How to lower your church's online giving fees

Every online gift your church receives carries two separate costs, and they're easy to confuse. Understanding the difference is the first step to lowering them.

The two fees on every online gift

1. Payment processing fees go to the card networks and the processor (for example, Stripe charges roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). These exist on every platform — no church software can make them disappear.
2. Platform fees are what your church-management software charges on top of processing. This is where platforms differ widely. Some bundle giving into a flat monthly price; others add a percentage on top of processing.

When you compare providers, separate these two numbers. A "low monthly price" can still cost you more if the platform adds a high per-gift percentage.

Practical ways to keep more of each gift

• Encourage ACH (bank) gifts for recurring donors. Bank transfers cost a fraction of card fees. Moving your largest recurring gifts to ACH is often the single biggest saving.
• Offer fee-cover as an option, not a default. Many donors happily add a small amount to cover fees when asked — but make it opt-in and clearly worded.
• Consolidate tools. Paying for a separate giving tool, a separate text-to-give add-on, and a separate ChMS adds up. An all-in-one platform usually lowers your total cost even if the headline fee looks similar.
• Watch for "extra module" pricing. Background checks, QuickBooks sync, and text-to-give are sometimes sold as paid add-ons. Add those to your real monthly cost before comparing.

How GraceBase approaches it

GraceBase charges a 2.5% platform fee on donations, plus standard Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30). Pastoral care, workflows, QuickBooks sync, and forms are included in the plans rather than billed as add-ons. The goal is simple: a fee schedule you can actually predict, so more of every gift reaches ministry.