Frequently Asked Questions
Common ChurchCRM questions about installation, getting started, and best practices.
Find answers to the most common setup and getting-started questions for ChurchCRM.
Yes. ChurchCRM is 100% free and open-source under the MIT license, with no licensing fees, no subscription tiers, and no per-member pricing. You download and install the software on your own server, and it is yours to use indefinitely without paying anyone. The source code is publicly available on GitHub, where any developer can audit it, fork it, or contribute improvements back to the project. Hosting is the only ongoing cost — a standard shared hosting plan typically runs $0–$10/month depending on your provider. There are no paid add-ons, no premium features behind a paywall, and no vendor who could raise prices or shut down your access. This model is possible because ChurchCRM is maintained by a global community of volunteer developers and church administrators who believe that high-quality tools should be freely available to every congregation, regardless of budget or size.
ChurchCRM does not provide hosting — there is no cloud service or managed server run by the project that you can sign up for. You are responsible for providing a place to run the software. ChurchCRM supports the LAMP stack only (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), so it must run in a Linux environment. That said, you have two practical options if you do not already have a server.
Shared hosting (recommended for most churches): A shared hosting account from any major provider (Hostinger, Bluehost, SiteGround, DreamHost, and many others) runs Linux and gives you everything ChurchCRM needs — PHP, MySQL, and Apache — for roughly $3–$10 per month. Most include Softaculous, which installs ChurchCRM in a few clicks. This is the most common setup and means your ChurchCRM is accessible from any device, anywhere, for your whole congregation.
Local computer using Docker (for testing or a single-user setup): The best way to run ChurchCRM locally on Windows, Mac, or Linux is with Docker — it provides the correct Linux and LAMP environment automatically, with no manual server configuration. Docker Desktop is free to download and the official ChurchCRM Docker image sets everything up in one command. The important limitation is that a local install is only accessible on that one machine — other staff or volunteers cannot log in from their own devices unless you configure network access manually. If you need multiple people to use ChurchCRM, shared hosting is the better path.
If cost is a concern, several hosting providers offer plans under $5/month that comfortably run ChurchCRM for a congregation of any size.
You can try the live ChurchCRM demo environment at any time without creating an account or installing anything. The demo is hosted by Softaculous, which creates a private ChurchCRM instance at a unique URL just for you — your session is isolated from other visitors and expires automatically when done. When the demo first loads it may appear empty — visit Admin Dashboard → Demo Data and click “Import Demo Data” to populate it with 50+ sample families, 175+ people, groups, notes, and contribution records. This makes the evaluation experience much more realistic. The demo is available 24/7, completely free to use, and requires no signup before making any installation decision.
ChurchCRM requires PHP 8.4 or higher, MySQL 8.0 or higher (or a compatible MariaDB version), and Apache web server with mod_rewrite enabled. Additionally, several PHP extensions are needed: php-bcmath, php-curl, php-exif, php-gd, php-gettext, php-intl, php-json, php-mbstring, php-mysqli, php-soap, php-sodium, php-xml, and php-zip. Most standard shared hosting providers include all of these by default, so you typically do not need to configure them manually. The database user must have CREATE, ALTER, SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, EXECUTE, and CREATE VIEW permissions — in cPanel, granting ALL PRIVILEGES covers this. Minimum recommended memory is 256 MB with 512 MB or more preferred. ChurchCRM works on shared hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers running the standard LAMP stack.
The fastest way to install ChurchCRM depends on your hosting environment. If your host supports Softaculous (available in most cPanel-based shared hosting accounts), that is the quickest option — log into cPanel, search for ChurchCRM in Softaculous, click Install, fill in your domain and admin credentials, and the installer handles everything automatically in two to five minutes. If Softaculous is not available, use the manual cPanel method: create a MySQL database, download ChurchCRM from GitHub, upload the files via File Manager, then visit your site URL to run the setup wizard. For VPS or dedicated servers, clone the GitHub repository directly. Full step-by-step instructions with screenshots for all three methods are in the ChurchCRM installation guide.
After completing the ChurchCRM installation wizard, a default administrator account is created automatically. The default username is
admin and the default password is changeme. You should change this password immediately after your first login — go to Admin → Users, select the admin account, and set a strong, unique password before doing anything else. Leaving the default password in place is a significant security risk, especially if your installation is accessible from the internet. If you installed via Softaculous, the username and password you entered during setup are used instead of the defaults, so check what you entered there. If you have forgotten your password, a reset option is available on the login page, or any administrator can reset it via the Users panel.To add a custom logo or letterhead to ChurchCRM reports, upload your image file to the Images directory within your ChurchCRM installation rather than replacing any bundled default files. Once uploaded, go to Admin → System Settings and point the report logo setting to your new file path. This approach ensures that your custom branding survives future upgrades — if you replace bundled files directly, an upgrade will overwrite your changes and you will need to re-apply them each time. Supported formats include PNG and JPEG; a transparent-background PNG works best for professional reports. Keep your logo at a reasonable resolution (typically 300–600px wide) to balance print quality with file size. For custom letterhead in report templates, refer to the documentation for the report template directory locations.
For questions, troubleshooting help, and general discussion about using ChurchCRM, join the Discord server — the community is active and responsive. For confirmed software bugs (something that does not work as documented), open an issue on GitHub Issues with as much detail as possible: your ChurchCRM version, PHP version, hosting environment, and the exact steps to reproduce the problem. For direct email support, contact info@churchcrm.io. Please reserve GitHub Issues for confirmed bugs only — use Discord for general how-to questions and support.
ChurchCRM 7.x is the most significant update in the project’s history. The biggest change is a complete interface redesign — the application moved from AdminLTE/Bootstrap 4 to Tabler/Bootstrap 5, which delivers cleaner layouts, dark mode support, per-user accent colors, and better tablet and desktop performance. Other major changes include: a plugin ecosystem with a community registry for installing approved extensions; OpenStreetMap replacing Google Maps so no API key is required; the kiosk check-in system expanded to all group types (not just Sunday School); and a central Export Hub for data exports. ChurchCRM now ships with 46 community-contributed languages.
No. Maps are now rendered using Leaflet.js with OpenStreetMap tiles, and addresses are geocoded with Nominatim — all free and open services with no API key required. If you are upgrading from an older release, your existing family coordinates are preserved. Maps work out of the box on every new install and upgrade.
Yes. ChurchCRM includes a plugin system with a community plugin registry that lets you install approved plugins directly from the Admin panel without editing files manually. Available plugins include MailChimp list sync, OpenLP presentation integration, Vonage SMS messaging, and more. Each community plugin is reviewed for security and localization compliance before being listed. You can also build your own private plugins — see the Creating Community Plugins guide in the developer wiki.
Yes. Dark mode is available as a per-user setting. Each user can enable it independently from My Settings → Theme without affecting other users on the same installation. The same settings page also lets users choose an accent color and upload a profile avatar. The system-wide default remains light mode; individual users override it for their own session only.
ChurchCRM supports automatic upgrade on boot — when you deploy a newer version, the database migration runs automatically when the application starts. For a manual upgrade: back up your database, replace the application files with the new release package, and visit the site; the upgrade wizard runs automatically if needed. The upgrade page includes clearer pre-flight validation. If you are on 6.x, update to the latest 6.x patch first, then upgrade to 7.x in one step — skipping major versions is not supported. Full instructions are in the Upgrade Guide at docs.churchcrm.io.