Trial and Plan Selection
When you create a church on TimelyChurch, we hand you the keys to everything. Every feature, on every plan, for 30 full days. No credit card required. No "limited trial." This page explains exactly what that means, what happens when the 30 days are up, and how to choose the right plan for your church.
The 30-Day Pro Trial
The moment your church workspace is created (see Sign Up and Create Your Church), TimelyChurch automatically starts you on the Pro plan -- our highest self-serve tier -- as a free trial.
You don't have to opt in. You don't have to enter payment information. You just get full access.
What's included during the trial
Everything on Pro. Concretely:
- Unlimited people, families, classes, events, groups, forms, volunteers, lessons, songs, rooms, kiosks, custom fields, and Q&A sessions.
- 5 GB of storage for photos, documents, and uploads.
- 10,000 emails per month and 500 SMS per month.
- All Growth and Pro modules: Lesson Library, Check-In, Forms, Volunteers, Serving Teams, Announcements, Groups, Website Builder, Live Q&A, Rooms & Facilities, Email Templates, Email Campaigns, Email Automations, Tasks, Giving & Donations, Funds, Giving Statements, Reports & Analytics.
- Pledges, Budgets, full Accounting, Songs & Music, Service Plans, Import/Export, Custom Fields.
- Push Notifications, Custom Branding, Custom Domain, Priority Support, AI Assistant.
In other words: there is nothing locked, nothing dimmed out, no "upgrade to unlock" badges during the trial. You can build out everything before deciding.
How long do I have?
A trial countdown shows in the top of your admin panel and on the Billing & Plans tab in Church Settings. The default is 30 days from the moment your church was created. If your trial is about to expire, we email you reminders at the 7-day, 3-day, and 1-day marks.
Tip: Use the trial seriously. Import your real people, run a real Sunday with check-in, send a real giving statement. The best way to know whether TimelyChurch fits your church is to actually run your church on it for a few weeks.
What Happens When the Trial Ends
If you do not select a paid plan before the trial expires, your church automatically moves to the Starter (Free) plan. Nothing is deleted. Your data is safe.
What changes:
- Features only available on Growth or Pro become read-only or hidden. You can still view existing data, but you can't create new records in those modules.
- Plan limits kick in -- for example, the Starter plan caps you at 100 people, 5 staff seats, 2 classes, and 100 MB of storage. If you're over a limit when the trial ends, existing records remain, but you cannot add new ones until you upgrade or trim back.
- Online giving via Stripe Connect is unavailable on Starter and Growth. If you've already linked Stripe, donations stop processing until you upgrade to Pro.
- AI Assistant turns off (it's available on Growth and Pro, not on the free Starter plan).
You can upgrade at any time -- mid-trial, the day the trial ends, or six months later. Upgrading restores access immediately.
Tip: If you're approaching the end of your trial and need a few extra days to evaluate, contact support. We extend trials for churches actively setting up.
The Three Plans
TimelyChurch has three self-serve plans. All can be paid monthly or yearly, and yearly billing saves you money versus paying month-to-month. (Larger ministries running multiple campuses can also talk to us about our concierge Multi-Campus plans -- see below.)
Starter -- Free
For very small churches just getting started, or as a graceful landing place after the trial ends.
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| Price | $0/mo |
| People | 100 |
| Teachers / Staff | 5 |
| Classes | 2 |
| Groups | 3 |
| Events | 10 |
| Forms | 3 |
| Lessons | 10 |
| Songs | 25 |
| Storage | 100 MB |
| Email/month | 500 |
| SMS/month | 0 |
Modules included: People & Families, Classes, Schedules, Attendance, Events, Calendar, Team Management, Settings, Messaging, Sermons.
Not included: Follow-Ups, Lesson Library, Check-In, Forms, Volunteers, Serving Teams, Announcements, Groups, Website Builder, Live Q&A, Rooms & Facilities, Email Templates/Campaigns/Automations, Tasks, Online Giving, Funds, Giving Statements, Reports & Analytics, Pledges, Budgets, Accounting, Songs & Music, Service Plans, Import/Export, Custom Fields, Push Notifications, Custom Branding, Custom Domain, Priority Support, AI Assistant.
Growth -- $49/month or $488/year
The plan most growing churches land on. Adds the volunteer-coordination, communications, and member-facing tools you'll use every Sunday.
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| Price | $49/mo or $488/yr (save $100 -- about two months free) |
| People | 500 |
| Teachers / Staff | Unlimited |
| Classes | 5 |
| Groups | 10 |
| Events | 50 |
| Forms | 20 |
| Lessons | 50 |
| Songs | 100 |
| Storage | 500 MB |
| Email/month | 2,000 |
| SMS/month | 100 |
| Check-in kiosks | 3 |
Adds on top of Starter: Follow-Ups, Lesson Library, Check-In, Forms, Volunteers, Serving Teams, Announcements, Groups, Website Builder, Live Q&A. The AI Assistant is also included on Growth (with a daily request allowance; Pro raises the allowance).
