Church Digital

For churches · Comparison

Church Digital vs Subsplash

Subsplash is a bundle: website plus mobile app plus giving plus media plus more, on one bill. For churches that genuinely need that whole stack and want one vendor, that bundle is a fair argument. For churches that mostly need a strong website and pay for giving and media tools elsewhere, the math looks different. This page sets both options side by side so it is easier to see which one matches your situation.

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Side by side

Church Digital and Subsplash, line by line.

Pricing and terms are taken from each vendor’s publicly listed pages. If anything looks stale, point it out and we’ll update it.

 Church DigitalSubsplash
Monthly$120–$297/mo, publishedBundle: not publicly listed; observed ~$249–$350+/mo
Setup feeNoneNot publicly listed
ContractNo contract — cancel anytimeVaries by bundle
Who builds itWe do — custom design, built for youPlatform build (template/custom mix)
Custom designCustomMixed
If you leaveCancel anytime; your domain and content stay yoursVendor-hosted — the site does not come with you
SupportA human replies within 1 business day — published SLAVendor support from their team

Want the longer read — the study data on Subsplash sites, the honest strengths, and who should stay? Read our Subsplashalternative guide →

Positioning

Looking for a Subsplash alternative for your church website?

Subsplash is one of the larger all-in-one church platforms — they bundle a custom-branded mobile app, a giving platform, sermon and media hosting, a website builder, and a lighter ChMS layer into a single subscription. The mobile app is generally the headline product; the website builder is included as part of the bundle rather than as a standalone purchase.

Who they're built for: churches that want one vendor for app, giving, media, and website, and are willing to pay a higher monthly to consolidate the stack. The convenience of a single platform team, a single invoice, and integrated data across the products is the real value proposition. Churches plugged into the broader Subsplash community also benefit from network effects — other churches sharing playbooks, app extensions, and content.

Who they're not really built for: churches that just want a strong website and pay for an app, giving, and media elsewhere. The website piece of the Subsplash bundle is often the weakest part of the offering — it exists to round out the platform, not to compete with focused website providers. Paying $249-350+/mo for the bundle just to get a website is uneconomical.

Cost

The actual cost math.

Numbers are current as of early 2026. Pricing moves — confirm rates with the vendor before you commit.

Subsplash bundle pricing is not publicly listed on subsplash.com/pricing as of 2026-05-12 — the Subsplash One page states 'pricing based on church size and usage' and the Enterprise tier is also custom-quoted. Setup fees are not disclosed on the pricing page. The standalone Subsplash Giving product is listed at $0/mo platform fee, with transaction fees of 2.3% + $0.30 for cards and 1% for ACH — that part is published.

For the full bundle (app + giving + media + website), the only honest answer about price is: get a quote. Third-party reports and observed customer-shared pricing place the bundle in roughly the $249 to $350+ per month range depending on church size and which products you include — but Subsplash itself does not publish those numbers, so this is an observation, not a vendor figure. Confirm everything with Subsplash for your specific scope.

Working the math at the lower observed bundle end (~$249/mo, with setup as a question mark): year one is roughly $2,988, year two the same, for a two-year total near $5,976. At the higher observed end (~$350/mo): year one is roughly $4,200, year two the same, totaling $8,400+ over two years.

For reference, Church Digital's website plan has no setup fee, no contract, and publishes a flat monthly rate that is well under the observed Subsplash bundle range over two years — see our current pricing for the numbers to run your own math. That gap is reasonable to pay for if you are using the app, giving, and media products substantively; it is not reasonable if you only need the website. The real cost question to work through: do you specifically need the Subsplash app and giving products, or could you get those elsewhere (Subsplash Giving at the standalone $0/mo + 2.3% rate, an app from a focused vendor, etc.) and save on the website-only line?

Feature comparison

Feature comparison, with the tradeoffs.

Five places where the two providers actually differ — not a checklist of features, but how each one handles the work in practice.

Design and customization

Subsplash

The Subsplash website builder is theme-based with church-specific templates. You can customize within the templates, but the design language is consistent across the platform — many Subsplash websites visually overlap because they're built from the same template set. The website is the part of the bundle most often called out as feeling templated.

Church Digital

Church Digital builds custom for each church. There is no template set to start from. The visual design is shaped by the specific church rather than by a platform layout.

If the app is the main product you care about, the templated website tradeoff is fine. If the website is the centerpiece of your digital presence, this gap is the most visible single difference.

Updates and content management

Subsplash

Subsplash provides a content management system across the bundle — you update sermons, events, app content, and website content from one admin. Content shows up in the app and on the website in coordinated ways, which is the platform value proposition. For website-specific edits, the experience varies depending on what you are trying to change.

Church Digital

Church Digital handles routine website updates on request as part of the flat monthly plan. The website does not integrate with an app or a giving platform at the data level — those tools live separately and the church manages them independently.

Subsplash wins if you want one CMS for everything; Church Digital wins if you only need the website managed and prefer to keep app and giving on focused, separate platforms.

Performance and SEO basics

Subsplash

Subsplash websites generally pass basic SEO and mobile-responsiveness standards, but the templated platform tends to carry more overhead than a focused website build. Page speed is acceptable rather than industry-leading. The platform prioritizes ease of editing over technical performance.

Church Digital

Church Digital builds on Next.js with Core Web Vitals, structured data, and optimized images baked in by default. Performance baseline is consistently strong because the site is built to be fast rather than built to fit a bundle.

If search performance is a real priority — running ads to the site, competing for local search — the technical baseline gap shows up. If the website is mostly informational for current attenders, the gap matters less.

