Last Updated: June 2026
Choosing church management software is a long-term commitment. ChurchTrac and Raklet both serve congregations, but they are built around very different assumptions about what a church needs. This comparison covers pricing, features, mobile access, data portability, and company stability so your team can make a confident decision.
If you are still exploring your options, our guide to church management software alternatives covers a broader range of platforms before you narrow down to a head-to-head.
At a Glance: ChurchTrac vs Raklet
| Dimension | ChurchTrac | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small US churches under 250 members on a tight budget | Growing congregations and parachurch orgs that need API access, branded mobile apps, and international reach |
| Starting price | $9/mo (base; add-ons extra) | Free (100 contacts, permanent) or from $49/mo |
| Permanent free plan | No (30-day trial only) | Yes (100 contacts, no credit card required) |
| Mobile admin app | No (browser-based only) | Yes (iOS + Android on all plans) |
| Public API | No | Yes (Premium plan) |
| Fund accounting | Yes (add-on, $15/mo) | No built-in church accounting module |
ChurchTrac vs Raklet: The Short Version
ChurchTrac is purpose-built for US churches by a founder who is himself a pastor. Its mission states the software was “conceived, designed and programmed entirely by pastors.” That focus shows: child check-in, multi-fund accounting, worship planning, and giving management are all deeply integrated. Over 13,000 churches use ChurchTrac, and the platform has delivered consistent quarterly updates since 2002 without raising prices. For a very small congregation where every dollar counts, ChurchTrac’s $9/month base price is genuinely compelling.
Raklet is a broader membership and community platform. Churches use it, but so do associations, alumni networks, nonprofits, and professional communities across 50+ countries. Raklet’s strengths are its modern interface, transparent pricing based on features and contact count, a permanent free plan, native iOS and Android apps, and an open API for integrations. The trade-off is that Raklet does not include church-specific accounting or worship planning. What it does offer is a platform that grows with the organization without hitting functional walls.
Who Should Use ChurchTrac vs Raklet?
ChurchTrac is a strong fit if:
- Your congregation has fewer than 250 members and cost is the primary constraint
- You need built-in multi-fund accounting without a third-party tool
- Worship planning and scheduling are central to your administrative workflow
- Your congregation is exclusively US-based and English-speaking
- You have no need to connect ChurchTrac data to external tools via an API
Raklet is a stronger fit if:
- Your congregation is growing and you anticipate needing scalable contact tiers without forced platform upgrades
- Administrators need to manage the church database from a mobile device using a native app
- Your church has international members or multilingual communication needs
- You want a REST API to connect your membership data to external tools (accounting systems, email platforms, custom workflows)
- You run a parachurch organization, diocesan office, or religious nonprofit that ChurchTrac’s church-only scope does not serve
Feature Comparison: ChurchTrac vs Raklet
| Feature | ChurchTrac | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Member management | Yes: family groups, roles, directories | Yes: CRM with custom fields, contact timeline, segmentation |
| Online giving / donations | Yes: Stripe only; 2.2% processing fee | Yes: Stripe and PayPal; standard processor rates apply |
| Event management | Yes: registration, attendance tracking | Yes: tickets, QR check-in, member-only or public events |
| Child check-in | Yes: security labels, parent pickup tags, emergency SMS | Check-in available via child’s digital membership card |
| Worship planning | Yes: SongSelect integration, dedicated Worship App (April 2026) | No |
| Fund accounting | Yes: add-on ($15/mo); multi-fund, budget tracking | No built-in church accounting; integrations via API |
| Mobile admin app | No: browser-based only; Church Connect is a web portal | Yes: native iOS and Android app on all plans |
| Custom-branded mobile app | No | Yes: add-on ($299/mo annual); published in App Store under your name |
| Public REST API | No | Yes: Premium plan |
| Email marketing | Yes: basic; campaign manager needs improvement per reviewer feedback | Yes: built-in designer, open/click tracking, segmentation |
| Reporting / analytics | Limited: no custom report templates; most common reviewer complaint | Yes: growth/churn trends, event attendance, member engagement |
| Integrations | Limited: Stripe, Twilio, SongSelect; no API for custom integrations | 3,000+ apps via Zapier; REST API on Premium |
AI Features: Where Both Platforms Stand in 2026
ChurchTrac has no AI features as of May 2026. The company published a blog post in May 2025 discussing general AI tools churches can use (ChatGPT, Elicit, Whisper) but has not integrated any AI capabilities natively into the product. Its April 2026 Worship App release focuses on scheduling and worship planning, with no AI component mentioned.