Still not included: Rooms & Facilities, Email Templates/Campaigns/Automations, Tasks, Online Giving (Stripe Connect), Funds, Giving Statements, Reports & Analytics, Pledges, Budgets, Accounting, Songs & Music, Service Plans, Import/Export, Custom Fields, Push Notifications, Custom Branding, Custom Domain, Priority Support.
Pro -- $129/month founding ($149/month list) or $1,290/year
Everything TimelyChurch can do. Designed for established churches running giving online, doing their own accounting, and using AI to answer member questions.
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| Price | $129/mo founding (first 25 churches, locked for life) -> $149/mo list after, or $1,290/yr (about two months free) |
| People | Unlimited |
| Teachers / Staff | Unlimited |
| Classes | Unlimited |
| Groups | Unlimited |
| Events | Unlimited |
| Forms | Unlimited |
| Lessons | Unlimited |
| Songs | Unlimited |
| Storage | 5 GB |
| Email/month | 10,000 |
| SMS/month | 500 |
Adds on top of Growth: Rooms & Facilities, Email Templates, Email Campaigns, Email Automations, Tasks, Giving & Donations (Stripe Connect), Funds, Giving Statements, Reports & Analytics, Pledges, Budgets, Accounting (full chart of accounts), Songs & Music, Service Plans, Import/Export, Custom Fields, Push Notifications, Custom Branding, Custom Domain, Priority Support, and a higher AI Assistant allowance.
Founding pricing on Pro: The first 25 churches to subscribe to Pro lock in the $129/month founding rate for life -- it never goes up, even after the list price takes over. Once those 25 founding spots are filled, new Pro subscriptions are billed at the $149/month list price. The upgrade screen shows how many founding spots remain. (Yearly Pro billing is $1,290/year -- about two months free versus paying monthly.)
Tip: If your church takes online donations, you need Pro. Online giving (Stripe Connect) and the finance modules (Funds, Statements, Reports, Pledges, Budgets, Accounting) are all Pro features.
Running multiple campuses? TimelyChurch also offers Multi-Campus plans -- Multi-Campus 3 ($199/month) and Multi-Campus 5 ($249/month) -- which include everything in Pro plus the Association HQ surface for overseeing several campuses from one place. These are concierge-onboarded (not self-serve checkout) -- contact us to get set up.
How to Upgrade
You can upgrade at any time -- during the trial, after it ends, or anytime later.
- From the admin sidebar, click Church Settings.
- Click the Billing & Plans tab.
- You'll see your current plan, all available plans side-by-side, and a monthly / yearly toggle.
- Click the plan you want.
- Choose monthly or yearly billing. Yearly bills the full year up front and saves you money versus paying monthly.
- You're redirected to a secure Stripe Checkout page to enter payment details. International churches (UK/EU/AU) may also be asked for a VAT/GST number.
- Confirm payment.
Your new plan activates immediately. Any features that were locked open up the moment payment succeeds.
Downgrades and Cancellations
You can downgrade or cancel from the same Billing & Plans tab (cancellations are handled in the Stripe Billing Portal via Manage Billing). Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period (so you keep what you paid for), and Stripe prorates plan switches automatically. Cancellations move you to the Starter (Free) plan -- your data is preserved, but feature access reduces to Starter limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep using TimelyChurch on the free plan forever? Yes. Starter is genuinely free, with no time limit. It's intentionally limited so it suits very small churches; bigger churches will want to upgrade.
Do I lose anything if I downgrade after upgrading? No data is ever deleted by a plan change. Records that exceed the new plan's limits become read-only -- they're still searchable and exportable, you just can't add new ones until you trim back or upgrade again.
How do the founding Pro spots work? The first 25 churches to subscribe to Pro lock the $129/month founding rate for life. After those 25 spots are claimed, new Pro subscriptions are billed at the $149/month list price. If you're already on the founding rate, it stays at $129/month for as long as you keep your subscription -- it never increases to the list price.
Can I get a refund? Refunds are handled case-by-case -- contact [email protected]. (Note: Stripe does not auto-refund the unused portion of a yearly plan when you cancel; cancel-at-period-end keeps your access until the term is up.)
What payment methods are supported? Credit/debit cards via Stripe. We don't currently accept ACH, PayPal, or invoicing.
Can I switch between monthly and yearly? Yes -- on your Billing & Plans tab. Switching plans or cycles mid-term is prorated by Stripe.
My church is on a tight budget -- any discounts? Yes. Contact support if you are a small church under 50 people, a church plant in your first year, or a non-US church in a region with currency hardship. We work with you.