# icon > Review of Planning Center Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. Source: https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/planning-center-profile --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [Donation Management Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/crm-software-comparison/) / Planning Center Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. Overview [Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/reviews/)[Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/alternatives/) # Planning Center 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing Wondering if Planning Center is right for your organization? Our Donation Management Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less. On this page - Overview - User Interface - Popular Alternatives - Pros and Cons - Pricing and Plans - Features - Integrations - User Reviews - Popular Comparisons ## Overview Planning Center 4.7 [(1138)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/reviews/) Pricing Pricing available upon request ### About Planning Center Planning Center’s the all-in-one church management software that helps churches help people. It gives leaders, teams, and congregants a single place to organize, connect, and get involved. No matter your size, Planning Center’s the easy-to-use platform for: - Scheduling volunteers - Accepting online donations - Creating event signups - Establishing safe and secure family check-ins And so much more! Find out all you can do from the freedom of a 30-day trial. No credit card needed! And, when you’re ready to upgrade, you only pay for what you need, when you need it, and cancel whenever you want. Wondering if Planning Center is right for your organization? Our Donation Management Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less. ## Planning Center User Interface ## Popular Planning Center Alternatives Main Product Planning Center 4.7 [(1138)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.44Ease of use - 4.53Value for money - 4.58Customer support - 4.54Functionality Pricing Available upon request Get Price Alternative Product [Clearstream](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/clearstream-profile/) 4.8 [(679)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/clearstream-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.72Ease of use - 4.55Value for money - 4.84Customer support - 4.59Functionality Pricing Starting at $29.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [Tithely Church Management](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/breeze-chms-profile/) 4.8 [(624)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/breeze-chms-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.83Ease of use - 4.87Value for money - 4.89Customer support - 4.59Functionality Pricing Starting at $72.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [ChurchTrac](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/churchtrac-profile/) 4.8 [(864)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/churchtrac-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.71Ease of use - 4.85Value for money - 4.87Customer support - 4.66Functionality Pricing Starting at $9.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [Chmeetings](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/chmeetings-profile/) 4.9 [(162)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/chmeetings-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.82Ease of use - 4.87Value for money - 4.87Customer support - 4.69Functionality Pricing Starting at $12.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [Tithe.ly](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/tithe-ly-profile/) 4.7 [(693)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/tithe-ly-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.50Ease of use - 4.68Value for money - 4.60Customer support - 4.53Functionality Pricing Available upon request Get Price ## Planning Center Pros and Cons We analyzed 1,138 verified reviews for Planning Center to find out what actual users really think. Select to learn more Centralized Volunteer Coordination Tools Planning Center brings together volunteer scheduling, communication, and member information in one platform. You can track volunteer roles, manage service planning, and coordinate teams across events, making it easier to organize church activities and keep everyone connected. Streamlined Team Scheduling Process With Planning Center, managing schedules for teams and events is straightforward. Features like drag-and-drop planning, real-time updates, and auto-scheduling help you assign roles, avoid conflicts, and keep everyone informed, whether on desktop or mobile. Comprehensive Music Planning Features Planning Center offers tools for organizing songs, setlists, and music files. Musicians can access sheet music, audio tracks, and rehearsal materials from any device, making it easy to prepare for services and keep everyone on the same page. Complex Member And Permission Setup Managing user profiles, permissions, and roles across different Planning Center modules can be confusing. Tasks like updating access, handling multiple accounts, or integrating with other platforms often require manual steps and can slow down onboarding and daily use. Cost Increases With Added Features Planning Center's modular pricing means costs can add up quickly as you add more features or users. Many users find the platform expensive compared to alternatives, especially for smaller organizations or those needing multiple modules. Steep Learning Curve For Users Navigating Planning Center can feel overwhelming, especially for new or