Integrations (giving, ChMS, calendaring)

Subsplash

Subsplash's strongest argument is the integrated bundle — Subsplash Giving, Subsplash app, Subsplash media, and the website all share data and content. If you adopt the full stack, the integrations across products are tight in ways no third-party setup can replicate.

Church Digital

Church Digital embeds whatever the church already uses — Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Pushpay, Subsplash media, RightNow Media. The website plays nicely with the church's existing tool choices rather than trying to bring them onto a unified platform.

If you are buying the integrated experience, Subsplash wins. If you are buying the website and keeping your existing tools, Church Digital wins.

Support model and ownership

Subsplash

Subsplash provides platform-wide support across the bundle. The website lives on the Subsplash platform and is not portable — if you leave the platform, the website does not come with you. Support comes from Subsplash's team, organized by product area.

Church Digital

Church Digital is fully managed with no contract — flat published monthly, cancel anytime. Support comes from a small team, typically the same person across the engagement.

Leaving Subsplash means rebuilding the website AND finding new app, giving, and media providers — all at once. The bundling that helps on the way in adds friction on the way out.

Common scenarios

Common scenarios, and how each one tends to land.

Concrete church profiles, the honest fit for each provider, and which way each one leans.

750-attendance church without a mobile app or modern giving platform, looking to upgrade the whole digital stack at once.

Subsplash

Subsplash is built for this scenario. The bundle gives you app, giving, media, and website with one team — meaningful consolidation when you are coming from a scattered tool set.

Church Digital

Church Digital handles the website piece cleanly but you would still need to source an app provider, a giving provider, and a media setup separately. More moving parts at the start.

Leans toward Subsplash

Church already using Planning Center for ChMS and Tithe.ly for giving, happy with both, just needs a strong website.

Subsplash

Subsplash would have you move giving to their platform to get the integration value. Paying the bundle price for a website while leaving giving on Tithe.ly does not pencil out.

Church Digital

Church Digital embeds Planning Center and Tithe.ly cleanly into the custom design without trying to replace them. Pay only for the website piece you actually need.

Leans toward Church Digital

Church that wants a visually distinctive, custom-designed website where the website itself is the centerpiece of the digital presence.

Subsplash

Subsplash's website builder is the weakest part of the bundle. If the website is the strategic priority, the template-driven approach is a real ceiling.

Church Digital

Church Digital builds custom for each church and the website is the entire focus. Stronger design fit when the website is what matters most.

Leans toward Church Digital

Multi-site church or campus network already on Subsplash for app and giving, considering whether to consolidate the website too.

Subsplash

If you are already paying for the platform and using the integrations, adding the website to the bundle costs little marginal money and gives you data continuity.

Church Digital

Church Digital would be the website only — the rest of the Subsplash bundle stays in place. Useful if the website is meaningfully more important than the app for your situation, less useful if everything is already coordinated.

Either could fit

Switching

Switching from Subsplash: what it actually involves.

Switching off Subsplash is more involved than switching off most website-only providers because it is rarely just a website switch. If you are leaving the full bundle, you are also moving the app (or sunsetting it), the giving platform, the media hosting, and possibly the lighter ChMS layer. Each of these has its own migration playbook, and they happen in parallel.

For the website portion specifically: content has to be exported manually because the platform does not provide a portable export. The new build re-enters copy, images, sermon archive metadata, and ministry pages. The giving platform migration is the most technically careful part — recurring donations need to be re-authorized in the new system, donor records have to be exported, and there is usually a parallel-run period to avoid losing donations during the cutover.

For churches that only want to leave the website piece of Subsplash but stay on the app and giving products, the consolidation argument that brought you onto the platform starts working against you. Check whether the bundle contract permits a partial unbundle, and at what monthly. Watch for term length, auto-renewal, and any cancellation fees in writing.

Honest fit

When each one is the right pick.

Pick Subsplash when

When Subsplash is the better fit

  • You need a mobile app, giving, media hosting, and a website from one vendor with one invoice.
  • You want a familiar platform that other churches in your network are already using.
  • You prefer a single account team handling the full stack.

Pick Church Digital when

When Church Digital is the better fit

  • You only need the website, and giving and app tools are already handled by a provider you like.
  • You want a flat monthly that does not scale with how much of the rest of the bundle you adopt.
  • It matters that the website itself is custom-designed for your church, on a plan with no contract — cancel anytime.

Bottom line

The bottom line.

Choose Subsplash when you genuinely want one vendor for app, giving, media, and website, and the integrated bundle is doing real work — the integrations across products, the single platform team, and the data continuity are the reasons you would pay the premium. Choose Church Digital when you only need the website, want a custom design, and prefer to keep the app, giving, and media on focused providers (or you do not need an app at all). The website is often the weakest part of the Subsplash bundle, so if the website is the priority and not the app, the math leans heavily toward a focused provider.

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What they don't tell you

VendorSetup fee
ReachRight$2,000 setup fee*
Clover Sites~$1,000 build fee
Church Plant Media$499 setup fee
Church Digital$0, ever

*waived only with a 12-month contract

the $29/month sites aren't $29/month

Useful next reads

Keep reading on Subsplash and the alternatives.

Two or three picks from our church insights and tools — sized for someone comparing vendors, not someone who already signed.

Insight

Read: what first-time guests notice in 30 seconds

The visitor-experience signals that matter most — useful whether or not you stay inside an all-in bundle.

Insight

Read: online giving platforms compared in 2026

How Subsplash Giving stacks up against Tithe.ly, Pushpay, Givelify, and Planning Center.

Pillar

Read: online giving for churches — overview

The plain-language overview of how online giving works for churches — fees, platforms, and the website-side fundamentals.

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