Software profile
ChurchCRM
A free, open-source church management system for self-hosted people records, groups, attendance, giving and communications.
30-second answer
What to know before you open the full record
- What it is
- A free, open-source church management system for self-hosted people records, groups, attendance, giving and communications.
- Contexts worth testing
- Churches with capable technical volunteers or paid hosting support, Teams prioritising self-hosting and no software licence fee
- Relevant UK checks
- Available more broadly
- Shortlist when
- Churches with reliable technical stewardship and a clear data-governance plan
- Check first
- No supplier-operated hosted service
- Evidence date
- Sources checked 25 July 2026
This is an evidence-led starting point, not a ranking or hands-on verdict. Supplier sources establish what they publish; your church should test material workflows and resolve the questions below.
Five-minute assessment
Assess the likely fit and trade-offs
The short version
A fit worth testing against your real workflow.
ChurchCRM is a credible option when a church wants open-source control and has the capacity to operate it safely. The key comparison is not ‘free versus paid’; it is whether the church can sustainably run a system holding sensitive people data.
Directory assessment
ChurchCRM can reduce licence cost and keep the system under a church's control. It also makes the church responsible for hosting, updates, access rules, backups and incident response. This is as much a decision about running a technical service as choosing a database.
Decision framing
Shortlist when, then check first
- Shortlist when
- Churches with reliable technical stewardship and a clear data-governance plan
- Test in a real workflow
- Member and family records
- Settle before buying
- No supplier-operated hosted service
Decision evidence
Published details for a shortlist
These details are traced to the source shown. Supplier material establishes what the supplier publishes; it is not hands-on testing.
- Export formats
- Supplier sourceMember CSV export; Database backupSource: ChurchCRM overview · checked 25 July 2026
Best suited to
- Churches with reliable technical stewardship and a clear data-governance plan
- Teams comfortable paying for hosting or volunteer maintenance rather than a subscription
Evidence-backed strengths
- No software licence fee or per-member pricing
- Self-hosting and export options give the church control
Limitations and questions
- No supplier-operated hosted service
- UK GDPR, backup, security and support are the church’s responsibility to establish
What the supplier publishes
- Member and family records
- Groups and teams
- Attendance
- Giving records
- Self-service portal
- Communications
What does the supplier currently publish?
Pricing and trial
ChurchCRM states that its software is free and open source with no licence, subscription or per-member charge. The church remains responsible for hosting, maintenance, security and support costs.
| Tier or starting point | Published price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| ChurchCRM software | Free | MIT-licensed open-source software; no paid tiers stated |
| Hosting | Separate cost | The project says it does not provide a hosted service |
Free trial: No
Can the church operate a self-hosted database responsibly?
Free software, not free operation
ChurchCRM states that the software has no subscription or licence fee and that it can run on shared hosting, a VPS or a church-managed server. It also says the project does not offer its own cloud hosting.
Use the demo to assess people and reporting workflows, then ask the prospective technical owner to document hosting location, backup restoration, permissions, update responsibilities and support escalation. Do not load pastoral or safeguarding-sensitive data until those controls are ready.
What does external feedback add?
What public reviews and peer discussion do — and do not — show
This profile does not use an independent review score. It is based on ChurchCRM’s official feature, licensing and hosting documentation.
- The licence cost is zero, but operations still require time and budget.
- Control is valuable only when backup and security responsibilities are actively owned.
Open-source feature and hosting claims are not independent assessment of a church’s technical or legal readiness.
The questions a shortlist needs to answer
ChurchCRM FAQs
Is ChurchCRM free?
Yes. ChurchCRM states that it is MIT-licensed open-source software with no software licence, subscription or per-member fee.
Does ChurchCRM provide hosting?
No. The project says it does not run a hosted cloud service, so the church must arrange and operate suitable hosting.
Does ChurchCRM support UK Gift Aid?
Ask the supplier to demonstrate the exact records, reports and HMRC workflow the church needs.
Full due diligence
Evidence, operations and source record
Use this full record to test practical details, retain source links and take specific gaps to the supplier.
Published operations and support details
- Integrations
- OpenLP
- Import and export
- Member CSV export, Database backup
- Support
- Documentation, GitHub issues and discussions, Email support contact
Sources reviewed
Sources support only the fields named beneath each link. Supplier material is not independent testing; external review material is included as a limited signal rather than a verdict.
- ChurchCRM overview
Reviewed 25 July 2026 · Supports: Features, Open-source model, Exports, Demo - ChurchCRM FAQ
Reviewed 25 July 2026 · Supports: Free licence, Self-hosting, Support
