Buying guide · checked October 2026

Best church registration software in 2026: 9 options compared

The right registration tool for a church depends on what you're running. A one-day Vacation Bible School (VBS) sign-up, a paid summer camp and weekly kids ministry check-in need different things. Four of the options here are church management systems (ChMS) with registration built in. Four are general sign-up, ticketing and form tools, included because they can take event sign-ups and have free options. The ninth is BackPR. This page doesn't crown a winner. It compares nine options on the same points, in alphabetical order. Every fact about another company comes from its own pricing page, terms or help center, checked between October 11 and 19, 2026, and each option links to its sources.

How we compared

Pricing: published prices or quote only, and what the price is based on.
What families pay on top: ticketing fees, convenience fees or contribution prompts at checkout.
Nonprofit terms: a published discount, a free plan or none.
Kids' event tools: e-signed waivers, payment plans, waitlists and check-in.
Contract terms: term length, renewal and the cost of leaving early.
Spanish for families: registration pages, emails and forms.

Disclosure

BackPR makes this guide. We've included it with the same criteria; check every claim.

The options, A to Z

Listed alphabetically, not ranked. Prices are as published on each company's site when we checked; check the vendor's page before you decide.

BackPRMade by us

Good fit if your church runs VBS, camps or kids' programs and wants e-signed waivers, payment plans on autopay, waitlists, check-out to authorized adults and volunteer shifts, with registration in English or Spanish.

Watch for the limits: BackPR is free only for registered nonprofits and Stripe's processing fees still apply; support is by email only, there's no App Store or Google Play app (it runs in the browser) and BackPR doesn't send text messages (SMS).

Pricing: Nonprofits: $0, with no subscription and no BackPR fees. Other organizations: quote only. Confirmed by BackPR on October 10, 2026.
Nonprofits: Free for registered nonprofits: no subscription and no BackPR transaction or registration fees.
Fees for families: None from BackPR. Stripe's processing fees still apply, and you choose whether to absorb them or pass them on to families.

Sources: BackPR pricing; BackPR for nonprofits; BackPR capability list

Breeze ChMS

Good fit if you want church management at a flat $72 a month with unlimited people and admins, check-in with name tags, volunteer scheduling, free data import and no contract.

Watch for form limits: Breeze forms have no digital signature field and can't take ACH bank payments, and Breeze doesn't support languages other than English.

Pricing: $72 a month, flat, with unlimited people and admin users; worship tools add $29 a month. Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published. Every church pays the same flat price.
Fees for families: None added by Breeze. Forms have no option for payers to cover processing fees.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Breeze pricing; Breeze help: about Breeze ChMS; Breeze help: payments on forms; Breeze help: signatures on forms; Breeze help: Spanish

Eventbrite

Good fit if your event has free tickets, or you want waitlists, reserved seating, mobile check-in with its organizer app and a marketplace where people find events.

Watch for ticketing fees on paid tickets: US buyers pay 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% per order by default, and nonprofits get no discount on these fees.

Pricing: Free for events with free tickets; paid tickets carry per-ticket fees. Optional Premium: $69 a month or $708 a year. Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit discount on ticketing fees. US donation tickets carry a 2.9% processing fee.
Fees for families: By default, buyers pay Eventbrite's ticketing fees on top of the ticket price; organizers can choose to absorb them. Fees aren't returned on refunds unless the event is canceled or postponed.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Eventbrite pricing; Eventbrite help: ticketing fees; Eventbrite help: pricing and plans; Eventbrite help: nonprofit pricing; Eventbrite help: refunds of ticketing fees

Google Forms

Good fit if you need a free sign-up form for an event without payments, with responses sent to Google Sheets.

Watch for what's missing: there's no payment or signature question type, so payments and signed waivers need other tools.

