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Planning Center Logo

An all-in-one church management software for every ministry.

Last updated: February 2025

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Table of Contents

Planning Center - 2025 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

What is Planning Center?

Planning Center is an all-in-one church management system made to helped you organize information, coordinate events, communicate with your team, and connect with your congregation.

As a suite of different products on a unified platform, you can use different tools for a variety of ministry needs while keeping your team and congregation informed about what's happening around the church.

Services provides an effortless way to schedule volunteers, Registrations simplifies the event signup process, and People offers automations to follow up with visitors. You can use Check-Is to quickly and securely check in students and volunteers, Calendar to plan and post events for church-wide visibility, Giving for easy online donations, Groups for small group organization and messaging, and Publishing for creating and sharing content with your church. Included with any subscription to Planning Center is Church Center, the free mobile app and web experience where your congregation can engage with the life of your church through event signups, online giving, small group chatting, and much more.

No matter what your ministry needs are or the size of your church, Planning Center adapts to your needs and growth, so you can sign up for only what you'll use when you'll use it. Planning Center is easy to use and always updating, so go to planningcenter.com to learn more and get started for free!

Benefits of using Planning Center

- Welcome children to a safe environment using secure check-ins and require background checks for every volunteer with Check-Ins.
- Organize get-togethers, classes, camps, and VBS with an easy signup process through Registrations.
- Keep families engaged, follow up with first-time guests, and send invitations with People's automations.
- Help people stay connected by offering event signups, recorded sermons, and much more on the free mobile app and web experience, Church Center.
- Allow volunteers to set their availability and organize schedules and Plan services months in advance, organize volunteer schedules, and allow volunteers to set their availability through Services.
- Host event request forms, plan events, manage rooms and resources, and get a central view of everything at your church with Calendar.

Starting from

ic-pricetag

No pricing info

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Planning Center's key features

GetApp's analysis of 84 verified user reviews collected between July 2021 and January 2025 identified Planning Center's most critical features and how it performs according to users.

Worship Planning

Reviewers appreciate Planning Center's worship planning capabilities. They find it intuitive to set up services, add teams, and automate scheduling. Users report that the online calendar helps organize times, places, and tasks, while the built-in music database simplifies accessing and modifying songs. They highlight the integration with ProPresenter and the ability to attach files and links. Users feel it enhances communication and reduces printing needs, making worship planning efficient and organized. Of the 38 Planning Center users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Worship Planning, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Volunteer Management

Reviewers indicate Planning Center's volunteer management tools are valuable for scheduling and communication. They appreciate the ability to block out dates, track volunteer history, and manage large groups with ease. Users find the system helpful for sending reminders, checking backgrounds, and monitoring participation. They say it simplifies scheduling musicians, technicians, and other roles, ensuring all services are fully staffed and organized. Of the 23 Planning Center users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Volunteer Management, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Mobile Access

Users report that Planning Center's mobile access is highly convenient for on-the-go management. They appreciate the ability to view schedules, download chord charts, and practice songs via the app. Reviewers find the mobile and iPad apps useful, though some mention occasional bugs and limitations. They say mobile access encourages active participation and keeps church members connected, allowing them to plan and organize from anywhere. Of the 29 Planning Center users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Mobile Access, 93% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Member Communication

Reviewers feel Planning Center's member communication tools are effective for staying in touch with volunteers and congregants. They highlight the integration with MailChimp, built-in emailing, and texting capabilities. Users appreciate the ease of sending mass communications, creating templates, and tracking responses. They mention some limitations with the email system and texting to certain carriers but find the overall communication tools helpful for organizing and coordinating events. Of the 26 Planning Center users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Member Communication, 92% rated this feature as important or highly important.


