Top 10 Best Check-In Software for Churches in 2024

Check-in software may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to running a smooth Sunday morning church service. Instead, you probably think of delivering an awesome message, organizing your volunteer huddle, coordinating with your worship team, and equipping your ministry leaders. 

These are all important parts of running a great Sunday morning service. But an effective check-in system for your church members, kids, first-time guests, and volunteers is critical.

Think of check-in software as the "top button" of event management–especially for large and midsize churches. If people aren't checked in effectively and efficiently, the rest of your organization can easily fall by the wayside. 

Church management software that helps you perform secure check-ins can help you:

• Track attendance
• Run your volunteer management
• Keep kids safe
• And provide a smooth, friendly experience for incoming guests

But not all check-in tools are created equal. The best solution is to have a cloud-based church management software with a check-in feature that provides a smooth, intuitive experience. 

In the following article, we'll talk about the best types of check-in software for faith-based organizations. 

Table of Contents

What is Church Check-In Software?

Why Do You Need a Church Check-In Software?

Common Features of Check-In Software for Churches

Benefits and Potential Issues

How to Choose a Good Church Check-In Software

Top 10 Best Check-In Software for Churches In 2024

Final Thoughts

Check-In Software for Churches FAQs 

What is Church Check-In Software?

Church check-in software is a tool that helps you to check in volunteers and guests to a Sunday morning service or other church event. 

Why Do You Need a Church Check-In Software?

Check-in software not only helps you to keep track of weekly attendance; it helps you to create a safe environment by knowing who is present. It can also help you to track volunteers, generate custom reports, and gain general oversight of what's happening at your church. 

Common Features of Check-In Software for Churches

 Church software that helps you check in guests and volunteers typically includes a check-in screen that has basic contact information about incoming volunteers or guests. It may also include tools for list management, a method for checking in with a QR code, and integration with church database software. 

Benefits and Potential Issues

The benefits of using check-in software include:

• Insight into attendance tracking for improved event planning in the future
• A friendly experience for incoming guests at a designated "check-in station"
• Enhanced communication for running a smoother service

Ineffective check-in software can generate more confusion, inaccuracies, and a frustrating extra step for guests and volunteers. Make sure to choose an online check-in system that makes church ministry easier and more efficient–not a waste of your valuable time!

How to Choose a Good Church Check-In Software?

Church check-in software that's user friendly, compliant with mobile devices, and integrated with additional tools will deliver the best experience for your volunteers, members, and church leaders. 

Robust church management software will include a check-in feature along with donation tools, volunteer management, finance software, worship team coordination, and more. A suite of tools makes it easier to run smooth services and events, and help you to offer express check-in that's synced with other data and information. 

Top 10 Best Check-In Software for Churches In 2024

The best check-in software will be included as one feature of a cloud-based church management system. Here are the 10 best check-in tools in 2024. 

1. Tithe.ly

Tithe.ly is an affordable church management software that offers intuitive check-in for events, services, and more. Tithe.ly's complete church management solution also offers features for giving, managing members, running everyday operations, managing finances, building a site and an app, communicating with ministry leaders and the worship team, extensive reporting, donor development, and more. 

Features: Tithe.ly's church management tools help you to check in children, volunteers, and event registrants. It includes an easy-to-use check in interface, a QR code tool, and integration with church membership software. 

Pros: Tithe.ly simplifies your check-in station with a mobile-friendly interface and integration with contact details. If you're running a paid event, Tithe.ly's check in tool also makes it easy to issue a refund, edit tickets, and more. Outside of check-in, Tithe.ly is a complete church management system that helps churches to manage their existing operations, improve member experience, and grow into the future. Plus, Tithe.ly emphasizes the church mobile experience, offering a church app and powerful texting platform. 

Cons: If you're looking for a standalone church software for checking in children, volunteers, and guests, Tithe.ly may not be for you. 

Pricing: Tithe.ly offers an affordable church check in–along with an entire suite of cloud-based church management applications–for less than $100 a month. Tithe.ly's flexible platform also offers additional options for pricing and feature selection, including a freemium version.  

2. Breeze

Breeze is a centralized platform that includes check-in software for kids and volunteers. church directory, contribution tracking, text giving, attendance tracking, and event registration. It also includes membership management, with the ability to view member profiles based on giving information, or the customizable information of your choice.

Pros: Breeze is a cloud-based church management system that meets all of your basic needs as a church, including check-in. You can also use Breeze on your mobile phone.

Cons: If you're looking for a standalone church software for checking in children, volunteers, and guests, Breeze may not be for you. 

Pricing: Breeze is very affordable, at $72 per month.

‍

3. Ministry Tracker

Ministry Tracker is a church management software solution that provides religious organizations a series of tools for managing members, donations, and staff. 

Features: Ministry Tracker offers an online check-in system, a donation platform for contribution tracking, and additional tools for managing church community and ensuring child safety. 

Pros: Ministry Tracker is a great platform for people management. It offers a range of tools for checking people in and communicating with members via mass email, text message, and more. 

Cons: Users report that Ministry Tracker does not always deliver detailed reports, and that it can be tricky to make changes to children management. 

Pricing: For its full suite of tools, Ministry Tracker costs $69.99 a month. 

