Realm Alternatives (2026)
Relius Church Management suits a small church that wants people, giving, groups and events under one $0 subscription with unlimited members, and can accept Free's limits: no email, giving fees and a people-only import.
Realm suits a church that wants integrated accounting, check-in, a member app and multi-campus administration from one vendor, and is ready to get a quote from ACS Technologies' sales team.
Planning Center, ChurchTrac, Breeze and Tithely publish their prices; compare what your finance office and your Sunday team need before you move.
By Felix Tang · Founder, Relius Church Management
Last reviewed by Felix Tang
Prices from vendors' public pricing pages; Relius features checked against the product.
Key takeaways
- Realm has three plans (Inform, Connect and Multiply) and an Accounting add-on, and ACS Technologies doesn't publish prices for any of them, so a like-for-like cost comparison needs a quote.
- Relius Church Management's Free plan is a $0 subscription with unlimited members. No email communications on Free. Online giving needs Stripe onboarding and carries a 1.3% Relius platform fee plus processor fees. Text-to-Give is a $10/month add-on on Free. The guided import wizard brings in people only; giving history imports through a fixed CSV template.
- If your finance office keeps the general ledger in Realm Accounting, or you run several campuses on Multiply, Realm is likely the better fit; accounting records aren't enabled in Relius yet.
- A guided wizard imports people from Realm exports via generic CSV, with column mapping and duplicate review. Giving history imports through a fixed CSV template you reshape. Recurring schedules, attendance, tags and custom fields don't transfer; donors re-enrol recurring gifts.
Realm alternatives compared
Each option below has a fit and a trade-off. Competitor prices and features are linked to the vendor's own pricing page with the date we checked it; anything we haven't checked is marked “Not assessed”.
1. Relius Church Management
Best for: Small churches that want a $0 subscription with unlimited members and can work within the Free plan's limits.
Price: $0 Free; $60/mo Accounting; $150/mo AI. Unlimited members on every plan.Pros
- $0 subscription with unlimited members; Free has no email, giving fees of 1.3% plus processor fees, and a $10/mo Text-to-Give add-on
- Three published flat plans ($0, $60/mo and $150/mo); the price doesn't rise as your directory grows
- People and household records, groups, events, giving campaigns and basic reporting on Free
- Online giving once your church finishes Stripe onboarding, and donors can choose to cover fees
- AI plan ($150/mo): Sermon Planner, Content Studio, Translation Console, Bible Search and volunteer fill suggestions, as drafts your team reviews
- A guided wizard imports people from Realm exports via generic CSV, with column mapping and duplicate review.
Cons
- No email on Free; email starts on the $60/mo plan
- Online gifts carry a 1.3% Relius platform fee plus processor fees, and Text-to-Give is a $10/mo add-on on Free
- Web app only; no native mobile app
- No check-in for children
- Accounting records aren't enabled yet, so it doesn't replace fund accounting software
- Service planning and volunteer scheduling are on paid plans only
- Recurring schedules, attendance, tags and custom fields don't transfer; donors re-enrol recurring gifts
2. Planning Center
Best for: Churches that want separate, mature modules for worship planning, check-in and registrations and are happy to pay per module.
Price:- People: $0/mo, per Planning Center pricing, checked Oct 2026
- Giving: 75 donations/mo: $15/mo, per Planning Center pricing, checked Oct 2026
- Services: 20 team members: $15/mo, per Planning Center pricing, checked Oct 2026
Pros
- People: free membership database, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026
- Services: worship planning and scheduling, plus Music Stand for digital sheet music and chord charts, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026
- Check-Ins: attendance and volunteer tools, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026
- Church Center: custom mobile app for your church, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026
- Registrations: signups, tickets and payments, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026
Cons
- Each module is priced separately, so the monthly total grows with every module and tier you add
- Giving tiers step up with the number of donations per month; processing fees apply on top
3. ChurchTrac
Best for: Small churches that want fund accounting and check-in in the same system and price by number of names.
Price:- 75 names: $29/mo, per ChurchTrac pricing, checked Oct 2026
- 500 names: $79/mo, per ChurchTrac pricing, checked Oct 2026
- UNL names: $119/mo, per ChurchTrac pricing, checked Oct 2026
Pros
- Fund accounting, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026
- Check-in, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026
- Website & app, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026
- Worship planning and scheduling, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026
- Human support, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026
Cons
- The price rises with the number of names in your database, tier by tier
- Enhanced Messaging is a paid add-on
4. Breeze
Best for: Churches that want one flat monthly price for people, giving, check-in and messaging.
