A practical toolkit for the work your church carries every week. Clear launch pricing, room to grow, and sermon preparation that stays free.
Choose monthly payments, or save two months with yearly billing.
Use the tools in real ministry and help shape what comes next.
Paid subscriptions have not started.
For your first 12 months.
Then $49/month.
One church subscription covers ShepCare, ShepLearn, ShepDev, and ShepServe within the ShepTools platform. ShepWord stays free.
Save $78 in the introductory year and $98/year at the standard rate compared with 12 monthly payments.
$468 for the first 12 months; $588 over a standard year. Billed monthly when subscriptions launch.
A focused place to study Scripture, develop a manuscript, and organize your preaching.
Always free. No subscription required.
One platform, built around the work of the church.
People & pastoral care
Your courses & training
Projects & approvals
Sermon preparation · always free
Services & volunteersWe settled on a $49 monthly suite price by balancing what churches need, what separate subscriptions can add up to, and the ongoing work required to maintain the tools responsibly. Churches can also commit to a year for $490: 12 months of access for the price of 10.
Smaller and growing churches still need good systems. A single suite price gives the church a clear number to budget, instead of a separate subscription decision for every workflow.
Early adopters can choose $39/month for their first 12 months or $390 paid upfront for their first year. After that, the suite is $49/month or $490/year. Both yearly prices include the same two-month discount compared with 12 payments at the matching monthly rate.
Hosting, storage, security, development, maintenance, integrations, and support continue after a feature launches. The subscription is intended to support that ongoing work while keeping the ministry purpose in view. The yearly discount recognizes a church’s commitment and makes that support easier to plan.
ShepWord has a separate commitment: pastors and preachers should be able to prepare the Word without another software subscription. It remains free within the ShepTools platform, while a church subscription supports the other four ministry tools. We chose a clear suite price rather than claiming to be the cheapest option for every church.
ShepTools began with the everyday work of ministry: caring for people, training volunteers, keeping projects organized, preparing to preach, and getting a team ready for Sunday.
I wanted tools that fit that work and made it easier to carry. As they took shape, I realized other churches were facing the same challenges, often with limited time, limited staff, and several systems to manage.
Making these tools available to other churches grew out of that need. The purpose behind the price is the same as the purpose behind the software: help the people doing ministry spend more of their time actually doing it.
Read the full story →Explore one representative paid stack for a church with 50–250 attendees. These are planning examples using published vendor rates—not a claim that every church needs every subscription.
USD · rates checked October 25, 2026 · sources and method belowStandard monthly vendor rates after introductory offers. ShepTools is compared at its standard $49/month rate.
Example separate stack · 100 attendees
$334.45 /month$4,013.40 annualized
Annualized cost difference
$3,425.40Example separate stack minus the standard suite price.
$49/month for the standard suite
$588 over 12 months
The early-adopter offer is $39/month for the first 12 months. The comparison uses $49 to show the ongoing budget difference.
Your costs depend on the tools and plans your church actually needs.
Example inputs: 30 scheduled volunteers, 60 group members, 100 named check-ins on the busiest day, and 5 people using paid project tools. Attendance alone does not determine vendor pricing.
| Ministry work | Example tool and plan | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| People & follow-up | Planning Center PeopleFree membership database | $0.00 |
| Groups | Planning Center GroupsUp to 75 group members | $15.00 |
| Service planning | Planning Center ServicesUp to 50 team members | $32.00 |
| Music charts | Planning Center Music StandAdd-on for the selected Services package | $5.00 |
| Named attendance | Planning Center Check-InsUp to 200 daily check-ins | $69.00 |
| Training | Ministry Grid$97 billed monthly | $97.00 |
| Projects & work | Asana Starter5 paid seats | $67.45 |
| Sermon preparation | Sermonary$49/month recurring rate after introductory offer | $49.00 |
| Example separate stack | $334.45 | |
Asana is sold in seat blocks. This example uses 5 paid seats.
| Attendance | Scheduled volunteers | Paid work seats | Separate tools /mo. | Annualized difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 15 | 3 | $253.47 | $2,453.64 |
| 100 | 30 | 5 | $334.45 | $3,425.40 |
| 150 | 45 | 5 | $351.45 | $3,629.40 |
| 200 | 60 | 10 | $460.90 | $4,942.80 |
| 250 | 75 | 10 | $506.90 | $5,494.80 |
Default scenarios use scheduled volunteers equal to 30% of attendance, group membership equal to 60%, named check-ins equal to attendance, and 3, 5, or 10 project users. Your selected row reflects any custom inputs above. Prices are estimates, before tax.
Planning Center People is already free, and it is counted at $0 here. Free project plans, spreadsheets, basic headcounts, and discounts can lower a church’s spending. A church needing only a database may have no software-cost reason to switch.
Ministry Grid includes a publisher’s training library; ShepLearn supports your own courses. Check-Ins includes child-security and label-printing features beyond this attendance comparison. Asana Advanced adds approvals and proofing. These tools differ in features, maturity, and support; evaluate your church’s requirements during beta.
Totals exclude payment-processing fees, taxes, hardware, music licenses, AI-provider charges, extra storage and other add-ons. Giving providers remain separate. Recurring rates are shown after introductory offers; annualized totals are run-rates, not first-year invoices. Yearly mode shows monthly equivalents and includes the standard $490/year ShepTools option. Ministry Grid, Asana, Sermonary, and ShepTools require upfront annual payments in that mode; Planning Center remains monthly. The introductory $390 suite year is shown in the pricing card, while the comparison uses the ongoing $490 yearly rate.
The model selects a Planning Center tier for each input, adds the chosen project seats, and includes one training and one sermon-preparation subscription. Monthly comparisons use monthly rates; annual equivalents spread annual charges across 12 months.
Checked October 25, 2026. Vendor prices and eligibility can change. Links go to each provider’s own information; there is no affiliation or endorsement.
No. Approved churches can use all five tools at no cost during the closed beta. The subscription launch date, eligibility for the early-adopter offer, billing terms, and any usage limits will be communicated before paid plans begin.
Early adopters can choose $39/month for the first 12 paid months or $390 upfront for their first year. After that, the standard prices are $49/month or $490/year. The introductory offer lasts for one year with either billing choice.
Yes. The planned yearly option is $390 for an early adopter’s first year, then $490/year at the standard rate. Each annual payment covers 12 months of access for the price of 10 monthly payments. That saves $78 in the introductory year or $98 at the standard rate, compared with 12 monthly payments at the matching rate. Annual billing is paid upfront when subscriptions launch; beta is still free.
Yes. ShepWord remains available from the same ShepTools account and is free without a paid church subscription.
You can start with the workflows that help your church most. The published launch model is one suite subscription; separate paid-app prices have not been announced. ShepWord remains free without a paid church subscription.
The calculator illustrates one paid stack using your inputs. It compares recurring subscription costs, not feature parity or guaranteed savings. Free plans, negotiated rates, fewer paid seats, and existing subscriptions can make your actual costs lower.
The tools live within one ShepTools platform, but records are not automatically shared everywhere. Supported integrations connect specific workflows; confirm the connections your church needs before migrating.
Accessibility is part of the purpose behind ShepTools. The current beta and ShepWord are free. As paid plans approach, churches will have time to understand the terms and ask about their circumstances before making a commitment.
Explore the tools, try a small pilot, and see what fits your church.