4. Rock RMS

Rock RMS is a church management system that was created by a non-profit organization. 

Features: Rock RMS includes custom data tracking, content management, and most importantly, relationship tools–including check-in, event registration, and an engagement platform. 

Pros: Rock RMS was created for churches & non-profit organizations that want to keep Jesus at the center. Its relationship-oriented tools include a church management software directory, an online check-in system, a donation platform, and more.

Cons: Rock's users report that it's not a very user-friendly church management software. Its commitment pricing can also be a little tricky to understand, and can increase over time as your church grows. 

Pricing: Rock RMS has a unique approach to pricing. Rather than relying on typical industry pricing, it has adopted commitment pricing that asks users to make annual donations based on their number of church attendants. 

5. Lambslist

Lambslist is a church management tool that was originally born out of a need for children's ministry leaders to contact parents during services. It is specifically designed for family management and children's volunteers within a church ministry, but it does have additional features. 

Features: Lambslist offers secure children's check-in, volunteer management, and membership management. 

Pros: Lambslist emphasizes child safety and an easy way to check in and track volunteers. 

Cons: Lambslist does not include many core features of robust church management software, including donation tracking, comprehensive reports, an engagement platform, or a tool for running daily operations. The lack of advanced features can ultimately waste valuable time by requiring more effort and energy to adopt additional solutions for faith-based organizations. 

Pricing: Lambslist costs $49 per month, or $500 per year.  

6. Breeze

Breeze is a user-friendly church management software that emphasizes ease of use. 

Features: Breeze offers tools for express check-in, attendance tracking, a donation platform, powerful communication tool (including an email engine and a powerful texting platform), and event planning. 

Pros: Breeze is a cloud-enabled church management software that helps churches to run all aspects of church on a single platform. It's easy to use and comprehensive. 

Cons: Breeze does not offer a freemium version, and it does not give users the ability to download reports as PDF's. It also lacks features for building a website and a web app. 

Pricing: Breeze costs $72 per month.  

7. Fellowship One

Fellowship One is a cloud-based church management solution that offers a range of services for churches and non-profit organizations. 

Features: Fellowship One includes features such as church management software, church accounting and payroll, tools worship planning software, online giving tools, and of course, check-in tools. 

Pros: Fellowship One is a more comprehensive church software than most, and offers essential tools for running a church well. 

Cons: Some users have reported that Fellowship One is not very user friendly. They also don't offer transparent pricing. 

Pricing: Fellowship One costs over $100 per month to use all their features. 

8. ChurchTrac

ChurchTrac is a complete church management system designed around people and member management. At its core, ChurchTrac is a powerful communication tool. 

Features: ChurchTrac includes tools for providing secure check-ins, communicating with members, planning a worship service, and maintaining financial health. 

Pros: ChurchTrac is a robust administration software that includes plenty of capabilities for managing all aspects of a church; their suite of tools make communication and management more seamless. 

Cons: Some users report that their customer support is lacking. 

Pricing: ChurchTrac is an affordable church management software, costing $18 a month (there is an extra charge when your text recipients exceed 75). 

9. Church MemberLink

Church MemberLink is a church software that provides a range of tools to manage and communicate with your church community. 

Features: Church MemberLink has tools for event registration, tracking attendance, receiving donations, and creating questionnaires. Church MemberLink includes a special program for child check in as an add-on. 

Pros: Church MemberLink is a cloud-based church management solution that keeps your data secure. 

Cons: Church MemberLink lacks a lot of the features that make a complete church management solution, including tools to create an app or website, tools to manage church events, and tools to run daily operations. Church MemberLink's child check in program is an add-on, and not considered part of their standard package. 

Pricing: Church MemberLink costs $50 per month, or $500 per year. 

10. Planning Center

Planning Center is a church software that offers a range of tools for church leaders to manage all different layers of their church community, from membership management and service planning to giving and content. 

Features: Planning Center includes features for check-in, event registration, receiving online donations, volunteer scheduling, tracking attendance, and publishing content. 

Pros: Planning Center is a complete church management system that's easy to use for most people. 

Cons: Some users report that Planning Center is difficult to navigate. It also doesn't advertise custom reporting. 

Pricing: Planning Center's flexible platform runs on a scaled pricing model. Though this can be beneficial for smaller churches, costs can add up quickly as your church grows. 

Final Thoughts

Check-in software should be easy to use and integrate with additional systems. Looking for a complete church management solution that includes check-in (along with attendance tracking) is the wisest approach for churches looking to create a smooth, intuitive experience for volunteers and guests. 

Check-in Software for Churches FAQs

How Do Churches Keep Track of Visitors?

How Much Does Church Check-in Software Cost?

What Are the Benefits of Church Check-in Software Software?‍

How Do Churches Keep Track of Visitors?

Churches keep track of visitors in a couple of different ways. They may use check-in software to track every incoming guest, or they may ask ushers to perform a head count during service. 

How Much Does Church Check-in Software Cost?

Church check-in software typically comes as one part of a larger package. More comprehensive platforms cost around $100 per month. 

What Are the Benefits of Church Check-in Software Software?

Church check-in software helps thousands of organizations to stay safer and more organized at every event or service. Check-in software can also give parents of children a greater sense of confidence in children's volunteers and church security.