less tech-savvy users. The interface is often described as unintuitive, with cluttered dashboards and inconsistent design across modules, making it challenging to find features and train staff. ## Planning Center Pricing and Plans Starting price: Connect with an advisor for pricing Free Trial Free Version People Pricing available upon request Plan includes: - Coordinate the Details - Inventory Tracking - Latest Product Update - Notifications - Permission Levels - Reports - Resource Tracking - Room Setups - Room Setups Organize and Schedule - Share With Your Church Read More Services $0.00 per month Plan includes: - Calendar Subscription - Household Scheduling - Integrations - Latest Product Update - Media Library - Mobile App - Permission Levels - Rehearsal Tools - Reporting - Stage Layouts Read More Check-ins $0.00 per month Plan includes: - Checkistrations - Communication - CSV Import - Fast and Smooth - Flexible Setup - Latest Product Update - Promote Grades - Reports - Safe and Secure - Safe Volunteers Read More Giving $0.00 per month Plan includes: - Connected Donor Profiles - Cover Processing Fees - Deposit Checks Remotely - Disable Credit Card - Export Data - Flexible Donation Options - Insightful Donation Data - Integrations - Latest Product Update - Protect Donor Data Groups $0.00 per month Plan includes: - Create Opportunity - Cultivate Commitment - Group Photos - Latest Product Update - Open Signups - Private Groups Registrations $0.00 per month Plan includes: - Collect and Organize the Information You Need From Attendees. - Coordinate Attendees - Early Bird Discounts - Latest Product Update - Permission Levels - Reports - Simplify Signups Confused about pricing? We've got you covered. Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates. ## Planning Center Features - Popular features found in Donation Management Campaign Management Contact Management Email Marketing Event Management Gift Matching Management Grant Management Mobile Giving Online Giving Payment Processing Pledge Management Receipt Management Volunteer Management - More features of Planning Center Access Controls/Permissions Activity Dashboard Activity Tracking Alerts/Notifications API Attendance Management Attendance Tracking Campaign Planning Catalog Management Child Check-in Collaboration Tools Communication Management Configurable Workflow Contact Database Content Library Content Management Credit Card Processing Customizable Fields Customizable Forms Customizable Reports Customizable Templates Data Import/Export Document Management Document Storage Donation Management Donation Tracking Donor Management Drag & Drop Electronic Payments Email Management Email Templates Event Scheduling Event Ticketing Forms Management For Nonprofits For Religious Organizations Historical Trend Analysis Image Library Media Library Member Communication Member Directory Member Portal Membership Management Mobile Access Mobile App Multi-Location Online Calendar Personalization Playlist Management Recurring Giving Recurring/Subscription Billing Registration Management Reminders Reporting/Analytics Reporting & Statistics Role-Based Permissions Scheduling Search/Filter Small Group Management SMS Messaging Summary Reports Template Management Third-Party Integrations Usage Tracking/Analytics Visitor Tracking Website Management Worship Planning ## Planning Center Integrations ProPresenter Integration rated 4.6 from 27 reviews Clearstream Integration rated 4.6 from 21 reviews Mailchimp Integration rated 4.1 from 21 reviews Checkr Integration rated 4.9 from 11 reviews Stripe Integration rated 4.5 from 11 reviews Pushpay Integration rated undefined from -1 review See all 13 integrations ## Planning Center User Reviews Overall Rating 4.7 Ratings Breakdown 5 75% 4 22% 3 3% 2 0% 1 0% Secondary Ratings Ease of Use 4.4 Value for money 4.5 Customer support 4.6 Functionality 4.5 RT Robert T. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed February 2026 Church-wide rollout is a success...mostly. 4 On the whole, this is still a good product that allows for a lot of leadership and administrative tasks. We've found usage for lots of tasks. Ratings Breakdown 3 Ease of use Previously 4 4 Value for money Previously 5 5 Customer support 3 Functionality Previously 4 Pros: Since my original review, we've rolled out Planning Center church-wide (previously, we'd only used it for leadership tasks). Overall, this has been good and helpful for our congregation; we can communicate easily with the whole church, online giving, event planning, and other activities are beneficial. The program is intuitive - to a point. Some of the back-end work takes some effort to figure out, but there are good resources available to help learn the product. Cons: The biggest drawback we've found is the directory. Every person must opt-in to have their information public, and there is no option to change that. This has proven to be difficult - we've gotten a lot of people to adopt this, but it's not always been easy. And, for some users it's proven too technically difficult. There are a few glitches that we've noticed among users, depending on which OS they use. So church-wide rollout wasn't quite as smooth as I would have liked. Read More SW Stephanie W. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 51-200 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed February 2025 Planning Center Online Review 4 Overall, very pleased with the functions of Planning Center. This product allows our church to successful run ministries, track member engagement, steward relationships and connection with people, among many other capabilities. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 4 Value for money 4 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: The organized convenience of having almost every form of information about church members using features like groups, checkin, registrations, services, etc. is highly valuable. I do enjoy the customization opportunities to use specific church language, as well as the ability to use other supported platforms in combination. Cons: I don't enjoy the updated group chat feature as much as I did the functionality of it before. Reasons for switching to Planning Center Many issues with Fellowship One that caused regular interruptions to ministries. Read More MH Mitchell H. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed November 2023 Incredible Software to help Manage your team! 5 Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 4 Value for money Previously 5 5 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: We love how easy it is to add people to the program, how intuitive it is to create services plans and items and adding people into various positions, and we love how you can upload the music and chord charts for each song so that volunteers can easily rehearse and practice on their own! Cons: It is a little more on the expensive end of the market; however the features they include mostly off set this. We also wish it could do more. Reasons for choosing Planning Center Planning Center has much more features and much more integration options. Plus it is easier to use! Read More CN Crystal N. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed March 2025 Planning Center is best Church Management Software 5 Has been extremely helpful in streamlining our systems and helped us become more efficient. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Value for money 4 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: Ability to integrate several modules together. Cons: The services module is not very kids ministry friendly. Reasons for choosing Planning Center Less expensive since we were a smaller church. Reasons for switching to Planning Center Needed integration and something that was church management friendly for our growing congregation. Vendor Response Crystal, thank you for such a great review! We're glad that you've been able to streamline your systems with Planning Center. Anytime you need anything, reach out to support at support@planningcenter.com. We'll be glad to help! Replied March 2025 Read More SA Stephen A. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed December 2024 Indispensable for Church Management 5 Overall, I am very happy with Planning Center. It is indispensable for church management. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: It is comprehensive. It incorporates people management, giving, attendance, events, calendar, facilities, everything into one platform that works together. Cons: There are times where Planning Center Services is not as user friendly as I would like. Reasons for choosing Planning Center Planning Center Giving is natively connected to all of the other Planning Center products, which gives it a huge advantage over other giving platforms. Reasons for switching to Planning Center Planning Center Giving is far cheaper AND more user-friendly than PushPay; we had switched to PushPay for the Mobile App and got locked into a contract. As soon as it was up we rushed back to Planning Center, which by then had implemented the Church Center App Vendor Response Hey Stephen - thanks for such a positive review of our products. We're glad to be along for the ride with you. Reach out to support@planningcenter.com if you need anything! Replied February 2025 Read More KW Kelsan W. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed July 2025 Planning Center Worth Every Penny 5 I love Planning Center so much that I have incorporated into two different churches that I am part of. Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 4 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: Planning Center was made for churches and by people who work in churches. It is super easy, user friendly, and works well with a variety of different things that are essential in church software. The value of money is great. It is affordable and customer service is awesome! Cons: For me personally, there’s not a lot of cons when it comes to Planning Center. I think one of the cons is that you have to be specific when looking something up in the Help form for any of the apps within Planning Center. I sometimes wish there was more videos about each app within but it does a good job. Read More IS Isaac S. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed October 2025 Planning Center is Highly Effective, but Highly Expensive 4 It's occasionally confusing to set up certain steps/flows, but once the initial startup process is done, it's fairly hands-off to allow the forms and flows to run themselves week in and week out. Reliable software for managing members. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 3 Value for money 3 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: Helps us track our attendees, schedule volunteers and service positions, and allows us to safely and effectively sign-in children and students in-lieu of a headcount. Cons: Price is significantly higher than it ought to be, simply because they can get away with it. There isn't a ton of high-quality competition in this space, so P.C. can get away with charging what it does. Vendor Response Hi Isacc, Thank you for the review. I understand you have some reservations about our pricing. We shared a bit more here as to why our pricing did increase, and we are happy to discuss it. Click the '?' icon in the upper-right corner of the screen when you are viewing your List. Send us a message, and our team will be sure to share more. Thank you! Replied October 2025 Read More MB Matt B. Verified reviewer Religious Institutions 2-10 employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed January 2026 The Obvious Choice for Sunday Morning Team Planning 5 There's a reason Planning Center Services is so ubiquitous in the church world. It's extremely effective in helping to organize your teams and help them prepare each week. They've continued to add more features over the years, and it's only gotten better with each new release. