8 best church event registration software options for 2026

Choosing church event registration software starts with what people need to do when they sign up. A Sunday lunch might only need names and guest numbers. A youth camp may need a deposit from each family, the balance a few months later, a medical form for every camper and a way for one parent to register several children.

The right software also depends partly on whether your church already uses a church management system. Those systems often include registration tools that link signups to member records, while standalone event registration tools don't require a church management system and can also suit events open to the wider community.

Quick answer: Church event registration software takes signups and payments for church events online and keeps the attendee list in one place. Church management systems such as Planning Center, Tithely and ChMeetings include a registration tool that links each signup to your member and family records. Standalone tools such as Checkout Page, RegFox and RSVPify give you a registration page for your website without a church database. Some tools charge a monthly plan, some charge a fee per registration, and nearly all pass on a card processing fee.

What is church event registration software?

Church event registration software lets people sign up and pay for a church event online, and gives you an up-to-date list of who is coming. Church online event registration replaces the paper form, the cash envelope and the spreadsheet for retreats, youth camps, VBS weeks, mission trips and conferences.

All the tools here give you an online form, take card payments, limit the number of places, send a confirmation email and check people in on the day. A general form builder collects answers, though it usually can't take a payment, close the form when the event is full or check anyone in.

Church event management software is the broader category. As well as registration, it covers the church calendar, room booking and volunteer scheduling, which is why four of the eight tools below are full church management systems rather than registration tools. If you're still planning the event itself, our retreat planning checklist covers what to do before registration opens.

How to choose church event registration software

Start with whether your church already uses a church management system, then look at how much each tool costs, what information you need to collect and how check-in works on the day.

Do you already use a church management system?

If your church already uses Planning Center, Tithely or ChMeetings, try its registration tool first. Each signup links to a person or household already in your records, so a parent registering three children doesn't have to type the family's details again.

A standalone tool suits a church that doesn't use a church management system, or one that doesn't want to buy one just for events. It also suits events where many of the people signing up aren't members, such as a community fun day, a concert or a regional conference, because those guests don't need to be in your records.

How much each tool costs

There are three ways church event software is paid for. Some tools have a monthly plan, some charge a fee on each registration, and some charge nothing beyond the card processing fee on each payment.

A monthly plan tends to cost less for a large paid event and more for a small one, and a per-registration fee does the opposite. Further down, the cost examples work out a 60-camper youth camp and an 80-guest dinner on six of the tools, so you can compare totals rather than starting prices.

What information you need to collect

A youth camp needs more from the software than a Sunday lunch does. One parent may need to register several children in one go, pay a deposit now and the balance later on a payment plan, use a scholarship code, sign a medical release and add a donation at checkout. Some events also need early bird pricing for families who sign up before a set date. Not every tool does all of these, so check each one against the events you actually run.

Our guides to event registration questions and creating an event registration form cover what to ask and how to build a form that takes payments.

How check-in works on the day

Child check-in with printed security labels is something church management systems do, and ChMeetings and Subsplash both offer it. Standalone tools check people in by scanning a QR code on the ticket or receipt with a phone, which works for adult events, dinners and conferences. Checkout Page's event ticketing works this way, with a free scanner on every plan.

If the event is for children, check that the tool fits your child safety policy before you commit to it. Our guide to event check-in apps compares check-in tools in more detail.

8 best church event registration software platforms

For each tool compared below, we looked at who it's built for, the features church events need, the monthly price and the fees on each payment. We make Checkout Page, which is number five on the list, and its entry follows the same format as the other seven.

Use the table to narrow down your options before reading the entries. It shows which tools are church management systems and what each one costs.

Among the church management systems, Tithely Events and ChMeetings cost the least to start with. Among the standalone tools, Checkout Page and RegFox have no monthly fee for a small event, and Checkout Page adds nothing per registration.

Prices from each company's pricing page and help articles, checked September 15, 2026.