Member Directory

Reviewers indicate Planning Center's member directory is useful for managing contact information and household data. They appreciate the ability to compile lists, contact members, and update information easily. Users find the search function and self-update capabilities helpful. They mention some challenges with regulating access to information but overall find the directory important for keeping track of members and facilitating communication within the church. Of the 20 Planning Center users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Member Directory, 90% rated this feature as important or highly important.


All Planning Center features

Features rating:

Registration Management
Payment Processing
Forms Management
Event Scheduling
Donation Tracking
For Religious Organizations
Access Controls/Permissions
Online Calendar
Event Management
Contact Management
Donor Management
Reporting/Analytics
For Nonprofits
Small Group Management
Online Giving
Data Import/Export
Child Check-in
Membership Management
Attendance Management
Member Portal
Content Library
Attendance Tracking
Website Management
Pledge Management
Donation Management
Reporting & Statistics
Third-Party Integrations
Document Management
Content Management
Alerts/Notifications
Personalization
Playlist Management
Receipt Management
Recurring Giving
Recurring/Subscription Billing
Activity Tracking
Reminders
Activity Dashboard
Role-Based Permissions
Scheduling
Search/Filter
Configurable Workflow
SMS Messaging
Summary Reports
Template Management
Usage Tracking/Analytics
Visitor Tracking
Contact Database
Document Storage
Communication Management
Collaboration Tools
Drag & Drop
Electronic Payments
Email Management
Email Templates
Customizable Templates
Catalog Management
Event Ticketing
Campaign Planning
Customizable Reports
Customizable Forms
Gift Matching Management
Historical Trend Analysis
Image Library
Media Library
Customizable Fields
Credit Card Processing
Mobile App
Mobile Giving
Multi-Location
API

Planning Center awards

Planning Center alternatives

Planning Center logo
4.7
(1.1K)
visit website

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ic-pricetag

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Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support
Clearstream logo
4.8
(519)
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29

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Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
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One Church logo
4.9
(59)
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58

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Free trial
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Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support
Xledger logo
4.6
(11)
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Starting from

750

Per month

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support

Planning Center pricing

Starting from

ic-pricetag

No pricing info

Pricing details
Subscription
Free trial
Free plan
Pricing range

User opinions about Planning Center price and value

Value for money rating:

Of 112 reviews that provide robust commentary on Planning Center's price and value, 59% mention it in a positive light.

Some reviewers find Planning Center to be cost-effective due to its modular setup, allowing them to pay only for the features they use. They appreciate the flexibility to expand functionality as needed without incurring unnecessary costs. Users think the sliding pricing structure and the option to try apps for free for a month are beneficial, especially for smaller churches. They say the software saves them money compared to previous systems and offers good value for the monthly fees, considering the range of features and excellent customer service.

However, some users report that the cost can add up quickly, especially when adding multiple apps or features. They feel the tiered pricing structure can be expensive for smaller churches or organizations with fluctuating attendance. Some reviewers indicate that the need to purchase additional modules for specific functionalities can be frustrating and costly. They also mention that the lack of a comprehensive free trial version and the high cost of certain features can be a drawback. Overall, while many users find Planning Center to be a valuable investment, others feel the pricing could be more accommodating.

Check .

To see what individual users think of Planning Center's cost and value, check out the review excerpts below.

Its modular setup ensures that we don't pay for features we don't use, but also leaves us with plenty of options should our needs change and we decide to expand our functionality.
Maybe the paid version would offer more at that level, and maybe there are more ways to customize than I have found. But for smaller churches, this seems to be the best bang for your buck without locking you into long term contracts or a major up front fee.
The second problem is that the price can be a little daunting and can start to add up quickly when choosing different apps at their various capacities which can limit some of the churches who might have interest.

Planning Center integrations (32)

Integrations rated by users

We looked through 1,143 user reviews, to identify which products are mentioned as Planning Center integrations, and what is the users perception.

ProPresenter logo
ProPresenter

Integration rating: 4.6 (11)

It isn't a 100% necessary integration but makes our setup in ProPresenter a lot easier. It works well but occasionally does kick us out or get glitchy, not sure whether this is on ProPresenter or Planning Center's end.

