Your church needs a website but has no budget for one. Maybe you’re a new church plant meeting in a living room. Maybe your church has been around for decades but never prioritized an online presence. Maybe the budget committee said no. Whatever the reason, you need to get online for free — and you need it to actually look respectable.
Good news: you can build a functional, decent-looking church website for $0 in 2026. The trade-offs are real — limited customization, platform branding, no custom domain — but for churches that need something online now, free works. This guide ranks your free options, walks through the best one step by step, and helps you decide when it’s time to upgrade.
In This Guide
Free Church Website Options, Ranked
#1: Tithe.ly Sites (Free Tier) — Best Overall
Tithe.ly offers a genuinely free website tier designed specifically for churches. This is our top recommendation because it’s the only free option that includes church-specific features — online giving, sermon hosting, and event management — at no cost.
What you get for free:
- Mobile-responsive church website
- Church-specific templates
- Online giving integration (Tithe.ly Giving)
- Basic sermon management
- Event listing
- Contact forms
Trade-offs: Tithe.ly branding on your site, limited template selection, basic customization options, no custom domain (your URL will include “tithely” in it).
Why it’s #1: No other free platform gives you online giving built in. For a church, accepting donations online is a critical feature — and Tithe.ly includes it at no cost. The giving tools alone justify choosing Tithe.ly over other free options.
#2: Wix (Free Plan) — Best Design Flexibility
Wix offers a free plan with access to their full template library and drag-and-drop editor. The design capabilities on the free tier are impressive — you have significant creative freedom to build the site you envision.
What you get for free:
- 500MB storage
- Access to all templates and the drag-and-drop editor
- Wix Events app for event management
- Contact forms and basic blog
- Mobile optimization
Trade-offs: Wix ads displayed on your site, no custom domain (username.wixsite.com/church), limited bandwidth (1GB), no online giving without third-party integration.
Why it’s #2: Best design flexibility of any free option. If visual quality is your priority and you don’t need built-in giving, Wix’s free tier produces better-looking sites than any other free platform. The ads are the dealbreaker for many churches.
#3: WordPress.com (Free Plan) — Most Scalable
WordPress.com (not self-hosted WordPress.org) offers a free plan with a basic website builder. It’s more limited than Wix or Tithe.ly for design, but it’s the most scalable — if you eventually upgrade to WordPress.com’s paid plans or migrate to self-hosted WordPress, your content comes with you.
What you get for free:
- 1GB storage
- Basic themes and customization
- Blog functionality
- Basic pages and navigation
Trade-offs: WordPress.com ads on your site, no custom domain, extremely limited theme selection on free tier, no plugins (which means no church-specific features), basic editor.
Why it’s #3: The strongest upgrade path. WordPress powers 40%+ of the web, so if your church grows into a paid plan, you’re on the world’s most supported platform. But the free tier is quite limited compared to Tithe.ly and Wix.
#4: Google Sites — Simplest Option
Google Sites is completely free with any Google account. It’s the most limited option on this list but also the simplest to use. If your church just needs service times, an address, and a contact page online — and that’s truly all — Google Sites gets it done in under an hour.
What you get for free:
- Unlimited pages
- Google Drive integration (embed docs, maps, videos)
- Mobile-responsive design
- Custom domain with Google Workspace subscription (otherwise sites.google.com URL)
Trade-offs: Very limited design options, no blog, no events, no forms (use embedded Google Forms), looks like a Google product — not a professional church website.
Why it’s #4: The lowest effort option. If the alternative is no website at all, Google Sites is better than nothing. But visitors will immediately see that it’s a Google Sites page, which can feel low-effort for a church that wants to make a good impression.
Step-by-Step: Building a Free Church Website with Tithe.ly
Since Tithe.ly is our top free recommendation, here’s a quick walkthrough:
- Create a Tithe.ly account at tithe.ly. Sign up as a church/organization.
- Select the free website tier during setup.
- Choose a template that fits your church’s style. Don’t overthink this — you can customize colors and content.
- Add your essential information:
- Church name and logo
- Service times and address
- A welcoming homepage message
- Pastor’s name and photo
- Contact information
- Set up online giving through the Tithe.ly giving integration.
- Add your first sermon (audio or video link).
- Add 2-3 upcoming events.
- Publish your site and share the URL with your congregation.
The whole process takes 2-4 hours. You don’t need every page perfect on day one — get the essentials live and improve over time. For a broader guide, see how to build a church website.
The Real Trade-Offs of Free
Free websites work, but they come with limitations that matter for churches:
No Custom Domain
Your URL will be something like yourchurch.tithe.ly or username.wixsite.com/church — not yourchurch.com. This affects how professional your church appears, makes the URL harder to remember, means you can’t have email at your domain (info@yourchurch.com), and limits your SEO potential. For domain name advice, see our tips guide.
Platform Branding
Free plans display the platform’s branding (ads on Wix, “Powered by” badges on others). This signals to visitors that the church didn’t invest in its web presence. For a church trying to make a strong first impression, this undermines credibility.
Limited Features
Free plans restrict storage, bandwidth, customization options, and features. You may not be able to host sermon audio files, display enough photos, or create all the pages you need. As your church grows, these limitations become painful.
When to Upgrade from Free
Free is a starting point, not a destination. Consider upgrading when:
- You’re ready for a custom domain. This is usually the first trigger — yourchurch.com looks dramatically more professional than a platform subdomain.
- You’re running out of storage. Sermon audio and event photos consume space quickly.
- You need more design control. Your free template’s limitations are frustrating your ability to represent your church well.
- You want to remove platform branding. Ads or “Powered by” badges undermine your church’s presentation.
- Your church has a regular operating budget. If you can afford $16-50/month, the upgrade is worth it for any church with a consistent congregation.
For a full cost breakdown of paid options, see our church website cost guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a free church website good enough?
It depends on your situation. For a church plant, a temporary community outreach page, or a church that truly has zero budget, a free website is vastly better than no website. But if your church has any regular operating budget, spending $16-50/month on a proper platform produces a significantly better visitor experience. Free is good for getting started; paid is good for growing.
Can I accept donations on a free church website?
Yes, through Tithe.ly’s free tier (giving is included) or by linking to a standalone giving page from services like Tithe.ly Giving, PayPal, or Cash App. You don’t need a paid website to accept online donations — you just need a giving tool and a link to it. See our online giving guide for all options.
Can I switch from a free plan to a paid plan later?
Yes. Tithe.ly, Wix, and WordPress.com all offer seamless upgrades from free to paid plans without losing your content. If you switch platforms entirely (say, from Wix free to Squarespace), you’ll need to rebuild your site — but your content (text and images) can be manually transferred.
How long does it take to build a free church website?
A basic church website with service times, a welcome message, contact information, and a giving link can be built in 2-4 hours. A more complete site with multiple pages, photos, sermon links, and event listings takes 8-16 hours spread over a few days. Don’t wait for perfection — publish the basics and improve over time.
What’s the absolute minimum a free church website needs?
Five things: (1) Church name and a welcoming sentence, (2) Service times, (3) Physical address with a map, (4) Contact information (phone and/or email), and (5) A link to give online. Everything else is valuable but not essential for day one. Get these five things online, then build from there. For the complete list, see our essential pages guide.
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