Raklet has an active AI roadmap, though all features are currently in development. Planned capabilities include an AI onboarding agent, AI engagement scoring to surface contacts at risk of lapsing, and an AI page builder. ChurchTrac has published no AI roadmap and has no announced plans. Neither platform is AI-native in 2026, but Raklet is actively building in this direction while ChurchTrac is not.
Pricing Comparison: ChurchTrac vs Raklet
ChurchTrac advertises a $9/month starting price, but that figure covers only the base plan for churches with up to 75 people in the database. Most churches that use ChurchTrac also need the accounting module ($15/month add-on) and SMS messaging ($7/month base, with automatic overage billing at $7 per 250-credit block). The effective minimum for a functional church using accounting and messaging is around $31/month before overages. Annual billing saves 10%. See ChurchTrac’s pricing page (churchtrac.com/pricing) for current tier details.
Raklet’s pricing is based on its features and the number of total contacts in the account. A permanent free plan covers up to 100 contacts with no credit card required. Paid tiers start at $49/month (annual billing) for 500 contacts. Organizations that need more capacity can purchase additional contact packs without being forced to upgrade to the next full tier. For current rates, see the Raklet pricing page.
| Scenario | ChurchTrac estimated cost | Raklet estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Church with 75 contacts, giving only | $9/mo (base) | Free (100 contacts) |
| Church with 200 contacts, accounting + messaging | ~$31/mo (base + accounting + messaging) | $49/mo (Essentials, 500 contacts) |
| Church with 500 contacts, full features | ~$36-51/mo (250-name base + add-ons) | $49/mo (Essentials) or $99/mo (Professional) |
| Church with 1,000 contacts | ~$51-66/mo (500-name base + add-ons) | $99/mo (Professional, 1,000 contacts) |
One key difference: Raklet’s paid plans include email marketing, event management, fundraising, and the member portal with no add-on pricing required for those features. ChurchTrac bundles more at the base level for smaller churches but stacks add-ons for accounting and messaging once a church needs them.
For churches that need accounting alongside giving tools, see our review of Donarius vs Raklet for another church-focused option in a similar price range.
Company Health: Who Is Behind Each Platform?
ChurchTrac is a bootstrapped family business based in Jacksonville, Florida. Founder Byron Tedder began building the software in 2002 at the request of his pastor. The company was formally incorporated in Florida in 2012 and now serves over 13,000 churches. The team is small: third-party aggregators (Tracxn, Craft.co, ZoomInfo) place headcount at 3 to 9 employees. Florida state filings list Byron Tedder as President alongside three other Tedder family members as officers. ChurchTrac has raised no outside funding and has no private equity involvement. You can verify this on ChurchTrac’s Crunchbase profile, which shows zero funding rounds.
The product cadence is healthy: ChurchTrac ships meaningful updates on a quarterly basis. The most recent release (April 2026) was the dedicated ChurchTrac Worship App for iOS and Android, plus a redesigned scheduling and service planning interface. Prior to that: a native Church Connect app with push notifications (July 2025) and accounting enhancements (December 2025). The 23-year track record is a genuine strength.
The trade-off is a vendor-concentration consideration. A sole-founder micro-business with no institutional backing means the product’s roadmap, pricing, and support quality depend on one individual and a small family team. For a church making a 5- to 10-year software commitment, that is a fair factor to weigh. It does not mean ChurchTrac is risky today, but it means there is no backstop if circumstances change.
Raklet was founded in 2013, backed by Techstars and Microsoft Ventures (2016), and is privately held with no PE involvement. It serves customers in 50+ countries. Its independence from private equity means no acquisition-driven pricing changes or support restructuring.
For context on another church management option in a similar category, see our Church Metrics vs Raklet comparison.
What ChurchTrac Users Say
ChurchTrac holds a 4.8/5 rating across 863 reviews on Capterra, with customer service consistently rated 4.9/5. Users describe the support team as responsive, patient, and reachable within one business day including weekends. For a small church with no dedicated IT staff, that responsiveness is genuinely valuable.