Price:- Church Management + Free Giving: $72/mo, per Breeze pricing, checked Oct 2026
Pros
- Unlimited admin users and unlimited people & member management, per Breeze docs, checked Oct 2026
- Check-in & name tags, per Breeze docs, checked Oct 2026
- Email blasts & newsletters; text messaging, 250 free per month then $10 per 500, per Breeze docs, checked Oct 2026
- Admin mobile app, per Breeze docs, checked Oct 2026
- Plan presented as Tithely Church Management, powered by Breeze ChMS, per Breeze docs, checked Oct 2026
Cons
- The flat rate doesn't step down for a very small church
- Worship Tools are a paid add-on, and texting beyond the free monthly allowance costs extra
5. Tithely
Best for: Churches whose first need is giving, and that may add an app, a website or church management later.
Price:- Free Giving: $0/mo, per Tithely pricing, checked Oct 2026
- Church Management: $72/mo, per Tithely pricing, checked Oct 2026
- All Access: $119/mo, per Tithely pricing, checked Oct 2026
Pros
- Online, mobile and text giving, with an iOS and Android giving app, per Tithely docs, checked Oct 2026
- Kids & event check-in (Church Management + Engagement), per Tithely docs, checked Oct 2026
- Custom church app (Mobile Church App plan, or All Access), per Tithely docs, checked Oct 2026
- All Access: one flat rate for giving, people, messaging, forms, check-in, volunteers, website, app and worship tools, per Tithely docs, checked Oct 2026
Cons
- Free Giving has no monthly fee but carries card and ACH processing fees, and text-to-give costs extra on that plan
- The pricing page shows one Church Management price in its plan selector and a different one in its FAQ, so confirm the price with Tithely
Comparison table
Relius values are checked against the product, with plan limits in the same cell. Competitor values come from each vendor's public pricing page.
| Feature | Relius Church Management | Realm | Planning Center | ChurchTrac |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Published price | $0 Free; $60/mo Accounting; $150/mo AI. Unlimited members on every plan. |
|
|
|
| How the price scales | Flat per plan; the price doesn't change as your directory grows. Online gifts carry a 1.3% platform fee plus processor fees. | Three plans (Inform, Connect, Multiply); prices aren't published | Priced per module (People, Giving, Check-Ins, Services, Groups and others); each module has a free tier and the same ladder of paid steps | Priced by number of names, from 75 names to unlimited; yearly billing saves 10% |
| People records | People and household records, groups and events on every plan, including Free | Inform plan for church staff: congregation records, contributions and reports, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | People: free membership database, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | People, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Online giving | Online giving on every plan once your church finishes Stripe onboarding; 1.3% Relius platform fee plus processor fees; Text-to-Give is a $10/mo add-on on Free | Connect plan: members connect with each other and manage personal giving, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Giving: tithes, offerings and reporting; Text2Give toll-free number for $5/mo, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | Giving, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Check-in | No check-in for children. | Realm Check-In: customizable badges with a Security ID that matches parents with their children, check-in kiosks, and check-in through the Connect app, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Check-Ins: attendance and volunteer tools, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | Check-in, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Service planning | Service planning: Included (paid plans) | Not assessed | Services: worship planning and scheduling, plus Music Stand for digital sheet music and chord charts, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | Worship planning and scheduling, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Volunteer scheduling | Volunteer scheduling: Included (paid plans) | Volunteer scheduling with each person's serving preferences and scheduling conflicts; volunteers can request replacements, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Not assessed | Volunteers, groups & events and registrations, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Email and messaging | Email on paid plans ($60/mo and up); no email on Free | Native email tool and an inbox; texting through the Constant Contact SMS integration, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Texting from People with purchased credits at $0.02 per text, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | Basic messaging in every size; Enhanced Messaging add-on for $7/mo, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Mobile app | Web app that works in a phone's browser; no native mobile app | Realm Connect mobile app: members give, view their giving history and make and track pledges, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Church Center: custom mobile app for your church, per Planning Center docs, checked Oct 2026 | Website & app, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| Accounting | Accounting records aren't enabled yet | Integrated accounting add-on for any plan: general ledger, disbursements and reports, per Realm docs, checked Oct 2026 | Not assessed | Fund accounting, included in every size, per ChurchTrac docs, checked Oct 2026 |
| AI tools | AI plan ($150/mo): Sermon Planner, Content Studio, Translation Console, Bible Search and volunteer fill suggestions, as drafts your team reviews | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed |
Why churches switch from Realm
A price you can read before you call
Realm's plans are quoted by sales. Relius Church Management publishes three flat plans ($0, $60/month and $150/month), each with unlimited members, so a small church can see the subscription before talking to anyone.