Pricing: Free with a Google account. Prices as published on October 11, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: $0. Eligible 501(c)(3) organizations can also get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0.
Fees for families: None. Google Forms doesn't collect payments.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Google Forms; Google Forms help: question types; Google Forms help: managing responses; Google Workspace for Nonprofits

Planning Center Registrations

Good fit if you use Planning Center or want published event-size pricing, with household sign-ups, waitlists, scholarships, check-in with name tags and automatic sorting into cabins, buses or VBS crews.

Watch for language and signature limits: buttons and emails stay in English, and Planning Center's People forms can't collect electronic signatures.

Pricing: By attendees at your biggest event, per month: free for 5, $15 for 20, $32 for 50, $69 for 150, $115 for 400, $179 for 1,000 and $239 for 5,000. You can change plans by season. Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No separate nonprofit pricing published. Church plants can get Planning Center free for one year.
Fees for families: No Planning Center fee for families published. Its cover-the-fee option is for donations through Planning Center Giving; its help center for Registrations doesn't describe one for event payments.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Planning Center Registrations; Planning Center pricing; Planning Center help: processing fees; Planning Center help: collecting payments in Registrations; Planning Center help: attendee forms; Planning Center help: FAQ (languages)

Pushpay ChMS (formerly Church Community Builder)

Good fit if you want church management with Pushpay Giving and a church app, forms that register up to 10 people in one payment and check-in kiosks with name tags, parent pickup labels and room capacity limits.

Watch for the contract: terms run 1, 2 or 3 years, leaving early means paying the rest of the contract and Pushpay must be your only payment processor until the term ends.

Pricing: Quote only (checked October 19, 2026). Event registration, forms and check-in are listed in the Advanced and Complete plans, not Core.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published. Qualified pre-launch church plants can get a 12-month no-cost grant for the full Pushpay platform.
Fees for families: No Pushpay fee for families published. People paying through ChMS forms can't choose to cover processing fees.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Pushpay pricing; Pushpay church management software; Pushpay additional agreements for organizations; Pushpay help: payments on ChMS forms; Pushpay help: forms FAQ

Realm

Good fit if you want registration events with deposits and partial payments, extra items like supplies or meals, check-in kiosks with name badges, background checks and optional integrated accounting.

Watch for unpublished costs: rates from Vanco, its payment processor, aren't published, and the agreement from ACS Technologies, which makes Realm, says purchases may include one-time fees or data conversion costs.

Pricing: Inform (staff only): $49 a month after a 30-day free trial. Connect, which adds congregation features, is priced by typical weekly attendance (not published). Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: No Realm fee for families published. Its fee-offset option is for online gifts; its registration help doesn't describe one for event payments.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Realm events and registration; Realm plans; Realm Inform in the ACS store; Realm Software Services Agreement; Realm help: merchant accounts; Realm help: paid registration event settings

SignUpGenius

Good fit if you want free sign-up sheets for volunteers and events, with reminders and payment collection; it also offers e-signed waivers and volunteer hours reports.

Watch for the card fee: by default payers are charged 3.95% + $0.95 per card payment, and waitlists on sign-ups need the Gold plan or higher.

Pricing: Free plan. Silver $11.99, Gold $29.99 and Platinum $59.99 a month billed monthly, or $8.99, $22.49 and $44.99 a month billed yearly. Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit pricing published. The free plan includes payment collection.
Fees for families: By default, payers are charged SignUpGenius's convenience fee: 3.95% + $0.95 per card payment or 1.95% (minimum $1) per eCheck. Organizers can cover all or part of it.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: SignUpGenius pricing; SignUpGenius help: fees for sign-ups; SignUpGenius help: waitlists; SignUpGenius help: waivers

Zeffy

Good fit if you want event registration and donations at no cost to the church, card processing included, with forms families can switch to Spanish.

Watch for the checkout prompt and missing tools: payers are asked for an optional contribution to Zeffy, and its help center says installment plans, waitlists and waivers aren't built in.