The most common criticisms from ChurchTrac reviews on Capterra cluster into four themes:
- Reporting is weak. The most frequently cited complaint across 2024-2026 reviews. Reports are generic and non-customizable. Income statements do not consolidate costs to parent categories, and there are no user-generated report templates. Most treasurers export raw data to Excel as a workaround.
- No native mobile app for administrators. ChurchTrac does not have an app administrators download from the App Store. The Church Connect portal is a browser-based experience. Multiple reviewers in 2025-2026 describe it as “like pulling up a web browser” rather than using a purpose-built app.
- Add-on price stacking creates billing surprises. Several reviewers were unclear that accounting ($15/mo) and messaging ($7/mo plus overages) were separate costs at signup. One administrator who gave 5 stars still flagged that she believed these costs were included in her subscription and discovered otherwise after subscribing.
- No phone support. ChurchTrac operates on ticket and email support only. One reviewer summarized the concern after being unable to reach support during a critical moment: “What happens when we really need you?”
Switching Away from ChurchTrac: What You Need to Know
ChurchTrac has no public API. That means there is no automated path for an external tool to connect to ChurchTrac and pull data. Migrating to a different platform requires manually building a custom report inside ChurchTrac, adding each field one at a time, and downloading the result as a CSV. Financial transaction history, attendance records, and group membership data have limited or undocumented bulk export paths.
The friction is real: three competing church management platforms (Breeze, Undershepherd, and ChMeetings) have each published dedicated ChurchTrac migration guides. That signals a recurring pattern of churches wanting to switch but finding the export process non-trivial.
Switching to Raklet from ChurchTrac: Raklet supports CSV import for contact and membership data. The REST API (available on Premium plan) allows organizations with technical resources to automate data transfers or integrate Raklet with existing accounting or email tools. For most small churches, the import is a manual CSV process similar to what ChurchTrac requires on the way out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ChurchTrac free?
ChurchTrac does not have a permanent free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, the base plan starts at $9/month. Raklet does offer a permanent free plan for up to 100 contacts with no credit card required and no expiration date.
What does ChurchTrac actually cost per month?
The base plan starts at $9/month for churches with up to 75 people in the database. Most churches using ChurchTrac for giving, accounting, and messaging pay more: accounting adds $15/month and messaging adds $7/month (plus automatic overages). The effective minimum for a fully functional church is around $31/month. Annual billing saves 10%, and a 20% first-purchase discount is available during the trial period.
Does ChurchTrac have a mobile app for administrators?
No. ChurchTrac does not have a native app that administrators download from the App Store or Google Play. The Church Connect portal is a mobile-responsive web experience. Multiple reviewers describe it as navigating a mobile browser rather than a dedicated app. Raklet includes native iOS and Android apps on all plans, including the free tier.
Can I switch from ChurchTrac to Raklet?
Yes, but migration requires manual work on the ChurchTrac side. Because ChurchTrac has no API, data export means building a custom report field by field and downloading a CSV. Once you have your data as a CSV, Raklet supports import of contact and membership records. Churches with complex financial histories may need additional time for the transition.
Is Raklet good for churches?
Raklet works well for congregations that prioritize modern tooling, flexible contact scaling, mobile administration, and open integrations. It handles membership management, event registration, fundraising, email marketing, and a private community portal. It does not include built-in church fund accounting or worship planning, which are ChurchTrac strengths. Churches that need those modules specifically should factor that gap into their evaluation.
Which Platform Is Right for Your Church?
If your congregation has under 150 members, runs primarily in the US, needs church-specific fund accounting, and is working with a tight budget, ChurchTrac delivers strong value for $9-31/month. The 4.8/5 customer support rating is earned and consistent across hundreds of reviews. The reporting limitations and browser-only experience are real but manageable for a small team that is comfortable in spreadsheets.
If your church is growing, if administrators need a mobile app to manage the database on the go, or if you anticipate integrating your church management data with other tools, Raklet is the stronger long-term foundation. The permanent free plan makes it possible to test the platform before committing, and the contact-based pricing model means you scale without mandatory tier jumps.
To explore whether Raklet fits your congregation, visit Raklet’s church management platform or create a free account with no credit card required.