Starting at $0
Relius's Free plan includes people and household records, groups, events and online giving. Its limits sit beside the price: no email on Free, a 1.3% platform fee plus processor fees on online gifts, a $10/month Text-to-Give add-on, and a people-only import.
AI drafting tools
Churches that want help drafting sermon-based content or translations look at Relius's AI plan ($150/mo): Sermon Planner, Content Studio, Translation Console, Bible Search and volunteer fill suggestions, as drafts your team reviews.
Who should stay with Realm
Switching has a cost. Staying is the better call if any of these describe your church.
- Your finance office keeps the general ledger, disbursements and financial reports in Realm Accounting. Accounting records aren't enabled in Relius yet.
- You run several campuses on Realm's Multiply plan. Relius's published plans don't include multi-site management.
- Parents check children in with Realm Check-In and its Security ID badges. Relius has no check-in for children.
- Your members give, check in and find serving opportunities in the Realm Connect app. Relius is a web app with no native app.
- Your volunteers set serving preferences and request replacements in Realm's volunteer scheduling, and your team relies on it every week.
- Your team is trained, Realm's quoted price works for your budget, and you're in a busy season such as a building campaign or a staff transition.
What transfers from Realm, and what doesn't
Transfers
- A guided wizard imports people from Realm exports via generic CSV, with column mapping and duplicate review.
- Giving history imports through a fixed CSV template you reshape.
Doesn't transfer
- Recurring schedules, attendance, tags and custom fields don't transfer; donors re-enrol recurring gifts.
- Export your people from Realm to CSV and bring them in through the wizard's Other CSV option, then check the column mapping before you import.
- Reshape your giving history into the Relius giving CSV template, and keep your original Realm contribution reports so your treasurer can reconcile them.
- Relius works from exported copies, so Realm stays available while you review what you imported.
Realm alternatives FAQ
What is a good Realm alternative for a small church?
It depends on what your church uses Realm for. If you need people, giving, groups and events at a published price, Relius Church Management has a $0 subscription with unlimited members; its limits are no email on Free, giving fees (1.3% plus processor fees), a $10/month Text-to-Give add-on and a people-only import. If you need fund accounting, check-in for children or a member app, compare ChurchTrac, Planning Center, Breeze or staying on Realm.
How much does Realm cost?
ACS Technologies doesn't publish Realm prices. Its plans page lists three plans (Inform, Connect and Multiply) and an Accounting add-on, and asks churches to contact sales for a quote.
Is Relius Church Management really free?
Relius Church Management's Free plan is a $0 subscription with unlimited members. No email communications on Free. Online giving needs Stripe onboarding and carries a 1.3% Relius platform fee plus processor fees. Text-to-Give is a $10/month add-on on Free. The guided import wizard brings in people only; giving history imports through a fixed CSV template.
Can I move my data from Realm to Relius?
A guided wizard imports people from Realm exports via generic CSV, with column mapping and duplicate review. Giving history imports through a fixed CSV template you reshape. Recurring schedules, attendance, tags and custom fields don't transfer; donors re-enrol recurring gifts.
Does Relius include fund accounting like Realm Accounting?
No. Accounting records aren't enabled in Relius yet, and Relius does not run payroll, calculate taxes or file returns. If your finance office relies on Realm Accounting, keep it or choose a tool that includes accounting.
Does Relius have a mobile app or check-in for children?
No. Relius is a web app that works in a phone's browser, with no native mobile app, and it has no check-in for children. If either is essential, Realm or another option will fit better.
Try Relius before you decide
Create a workspace at $0, import a copy of your people export and compare it with how you work in Realm today. No email on Free; giving fees and the $10/month Text-to-Give add-on apply.