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Realm vs Planning Center Comparison (2026)

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Realm

Planning Center

Overview

Realm by ACS Technologies is a church management system with an emphasis on online community

Planning Center is an all-in-one church management system made to help you organize information, coordinate events, communicate with your team, and connect with your congregation. Use different tools for your ministry needs while keeping everyone informed about what's happening around the church.

Platforms supported

Web-based
iPhone app
Android app
Windows Phone app

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Customer support

Phone
Online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials

view more detailsview details

Platforms supported

Web-based
iPhone app
Android app
Windows Phone app

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Customer support

Phone
Online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials

view more detailsview details

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

Starting from

No pricing info

Free trial available
Credit cardless trial
Free account
Subscription based

Starting from

No pricing info

Free trial available
Credit cardless trial
Free account
Subscription based

User reviews

4.4

273

152

Value for money

Ease of use

Features

Customer support

78%

would recommend this app

4.7

1.1K

849

249

Value for money

Ease of use

Features

Customer support

87%

would recommend this app

Pros

“I can also use reports to sort out particular types of members, members by age, and so on and I can create labels from the report inside of Realm itself.”

Michelle B.

Office Administrator

“We can create News Posts that allow comments and/or email notifications and send them to all members or separate groups.”

Michelle B.

Office Administrator

“Maintaining a clean database is easy to do with Realm, especially using the "merge profile" feature and the Dashboard that flags any duplicates or unrecognized addresses.”

Janet M.

Ministry Coordinator for Finance and Operations

Pros

“It's primarily designed for churches, although I'm sure other non-profits could utilize it as well. When a user understands the options available, it can be a powerful program in comparison to the monthly cost. When compared with other programs, Planning Center seems to have great value for the cost, with the abilities it includes.”

Paula G.

Admin

“There is even an app for the admin-side of the program, as well as an app for the customer-side (event signup, etc.).”

Paula G.

Admin

“Moving from the each level seems to have a large increase in capacity (i.e. number of attendees allowed) and somewhat high jump in cost.”

Paula G.

Admin

Cons

“Features work differently in Realm as the admin than a regular congregant on connect - it becomes confusing trying to learn two different ways of accessing what I need and communicating that to congregants.”

Kim S.

Realm admin, membership secretary

“Their main complaint with the app is that the pictures are really difficult to see. ”

Janet M.

Ministry Coordinator for Finance and Operations

“For our church members, the initial process of creating their accounts was difficult. ”

Janet M.

Ministry Coordinator for Finance and Operations

Cons

“It is difficult to keep the people database under control due to the automatic creation of profiles anytime anyone downloads the app, fills out a form, registers for an event, etc.”

Kylee A.

Communications Director

“I don't enjoy the updated group chat feature as much as I did the functionality of it before.”

Stephanie W.

Kids Director

“Sometimes the navigation gets a littel cumbersome and it's hard to find exactly what you are looking for”

AL M.

Senior Pastor