1. Planning Center Registrations

Planning Center Registrations is the event signup tool in Planning Center, a church management system, and you can pay for it on its own without the other Planning Center tools. Its main advantage is that each signup links to a household already in your records, so one parent can register the whole family in one form. It handles camps, retreats and classes, with attendee types, waitlists, deposits and attached forms such as a medical release. Your monthly price is set by the size of your largest open signup, so one big camp puts the whole account on a higher plan for as long as that camp is taking registrations. Event payments are treated as non-tax-deductible, don't appear in Giving, and only work in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Key features:

• Household signups, so one person can register the whole family
• Attendee types such as leader, volunteer and participant
• Capacity limits and waitlists
• Deposits and partial payments, with reminders for the balance
• Discounts and scholarships
• Attached forms, such as a medical release
• Check-in with name tags, and sorting attendees into groups such as buses or cabins

Pricing: Registrations is free for signups of up to 5 people, then runs from $15/mo to $239/mo for signups of 5,000, based on your largest upcoming event. US card payments cost 2.15% + $0.30.

Best for: Churches that already use Planning Center, or that want event signups linked to household records.

2. Tithely Events

Tithely Events is the event registration tool in Tithely, which also offers online giving, church management software and a church app. You can use it on its own with a free Tithely Giving account and no monthly plan. It covers free and paid events, early bird tickets, family registration and QR code check-in, and for events at least two months away parents can split the price into two installments. Its card fee of 2.9% + $0.30 is higher than Planning Center's 2.15% + $0.30, so a large paid event costs more in fees than it would on Planning Center. If you know Breeze ChMS, it has been renamed Tithely Church Management, and that plan includes Events.

Key features:

• Unlimited events, with no limit on attendee numbers
• Several ticket types, including early bird prices with start and end dates
• Custom questions for each attendee, such as T-shirt size or allergies
• One parent can register several children in one transaction
• Percentage or fixed-amount discount codes with usage limits
• Partial payment at registration, or two installments for events at least two months away
• QR code check-in from the receipt

Pricing: Tithely Events has no monthly fee on its own, and paid registrations cost 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment. It's also included in Tithely Church Management at $72/mo and in the All Access bundle at $119/mo.

Best for: Churches that want paid registration with no monthly plan, or that already give through Tithely.

3. ChMeetings

ChMeetings is a low-cost church management system with events, check-in, giving and member records included. Its price depends on the number of people in your records rather than the size of each event, and it adds no fee of its own to event payments, so the only fee is the one your payment provider charges. The free plan covers events without tickets, while paid events and guest registration need a paid plan. Because it's a full church management system, there's more to set up than with a registration page on its own.

Key features:

• Required custom questions on registration forms
• Guest registration for people who aren't in your records
• Set times for registration to open and close
• Custom ticket types, with promo codes
• Partial or later payments, and refunds
• Donations during registration
• Self check-in, QR code scanning and kiosk mode, with family check-in and name tags

Pricing: ChMeetings is free for up to 50 people, and paid plans run from $12/mo for 100 people to $60/mo for unlimited people. Paying annually costs 10 months instead of 12, and card fees go to your payment provider.

Best for: Small churches that want a full church management system, with paid events, on a small budget.

4. Subsplash

Subsplash combines a church app, website, online giving and church management software, with event registration included. Each event can have its own ticket types, attendee limits and discount codes, and Subsplash names VBS, summer camps and retreats among the events it's used for. Staff can also add walk-in and paper registrations paid by cash or check. Subsplash doesn't publish its prices, so you have to book a demo to find out what it would cost your church. Its support pages put card payments for event registrations at 3.5% + $0.30, the highest card rate among the church management systems here, and bank payments aren't available for events.

Key features:

• Custom registration questions
• Ticket types with their own prices and limits
• Partial payments with automatic reminders for the balance
• Discount codes
• Staff can add walk-in and paper registrations paid by cash or check
• Emails to guests, and an attendee list you can download
• Child check-in

Pricing: Subsplash sets its price by church size and usage and tells you after a demo. Card payments for event registrations cost 3.5% + $0.30, according to its support pages.

Best for: Churches that want their app, website, giving and registrations from one company.

