Cost of Church Seating: How to Budget for Your Purchase

Budgeting is not a task many of us enjoy, but it’s an essential step for making a big purchase. Whether you are replacing existing seating, adding rows of metal chairs for your current church, or furnishing an entirely new space, this will be a major investment for your congregation. You may be feeling overwhelmed by the cost. Here are some tips on how to set a budget for church chairs. Hopefully, this information will make the process less stressful for you and your church leadership team!

Determine How Many Chairs You Need

How much you’ll spend depends on how many chairs you need to buy. If you’re adding rows of worship seating to an existing space, then you should already have a good idea of how many chairs you need to purchase. If you are moving into a new building, then you need to calculate the seating capacity of your church.

It’s important to distinguish between maximum seating capacity and a comfortable seating capacity. There are building codes that determine how many people you can safely fit inside a space, but this doesn’t take into account comfort and layout. Your members will not appreciate being squeezed next to their neighbors! You can ask your builder for guidance in this matter, but for your convenience, we have written a guide to calculating seating capacity for your church.

Know How Much Church Chairs Cost

Church chairs cost $30-$50 per seat. So if your sanctuary holds 200 people, you will pay approximately $6,000-$10,000 for your church chairs.

If you are looking to get a rough estimate of how much your purchase is going to cost, take your seating capacity and multiply by the lower range price. This is what you should expect to pay at an approximate minimum. To determine what your maximum cost will be, simply multiply your sanctuary’s seating capacity by the upper range of the average chair price.

Keep in mind that there are shipping costs in addition to the sale price, and these vary by supplier. Be sure to take this into consideration when budgeting for your purchase. The actual price of church seating varies by manufacturer and model. Chair size may also factor into the cost.

Decide What Amount You Can Reasonably Spend

Determine the maximum amount of money you can spend, and commit to staying within that price. This will vary for each congregation. Many factors come into play: the size of your congregation, average weekly giving, and more. You also need to take into account your other expenditures, such as mortgage payment or rent, utilities, events, and so on.

Of course, any good church chair manufacturer will provide financing options so you can choose a payment plan that’s right for your congregation. If you’re still not sure whether you can afford the purchase, consider raising additional money from your congregation. You can learn more about our financing options here.

Balance Quality and Cost

Sanctuary chairs are a big investment. With this in mind, it can be tempting to look for cheaper options. What those cheap manufacturers don’t want you to know is that their chairs are going to cost you more money in the long run. The prices are so low because the products are so poorly made. You will need to replace your chairs at a faster rate because they will wear out quickly. The worst part is that your congregation won’t even be able to enjoy the chairs, since the inferior materials and poor workmanship will make for an uncomfortable seating experience.

Although you may end up paying more for a high-quality church chair, it is well worth the investment.

Explore Your Options

You likely do this for every other purchase, so why not do this for your church furniture purchase? Visit multiple sites to browse their selection of chairs, and get an idea for the average price for a church chair. This will give you a rough estimate of the cost. You will also get an idea of the selection of styles available, and you can begin to consider which style best suits your church’s needs. There are many different options out there, such as stackable or folding chairs, lightweight chairs, and pew chairs.

At ChurchPlaza, we have a wide selection of church chairs. Unlike other manufacturers who offer varying levels of quality based on price, every chair we offer is a high-quality chair. This is our pledge to you. We are dedicated to quality, value, and trust. Request a free sample chair today to see why we’re America’s leading church chair supplier!