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Functionality Pros: It's extremely effective in scheduling volunteers for Sunday mornings and for equipping them with the resources they need to prepare the week before. Cons: While it's a very capable and powerful platform, this can also be a little overwhelming for a first time user in regards to choice fatigue. Read More AB Aaron B. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 2-10 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed June 2025 The best tool for groups and teams. 5 It's been a great experience. We never experience error issues; there's always support to help us navigate any questions we have. There's also integration of vital functions like background checks. Planning Center helps keep all our teams communicating and unified. Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: Planning Center is the most vital tool we use for our non-profit. Through it we manage our teams, income, contacts, registrations, calendar, and service order development. It keeps us moving and on track to accomplish our ministry goals. Cons: So far, I don't have any issues with Planning Center. I've been using it for over five years, and it's become a daily used tool on my phone and computer. Read More Gloria K. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 11-50 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed January 2025 Highly Recommend 5 Overall, a great experience and a perfect way to bring in programs for multiple ministry needs Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 4 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: Ability to choose products a la carte for your organizations personal needs and cost efficiency Cons: Would love to see more personal customization options Vendor Response Thanks for your kind words, Gloria! Our Support Team is an excellent resource for help with feature requests regarding customization options. To reach them, hit the '?' icon in the upper right of the screen on PCO. Send us a message and our team will be sure to continue this dialog. Thank you! Replied January 2025 Read More Showing 1 - 10 of 1138 Reviews [See All Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/reviews/) ## Planning Center Popular Comparisons [Clearstream vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/clearstream-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Tithely Church Management vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/breeze-chms-profile/vs/planning-center/)[ChurchTrac vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/churchtrac-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Chmeetings vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/chmeetings-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Tithe.ly vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/tithe-ly/)[Realm vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compare/151411-Realm/vs/361780-planning-center/)[Subsplash vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/subsplash/)[Rock RMS vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/rock-rms/)[One Church Software vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/one-church-profile/vs/planning-center/)[TouchPoint vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compare/34606-TouchPoint/vs/361780-planning-center/)[Text In Church vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/text-in-church/)[ChurchStaq vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/churchstaq-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Servant Keeper vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/servant-keeper/)[Continue to Give vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/continue-to-give-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Aplos vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/aplos-profile/vs/planning-center/)[FellowshipOne vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/church/fellowshipone-profile/vs/planning-center/)[Pushpay vs Planning Center](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/vs/pushpay/) [Compare All Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/planning-center-profile/alternatives/) ## Other Top Recommended Donation Management Software [Neon CRM](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/neoncrm-profile/) **4.3** (619) Recently recommended **124** times [DonorPerfect](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/donorperfect-profile/) **4.5** (1436) Recently recommended **105** times [Charityproud](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/charityproud-profile/) **4.7** (88) Recently recommended **101** times [Bloomerang](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/bloomerang-profile/) **4.7** (1287) Recently recommended **99** times Stuck Between Options? Our experts can help you compare Planning Center with other top options, so you can find the best fit for your needs. ## See what companies are saying about Software Advice Planning Center Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2026