5. Checkout Page

Checkout Page is a registration and checkout tool that runs on your church's own Stripe account. You build a registration page for each event, then embed it on your website or share it as a link. It takes free and paid registrations, payment plans and donations. Checkout Page isn't a church management system, so it has no member or household records and no waitlist. A church that needs those would run it alongside a church management system rather than instead of one.

Key features:

• Free and paid registrations, with ticket types such as early bird and group tickets
• Custom questions that show or hide depending on earlier answers, and forms split into steps
• Capacity limits for the whole event, a group or a ticket type
• Payment plans that split the price into weekly or monthly installments
• Deposits and payment by invoice or cash, on the Scale plan
• Donations added to a registration, and pay-what-you-can pricing
• QR code check-in with a free scanner on any phone

Pricing: Checkout Page is free for up to $3,000 in sales a month, then from $24/mo billed annually, and nonprofits can get 50% off paid plans. It doesn't add a fee to each registration, so you’ll just pay Stripe fees on top of the platform subscription.

Best for: Churches that want highly customizable paid registration and event ticketing on their own website without a church management system.

6. RegFox

RegFox is registration software from Webconnex, with pages aimed at camps, retreats and faith-based events. It has no monthly plan and charges a fee on each registration instead, capped at $4.99 per paid registration on the Standard plan. The form builder handles questions that depend on earlier answers, prices that change with the answers, group registration, waitlists and add-ons such as meals. Free registrations cost $0.99 each, so a free event still costs something to run. Payment plans and digital waivers need the Premium plan, which charges more per registration.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop registration page builder
• Questions that depend on earlier answers, with prices that change to match
• Group registration
• Waitlists
• Unlimited coupons
• Add-on sales, such as meals or workshops
• Payment plans and digital waivers on Premium

Pricing: Standard costs $0.99 + 1% per paid registration, capped at $4.99, and $0.99 per free registration, with card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 on top. Premium costs $1.99 + 1% per paid registration, capped at $5.99.

Best for: Camps and retreats with detailed forms, waivers or payment plans.

7. RSVPify

RSVPify is an event registration and ticketing tool with a section of its site for religious organizations, which lists VBS, retreats, fundraisers and Bible studies as uses. It started as an RSVP tool for invited guests, so it suits a dinner with a guest list as well as an event with open registration. You can collect registration fees, sell tickets, take donations and check guests in on any device. Every plan has a monthly limit on registrations, starting at 100 on the free plan, and paid tickets have a per-ticket fee on top of the plan price. Its nonprofit discount asks for a Form 990, which churches aren't required to file, so ask RSVPify whether your church qualifies before counting on it.

Key features:

• Templates for religious events
• Registration fees, ticket sales and donations collected online
• Custom questions, such as dietary needs and volunteer preferences
• Email invitations and reminders
• Check-in on any device
• All your events managed in one place
• The option to pass ticket fees on to guests

Pricing: RSVPify is free for up to 100 registrations a month on one event, and the Starter plan costs $39/mo or $288 a year. Paid tickets cost 1.95% + $0.90 each, plus Stripe's processing fee.

Best for: Churches running invitation-style events such as dinners, galas and banquets.

8. Eventbrite

Eventbrite is a public ticketing site where people look for things to do near them. Free events cost nothing to run, and a paid event is listed in Eventbrite's search, which can bring in people who have never heard of your church. It offers ticket types, waitlists, donation tickets, custom questions and a check-in app, and you can embed the checkout on your own website. Paid tickets have the highest fees in this guide, and Eventbrite's nonprofit pricing only reduces the fees on donation tickets and the price of its Pro marketing plans. Its own page on payment plans points organizers to tiered tickets and promo codes instead of installments, so a family would pay for a camp in one go. Our Eventbrite fees breakdown works through the fees at different ticket prices, and the Eventbrite fee calculator gives the figure for your own event.

Key features:

• Several ticket types, with reserved seating
• Promo and discount codes
• Custom questions for the buyer or for each attendee
• Capacity limits and waitlists
• Donation tickets
• A check-in app with QR code scanning
• Embedded checkout on your own website

Pricing: Free events have no fees. Paid US tickets have a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 each plus a 2.9% payment processing fee per order, which buyers pay by default unless you choose to cover it.