This is one of the main reasons we have Planning Center so that we can integrate with ProPresenter and have much more effective services!

I tried integrating these products, but I had trouble using it effectively. Propresenter wasn’t easy to use with this.

This makes it extremely easy to plan a service in Planning Center and import that plan into ProPresenter.

Being able to just pull in a plan is vital for setting up our worship services.

CP

Ceci Pomeroy

Creative Director

1/5
Clearstream logo
Clearstream

Integration rating: 5.0 (5)

This texting service works well with planning center. Being able to communicate on multiple fronts is crucial.

We use Clearstream to communicate and interact with our new families and first time guests.

Clearstream helps is communicate with our congregation quickly and follow up with guests.

TB

Trae Bremer

Family Ministry Pastor

1/3
Checkr logo
Checkr

Integration rating: 5.0 (2)

Protecting our children, young people and members is our highest priority! Having the ability to integrate Checkr into Planning Center for seamless background check processing and tracking makes life so much easier!

Knowing that those working with our minors have cleared a BG Check is a must and Checkr is very affordable.

JR

Justin Rice

Church Administrator

1/2
YouTube logo
YouTube

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Having YouTube videos available at the click of a mouse for my worship team to see/listen to for rehearsal purposes.

TL

Tricia Linville

Communications Assistant/Secretary

Stripe logo
Stripe

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Stripe is the payment processor for Planning Center and has been a tremendous tool for us to track recurring giving, online giving, and giving in general.

CK

Crystal Krug

Finance Manager

Notebird logo
Notebird

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Mailchimp logo
Mailchimp

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Tithe.ly logo
Tithe.ly

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Breeze ChMS logo
Breeze ChMS

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Planning Center support options

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Platforms supported

Web
Android
iPhone/iPad

Support options

FAQs/Forum
Email/Help Desk
Phone Support
Knowledge Base

Training options

Webinars
Documentation
Videos

Planning Center reviews

Overall rating

4.7

/5

1.1K

Positive reviews

97

%

Rating breakdown
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend9/10
Rating distribution

5

4

3

2

1

852

251

38

2

0

Pros
We love and enjoy nearly all of the products from them. They are so great to work with and they are always open for feedback and much of the growth and change has come from using its users opinions.
The People Module is the best. I love the ability to update the people/family information on the fly is great.
This is a great tool of scheduling volunteers and laying our the plan details. This is super helpful if we have a wide variety of things going on and its easy to list them all out here.
Cons
Additionally, the inability to get support personnel on the phone is a pain at times. Having to run support strictly through email can be a huge barrier and waste of time.
The user experience isn't conducive to those who have no tech experience and can be very confusing.
The one negative I have run into is it is not as customizable as other software I have used.

Planning Center FAQs

Q. What type of pricing plans does Planning Center offer?

Planning Center has the following pricing plans:
Pricing model: Free, Subscription
Free Trial: Available | (No Credit Card required)


Q. Who are the typical users of Planning Center?

Planning Center has the following typical customers:
Large Enterprises, Mid Size Business, Non Profit, Small Business


Q. What languages does Planning Center support?

Planning Center supports the following languages:
English


Q. Does Planning Center support mobile devices?

Planning Center supports the following devices:
Android, iPad, iPhone


Q. Does Planning Center offer an API?

Yes, Planning Center has an API available for use.


Q. What other apps does Planning Center integrate with?

Planning Center integrates with the following applications:
MediaShout, Checkr, ProPresenter, Clearstream, Kindrid, Proclaim by Logos, Stripe, Pushpay, PastorsLine, Text In Church, Mailchimp, Aware3, Subsplash


Q. What level of support does Planning Center offer?

Planning Center offers the following support options:
FAQs/Forum, Email/Help Desk, Phone Support, Knowledge Base

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