platforms may require donors to authorize their payments again.

Payment information is stored securely through financial systems, and it cannot always be transferred directly from one provider to another.

That means switching software can involve more than exporting a spreadsheet.

Pushpay describes a guided recurring gift migration process that can prompt donors to reauthorize their contributions, with reminders for people who haven't completed the transition.

Other migrations may involve different steps depending on the existing provider and payment arrangements.

Before signing a contract, ask how recurring donations will be moved.

Will donors need to take action?

Can the church track who has completed the change?

What happens to scheduled contributions during the transition?

How will giving histories be preserved?

And who will help if a member has trouble setting up a new recurring gift?

A poorly planned migration can create unnecessary interruptions and frustration.

Give your congregation plenty of notice and explain the process in ordinary language.

For example, telling someone they need to "reauthorize a recurring payment mandate" may be technically accurate, but it's not especially helpful.

Explaining that they need to set up their monthly donation again is much clearer.

Don't Forget the Year-End Giving Statements

Eventually, the calendar reaches December.

Someone in the church office needs to prepare contribution statements.

Members may want records of their donations, and the church needs to ensure those records are accurate.

Both Tithely and Pushpay offer giving statement capabilities.

The questions worth asking concern the details.

Can online and offline donations appear together?

Can a family receive an appropriate combined statement?

What happens when a contribution has been assigned to the wrong person?

Can members access their own giving history?

Can the church export the information if it changes providers?

These tasks may happen only occasionally, but they're important when they do.

A platform that saves time collecting donations but creates extra work preparing statements isn't necessarily making administration easier.

The Decision Isn't Really About the Giving Button

By now, the differences between Tithely and Pushpay should be clearer.

Both can provide a convenient way for members and visitors to give online.

Both support recurring contributions, designated funds, reporting, and digital payment methods.

Tithely's strongest practical advantage is its accessible starting point.

A church can use its standard giving platform without a monthly subscription and calculate processing costs from published US rates.

Pushpay's appeal lies in its wider approach to maintaining and managing giving activity.

Its Everygift features, donor management capabilities, and broader integrations may be particularly useful for churches with substantial recurring giving programs or more complicated financial administration.

But those benefits need to be weighed against the actual subscription and processing costs quoted to your church.

Rather than beginning with a software demonstration, begin with your own records.

Look at how many donations you receive each month, how much comes through cards or bank transfers, how many donors give regularly, and how much time your treasurer spends managing everything.

Then ask each provider to show how it would handle those exact circumstances.

The right system should make giving easy for the person making the contribution and leave the church with records it can trust.

For more information about the individual platforms, you can explore our Tithely and Pushpay directory listings. They provide a closer look at each company's software and the services available to churches.

Ultimately, the giving button is only the beginning. What matters is everything that happens after someone clicks it.