Here is the honest answer before the detail: a church or ministry app costs from $36 a month with a no-code church app builder, $119 a month and more on platforms built only for churches, and several times that once an agency writes code for you. The right question is not just the subscription line. It is what happens to your storage, your push notifications, your app store fees, and above all your donations. This guide gives every number a date, because prices move: everything below was verified on August 12, 2026.
The three ways to get a church app, and what each really costs
| Option | Advertised price | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| No-code app builder (GoodBarber) | $36 to $135 per month, all-inclusive | native iOS and Android from the $70 tier |
| Church-only platforms | $0 to $119+ per month advertised | processing fees on giving, per-product add-ons |
| Custom development by an agency | quote-based | GoodBarber's benchmark: a no-code build runs about one tenth of a custom one |
Three patterns hide behind that table.
No-code builders charge a flat subscription. You assemble the app yourself from ready-made sections (sermons, calendar, podcasts, live video, push notifications), and the subscription includes hosting, database, security updates and store re-publication. There is nothing to install and no separate invoice for infrastructure.
Church-only platforms often advertise very low entry prices. One large church platform advertises plans starting at $0 per month, with its economics built on processing fees collected on your congregation's giving. Another advertises its full bundle at $119 per month, with individual products from $19 per month, plus payment processing fees on each donation. Both models are legitimate; just read them as what they are: the cheaper the platform line, the more the giving line matters.
Custom development is a different sport. An agency will quote you a project, not a subscription, and every future change is billed again. It is the right path for requirements no builder covers, and oversized for the communication, content and giving needs of most congregations.
GoodBarber's real price list for a church app
Prices below come straight from GoodBarber's public pricing API, in US dollars, on August 12, 2026. Full details are on the pricing page.
| Tier | Monthly | Yearly | What it means for a church |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $36 | $360 | a Progressive Web App: your app in every browser, installable on phones, no app stores |
| Premium | $70 | $660 | native iOS and Android apps in the App Store and Google Play, 30,000 push notifications a month |
| Pro | $135 | $1,260 | unlimited extensions and staff seats, 250,000 push notifications a month |
Two details matter in practice. Yearly billing costs roughly ten months of the monthly rate, so a committed parish saves about two months a year. And a one-time option exists at the Pro tier ($4,600, ten years): rarely the first choice, but worth knowing for a diocese planning long term.
If you want to see how the sections fit a congregation's needs (calendar, sermons as podcasts, live celebrations, member spaces), the church app builder page walks through them one by one, and this step-by-step guide to creating a worship app covers the build itself.
The costs nobody puts on the pricing page
Whatever platform you choose, two fees come from Apple and Google, not from your provider:
- Apple Developer Program: $99 per year. Required to publish a native iOS app under your church's own name.
- Google Play Console: $25, once. Required to publish on Android.
Add the human cost: someone has to load the first content and keep the calendar alive. With a no-code builder that person is a volunteer with a browser, not a developer. That is the real saving, and it is also why the platform you pick should be judged on how easy weekly updates are, not only on the subscription price.
Donations: the line that decides the real cost
For most churches the app is not the biggest number in this file; the giving flow is. Processing fees apply to every donation, on every platform, so a fraction of a percent matters more than ten dollars of subscription.
The pattern that works, and that the strongest church platforms all highlight: your app can point a section directly to your existing online giving system through its web page. Keep Donately, Tithe.ly Giving, PayPal or your diocese's own portal exactly as they are, and open that page inside the app. Donors keep a flow they already trust, your bookkeeping does not change, and the fees stay those of your giving provider. GoodBarber supports this natively: a Donately integration is available, and any web-based giving page can become a section of the app.
This design has a second benefit: donations completed on your giving provider's web page are processed by that provider, so the app stores' in-app purchase commission never enters the equation.
What a real congregation did
Coral Hill Church built its app on GoodBarber to reach a congregation spread across age groups, with push notifications replacing the paper bulletin. The pattern to copy is less the tool than the sequence: start from the communication problem, load the calendar and sermons first, and let giving follow once the app is a habit.
How to keep the total predictable
- Start with the PWA tier if you are not sure. $36 a month puts your app in every phone's browser. Move to native ($70) when the congregation asks for the stores or you need push at scale.
- Count the all-inclusive line, not the sticker. Hosting, database, updates, security and store re-publication are inside GoodBarber's subscription. On platforms that price by product, add each line before comparing. A no-code app builder subscription should be the whole bill, not its first line.
- Route giving through your existing provider's web page, as above, and compare providers on processing fees, not app fees.
- Try before paying. GoodBarber's trial is 30 days, free, no card required: long enough to build the real app, not a demo.
FAQ
How much does a church app cost per month?
Between $36 and $135 per month with GoodBarber depending on the tier, all-inclusive (verified August 12, 2026). Church-only platforms advertise from $0 to $119 and more per month, with processing fees on donations and sometimes per-product add-ons on top.
Is there a truly free church app?
Free tiers and $0 plans exist, but the economics live in the giving line: platforms advertising $0 per month recover their costs through processing fees on your congregation's donations. A free trial is different: it costs nothing because it is time-limited, not fee-funded.
What do Apple and Google charge on top?
$99 per year for the Apple Developer Program and a one-time $25 for Google Play, whatever platform builds your app. A PWA (GoodBarber's $36 tier) avoids both, because it lives in the browser instead of the stores.
Do donations made through a church app lose a commission to the app stores?
Not when the app opens your giving provider's web page: the payment is processed by that provider (Donately, Tithe.ly Giving, PayPal, your diocese's portal), under its fees, outside the stores' in-app purchase system. That is the setup to ask any vendor for.
How long does it take to launch a church app?
Days, not months, with a no-code builder: the work is loading your real content, then the store review. The full path is described in our guide to creating a worship or faith-based app, and the 30-day trial is long enough to complete it.