How much does a church website cost in 2026?

The range: $432.60 to $7,464.24 over three years

Using only prices vendors publish, a church website costs $432.60 to $7,464.24 over three years, before giving fees. That’s about $12 to $207 a month, including a domain and one church email inbox.

• Build it yourself: WordPress on Bluehost Starter, $432.60, or $819.60 with a paid church theme. Wix Light is $900.96, and Wix Core or Squarespace Core $1,332.96.
• A church website platform: Tithely Sites $984.24, ChurchTrac with its website build $1,821.24, Sharefaith Websites $2,460.24 and Nucleus $2,640.24 to $7,464.24.
• A church bundle with an app: Tithely All-Access $4,584.24 and Sharefaith Suite $6,960.24.
• Quote only: Subsplash One and Ministry Brands Amplify.

Giving fees often cost more than the site. On $60,000 a year in online card gifts, they run about $4,140 to $9,900 over three years, depending on the tool and who pays; see the worked example below.

What a free church website really costs

A free church website is possible, with catches. Wix’s free plan uses a wixsite.com address, shows Wix branding and can’t take payments, so you’d link out to a giving page. Giving platforms with no monthly fee include Tithely Giving, Subsplash Giving and Planning Center Giving (up to 10 donations a month).

“Free” means no subscription, not no cost. Every card gift still pays processing. On a $100 gift that’s $3.20 at Tithely (2.9% + $0.30), $2.45 at Planning Center (2.15% + $0.30) and $2.60 at Subsplash (2.3% + 30c), though Subsplash’s pricing page also shows 2.99% + 30c, which would be $3.29. You also don’t get your own domain name. Our free website builders guide covers the other limits.

What you pay for

• The site. From $0 on a free plan to $199 a month for Nucleus Complete.
• Giving. Most church giving tools charge no monthly fee and take a cut of each gift instead. Planning Center adds a monthly fee above 10 donations a month: $15 (75), $32 (200), $69 (500), $115 (1,000), $179 (1,500) or $239 (unlimited). These per-gift charges are transaction fees.
• Theme and plugins, on WordPress. ChurchThemes.com is $129, $199 or $299 a year. GiveWP’s free version adds a 2% platform fee on Stripe gifts.
• Setup. Nucleus offers free setup. ChurchTrac’s website and app build starts at $477, one time, and is non-refundable.
• Domain. Namecheap’s .com is $11.28 the first year and $18.48 a year after. Tithely’s help center says domains typically cost about $10 to $20 a year.
• Email. One Google Workspace Business Starter inbox is $7 a month on Google’s annual plan ($8.40 on the flexible plan).

True 3-year cost, route by route

Notes on each route

• WordPress. Bluehost’s $3.99 price needs a 36-month term and renews at $9.99 a month, so the next three years cost $359.64. A free theme is assumed in the first row. Add a giving tool such as Planning Center, Tithely or GiveWP.
• Wix and Squarespace. Wix Light can’t take online payments; Core can. We couldn’t confirm which Squarespace plans include the Donation block. Squarespace Core billed monthly at $39 comes to $1,704.24, because the free first-year domain comes only with yearly plans. Squarespace Core also includes one Google Workspace account free for the first year.
• Tithely. No yearly price is published for Sites, and Tithely doesn’t sell domains.
• ChurchTrac. Price depends on headcount, up to $119 a month for unlimited people ($5,061.24 with the build). Paying yearly saves 10%, which by our math brings the 75-person row to $1,716.84 (ChurchTrac pricing).
• Sharefaith. New signups through 11/01/2026 pay $48 a month billed yearly for Websites ($148 for the Suite) for the first year only, then the plan “renews at normal annual rate.” The promotion saves $144 on Websites in year one. The Suite is $190 billed monthly (Sharefaith plans).
• Nucleus. No yearly prices are listed (Nucleus pricing).
• Planning Center. Church Center is free, but it isn’t a full website builder. Giving for up to 200 donations a month adds $32 x 36 = $1,152 to any route.

Our website cost calculator handles the plan, domain and email lines.

Giving fees: a worked example

This is an example, not a quote. Say your church receives 100 online card gifts a month averaging $50: $5,000 a month, or $60,000 a year. Here’s what each published rate costs at that volume.

The GiveWP row assumes Stripe’s standard 2.9% + $0.30, the Stripe rate ChurchTrac lists; GiveWP’s 2% platform fee goes away with a paid license. ChurchTrac says 501(c)(3) churches that qualify with Stripe may get 2.2% + $0.30.

Bank gifts cost much less. If the same 100 gifts came by ACH, you’d pay $25 a month at Nucleus or ChurchTrac ($900 over three years), $50 at Subsplash’s 1% ($1,800), $62 at Planning Center including the $32 tier ($2,232) and $80 at Tithely’s 1% + $0.30 ($2,880).

Tithely says about 60% of its donors choose to “Cover the Fees,” which moves part of this cost to givers. That figure comes from the vendor.

Contracts and the cost of leaving

• Subsplash. To avoid a renewal you must cancel in writing at least 30 days before the renewal date, and early termination starts with a call to your Client Success Manager (Subsplash terms).
• Planning Center and ChurchTrac. Both say an email or phone request is not a cancellation. ChurchTrac generally keeps data no more than 90 days after you cancel (ChurchTrac terms).
• Tithely. On termination, access “and any associated data will immediately cease,” and the church is responsible for downloading its content first (Tithely terms).

The bigger cost of leaving is usually the rebuild. None of the church platforms above describes a website export, so plan on rebuilding the site. Self-hosted WordPress scores 10/10 on our exit score, Squarespace 5/10 and Wix 3/10; compare them in our exit scores tool and read how to leave a website builder.

Hidden costs to ask about

• Text-to-give. Tithely charges $19 a month for it on the free plan. Planning Center charges $0.02 a text plus $5 a month for a toll-free number.
• Amex gifts. 3.5% + $0.30 at Tithely and 3.5% at ChurchTrac.
• Small ChurchTrac fees. A one-time $1.50 bank verification per donor account, failed bank payments up to $15, Enhanced Messaging at $7 a month and Accounting Setup from $399.
• Late payments. Nucleus charges 1.5% a month on overdue amounts and $25 for a returned payment.
• Promotions and renewals. Sharefaith’s promo lasts one year, and Bluehost Starter renews at $9.99 a month. Squarespace says common domains such as .com and .org are $20 a year after the free first year.

How to keep the cost down

1. Start with a free giving tool and a low-cost site, then upgrade if you need church features.
2. Encourage bank gifts. They cost a flat $0.25 to $0.30 at Nucleus, ChurchTrac and Planning Center, versus about 3% on cards.
3. Offer “cover the fees” on your giving form. Tithely and Squarespace both support it.
4. Ask about nonprofit rates. ChurchTrac points qualifying 501(c)(3) churches to Stripe’s 2.2% + $0.30. Wix offers 70% off a 2-year Premium plan to TechSoup member nonprofits, but doesn’t say whether churches qualify.
5. Pay yearly when it’s cheaper: ChurchTrac saves 10%, and Squarespace Core is $29 a month billed yearly instead of $39.
6. Match Planning Center’s tier to your real monthly gift count.
7. Own your domain at your own registrar, so changing platforms never costs you your address.

What to do next

• Start at our church website builder guide for the options and the rules your site must follow.
• See what to build with our best church websites roundup.
• Read our general website cost guide for prices outside churches.

Website costs in other industries: Real estate, Law firms, Dental, Medical, Therapists, Contractors, Electricians, Restaurants, Schools, Salons, Artists, Events, Vacation rentals, Nonprofits, Creators and courses. All industries.