Best Free Church Accounting Software in 2026

Finding accounting software for your church shouldn't require a seminary degree in finance. But with dozens of options claiming to be "free," it's hard to know what you're actually getting. Some are truly free. Some are free trials. Some are free until you need the one feature that actually matters.

We reviewed the most popular church accounting software options in 2026 and evaluated them on what matters most: real fund accounting, donation tracking, ease of use, and what "free" actually means.

What Churches Need From Accounting Software

Before comparing options, let's establish what church accounting actually requires:

• Fund accounting — Not just income and expenses, but separate funds for tithes, offerings, building campaigns, missions, and benevolence with restricted fund tracking
• Donation tracking — Recording gifts by donor with tax receipt generation and year-end giving statements
• Nonprofit financial statements — Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities, and Statement of Functional Expenses (not Profit & Loss)
• Form 990 support — Even though most churches are exempt, many file voluntarily or operate related 501(c)(3) entities that must file
• Multi-fund reporting — The ability to see financial statements filtered by individual fund

Most "free" accounting software fails on the first requirement. QuickBooks, Wave, and FreshBooks are built for businesses — they don't understand funds, restricted gifts, or nonprofit reporting.

The Comparison

1. Alignmint — Best Overall Free Option

Free tier: Starter plan — completely free for churches up to $100K in annual giving

What's included for free:

• True double-entry fund accounting with 79 pre-configured accounts
• 9 donation types with automatic tax receipts
• Year-end giving statements
• Donor management CRM
• Volunteer tracking
• Unlimited users
• Form 990 worksheet builder
• Minty AI assistant

What's not free: Marketing tools (email, SMS, direct mail), advanced reporting, and MintBucks require the Pro plan ($499/mo on a 5-year plan).

Verdict: The most complete free tier of any church accounting software. Real fund accounting, real donation tracking, and real nonprofit reporting — not a stripped-down trial. The $100K giving threshold covers the vast majority of small and mid-size churches.

2. ChurchTrac — Free With Limitations

Free tier: Free plan for churches under 75 members

What's included for free:

• Member directory
• Basic contribution tracking
• Simple financial tracking (single-entry)
• Attendance tracking

What's not free: Fund accounting (single-entry only even on paid plans), advanced reporting, online giving, volunteer management, and most features require paid plans ($7-30/mo).

Verdict: Good for very small churches that only need basic member and contribution tracking. But ChurchTrac uses single-entry bookkeeping — not real fund accounting. If your church has a building fund, missions fund, or any restricted gifts, you'll outgrow it quickly.

3. Planning Center — Free for Small Teams

Free tier: Free for churches under a certain size (varies by module)

What's included for free:

• Basic people management
• Service planning
• Basic giving (limited)

What's not free: Planning Center doesn't include accounting at all. It's a church management platform focused on worship planning, groups, and giving — but you still need separate accounting software. Paid plans range from $0-299/mo depending on modules.

Verdict: Not an accounting solution. Planning Center is excellent for worship planning and service coordination, but it doesn't replace your need for fund accounting software. You'd need to pair it with QuickBooks or another accounting tool.

4. Aplos — No Free Tier

Free tier: None. 15-day free trial only.

Pricing: Starts at $59/mo for accounting, $39/mo for giving. Combined plans start around $99/mo.

What's included: True fund accounting, donation management, online giving, and nonprofit reporting. Aplos is a solid church accounting platform.

Verdict: Good software, but no free option. For small churches on tight budgets, the $99+/mo cost is significant. Aplos is better suited for mid-size to large churches that can justify the expense.

5. Realm (ACS Technologies) — No Free Tier

Free tier: None. Demo only.

Pricing: Custom pricing, typically $100-300+/mo depending on church size.

What's included: Church management, accounting, giving, groups, and communication tools. Comprehensive but expensive.

Verdict: Enterprise-level church software with enterprise-level pricing. Not suitable for small churches or those looking for free options.

6. Wave — Free But Not for Churches

Free tier: Completely free accounting software

What's included for free: Invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting, receipt scanning, unlimited users.

What's missing: No fund accounting. No donation tracking. No nonprofit reporting. No year-end giving statements. No Form 990 support.

Verdict: Wave is genuinely free and works well for small businesses. But it's not designed for churches or nonprofits. You can't track restricted funds, generate giving statements, or produce nonprofit financial reports. Using Wave for church accounting creates more work than it saves.

7. QuickBooks — Not Free, Not for Churches

Free tier: None. 30-day trial only.

Pricing: $30-200/mo depending on plan.

What's missing: No fund accounting (classes are a workaround, not a solution). No donation tracking. No nonprofit reporting. No giving statements.

Verdict: The most common accounting software in the world — and one of the worst choices for churches. QuickBooks is built for businesses. Its "classes" feature is often used as a fund accounting workaround, but it can't enforce restricted fund rules, maintain separate fund balances, or generate fund-level financial statements.

The Bottom Line

Software	Free Tier	Fund Accounting	Donation Tracking	Nonprofit Reports
Alignmint	Free up to $100K	Double-entry	9 types + receipts	Yes
ChurchTrac	Free < 75 members	Single-entry	Basic	No
Planning Center	Limited free	None	Basic giving	No
Aplos	No (trial only)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Realm	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wave	Yes (all features)	No	No	No
QuickBooks	No (trial only)	No (classes only)	No	No

For small and mid-size churches, Alignmint offers the most complete free accounting solution available in 2026. Real fund accounting, real donation tracking, and real nonprofit reporting — without paying a dime until your church exceeds $100K in annual giving.

Ready to try it? Schedule Your Free Setup — no credit card required.

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Related:

• Church Accounting Software: Features for Modern Ministries — What churches need from accounting software
• Church Fund Accounting: Why QuickBooks Isn't Enough — Why QuickBooks fails churches
• Best Free Nonprofit Software in 2026 — Free software options for all nonprofits
• Alignmint vs ChurchTrac — Full feature comparison for churches