Best for: Public events where you want people outside the church to find you.

Other church registration software to consider

TouchPoint Software is a church management system for larger churches, with prices starting at $6,000 a year and event ticketing sold as a paid add-on. Churchteams includes registration with deposits and payment reminders as part of its church management system. For a free signup where nobody needs checking in, a general form builder may be enough, and our guide to the best event registration platforms compares tools that aren't built for churches.

How much church event registration software costs

Church event registration software costs anywhere from nothing to a few hundred dollars per event, depending on whether you pay a monthly plan, a fee per registration or only the card processing fee. Here is what a youth camp and a fellowship dinner would cost on the six tools that publish their event fees.

Both examples assume US card payments with one registration per order, every registration arriving in the same month, monthly billing, no nonprofit discount, and card processing at 2.9% + $0.30 where the tool doesn't set its own rate. Planning Center's plan is set by the size of your largest open signup and billed each month while that signup is open, so both examples put it on the 150-person plan at $69.

A youth camp: 60 campers at $150, so $9,000 collected

Tithely Events and Planning Center Registrations cost the least for the camp, and there is about $1.50 between them. Checkout Page costs more here because $9,000 in one month is above the free plan's $3,000 limit and needs the Scale plan at $99, which would be $49.50 with the 50% nonprofit discount, for a total of $328.50. If families pay a deposit in spring and the balance in summer, less money comes in during any one month, which can keep the church on a cheaper Checkout Page plan. Eventbrite and RSVPify let you pass the ticket fees on to families, so the church doesn't pay them, though the total cost is the same.

A fellowship dinner: 80 guests at $20, so $1,600 collected

For the dinner, Tithely Events and Checkout Page cost only the card fees, because $1,600 is within Checkout Page's free plan. Planning Center's $69 plan costs more than the card fees on this event, since an 80-guest signup needs the 150-person plan. If the dinner is a fundraiser, our guide to selling fundraiser tickets has more on that.

ChMeetings and Subsplash aren't in the tables, because ChMeetings charges by the number of people in your records rather than by event, and Subsplash doesn't publish its prices. You can create a free event registration page with Checkout Page and move to a paid plan if sales pass $3,000 a month or you want to remove Checkout Page branding.

Church event registration software FAQ

What is the best church event registration software?

The best church event registration software depends on whether your church already uses a church management system. If it does, its registration tool, such as Planning Center Registrations or Tithely Events, links signups to your member records. If it doesn't, a standalone tool such as Checkout Page, RegFox or RSVPify gives you a registration page without a church database.

Is there free church event registration software?

Yes, four of the tools here take church event registrations without a monthly fee. Tithely Events has no monthly plan and charges only card fees on paid tickets. Checkout Page is free for up to $3,000 in sales a month. Planning Center Registrations is free for signups of up to 5 people, and ChMeetings is free for events without tickets.

Can churches get nonprofit discounts on registration software?

Some companies do, and each sets its own rules. Checkout Page gives nonprofits 50% off paid plans, RSVPify gives approved nonprofits 20% off annual plans, and Eventbrite discounts its fees on donation tickets and the price of its Pro marketing plans. Stripe's own pricing for nonprofits is covered in our guide to Stripe for nonprofits.

How do I take deposits for a church retreat or camp?

Pick a tool that lets people pay in parts, then set the deposit amount on the registration page. Planning Center and Subsplash take deposits and send balance reminders, ChMeetings takes partial payments, Checkout Page takes deposits on its Scale plan, and Tithely splits the price into two installments. Our guide to creating a retreat registration form walks through the setup.

Can parents register several children at once?

Yes, on several of these tools. Planning Center Registrations links the signup to the family's household record, so one parent can register everyone in one form, and Tithely Events lets one parent pay for several children in one transaction. TouchPoint supports family registration too, and RegFox offers group registration for churches that don't use a church management system.