Pricing: $0, with one plan and every feature included. Prices as published on October 11, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: $0. Only nonprofits can use Zeffy; US organizations need an EIN (federal tax ID number) and a bank account in the organization's name.
Fees for families: Checkout asks payers for an optional contribution to Zeffy, with a suggested amount they can lower or set to $0. The nonprofit receives 100% of the payment either way.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Zeffy pricing; Zeffy help: the contribution at checkout; Zeffy help: eligibility; Zeffy help: payment installments; Zeffy help: waitlists; Zeffy help: waivers; Zeffy help: translating a form

Which one fits your program

If your church already runs on a church management system Look at Breeze, Planning Center Registrations, Pushpay ChMS and Realm, which take event sign-ups inside their church management systems.
If you need signed waivers for kids' events Look at BackPR and SignUpGenius, which offer e-signed waivers. Planning Center People forms, Breeze forms and Pushpay ChMS forms can't collect electronic signatures. Google Forms has no signature question, and Zeffy has no waiver feature.
If VBS is your one big paid event of the year Look at Planning Center, which lets you change plans by season, for example upgrading for VBS. BackPR has no subscription and no BackPR fees for registered nonprofits at any event size, and Zeffy is $0 for nonprofits.
If your families need Spanish Look at BackPR, which offers registration and parent screens in Spanish, and Zeffy, which can translate a form to Spanish. Planning Center and Breeze don't support other languages, and Pushpay's ChMS forms have no language setting.
If you want families to pay nothing extra at checkout Look at BackPR, which never adds its own fee, and Breeze, Planning Center and Realm, which publish no fee for families. Eventbrite and SignUpGenius add their fees to the payer's total by default unless you cover them, and Zeffy asks payers for an optional contribution.
If your event is free and you only need names Look at Google Forms or Eventbrite with free tickets. Neither charges anything for a free event.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask

How much does church registration software cost?

Planning Center Registrations is priced by your biggest event, from free for 5 attendees to $239 a month for 5,000. Breeze is a flat $72 a month for its whole church management system. Realm's staff-only Inform plan is $49 a month, and its other plans aren't published. Pushpay quotes after a demo. SignUpGenius and Eventbrite have free options, Google Forms is free and Zeffy is $0 for nonprofits. BackPR is $0 for registered nonprofits and quoted for other organizations.

How can parents sign VBS waivers online?

You need a tool with e-signatures. BackPR and SignUpGenius offer e-signed waivers. In Planning Center, People forms can't collect electronic signatures, so signed waivers go through PDF forms that families return. Breeze and Pushpay ChMS forms have no digital signature field; their help centers suggest a typed name. Google Forms has no signature question, and Zeffy's help center suggests a required checkbox or an emailed attachment.

Do church management systems offer nonprofit pricing?

None of the four church management systems here publishes separate nonprofit pricing. Planning Center is free for church plants for one year, and Pushpay offers qualified pre-launch church plants a 12-month no-cost grant. BackPR is free for registered nonprofits.

Can families register for church events in Spanish?

It depends on the tool. BackPR offers registration and parent screens in Spanish, and Zeffy can translate a form from English to Spanish for US nonprofits. Planning Center and Breeze don't support other languages. Pushpay's staff apps and giving pages offer Spanish, but its ChMS forms have no language setting. Realm doesn't describe a Spanish option for registration.

What card fees do churches pay on registrations?

Planning Center charges 2.15% + $0.30 per US card payment, and Breeze charges 2.9% + $0.30 on form payments. Pushpay and Realm, which processes through Vanco, don't publish their rates. SignUpGenius charges 3.95% + $0.95 per card payment, paid by the payer by default. Zeffy covers card fees for nonprofits. BackPR runs on Stripe; Stripe's processing fees apply, and you choose whether to absorb them or pass them on.

Keep comparing

Registration software pricingWhat 48 platforms publish about prices and fees.

Choosing registration softwareThe questions to ask before you sign.

All comparisonsBackPR side by side with each platform, with sources.

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