Overview

Planning Center is a collection of church operations tools, spanning member records, worship planning, events, giving, groups, and church apps. It is best suited to congregations that want several ministry workflows under one roof; the trade-off is that Services pricing depends on the number of people accessing it, and its mobile app excludes Windows devices.

Formed in 2006 by Jeff Berg and Aaron Stewart, the company is based in Carlsbad, California. Planning Center positions its products for churches ranging from small neighborhood congregations to multi-campus organizations. Its freemium model includes free product plans, paid plans from $5/mo, and a 30-day trial.

For a broader comparison, consider Church Management Software.

Key features

People records

People brings membership information together with attendance, giving, and volunteering activity. That central record is useful for churches that need a shared view of participation, though the free plan's unlimited database and reporting are more compelling for recordkeeping than a complete picture of what every product costs as a church grows.

Worship planning and volunteer coordination

Services combines worship planning with volunteer scheduling, team communication, and rehearsal tools. Plans provide unlimited feature access, teams, service types, and plans, so the pricing distinction is based on how many people access the system rather than restricting those capabilities. This favors congregations with many service teams, but the user-based pricing makes access growth a budget consideration.

Connected operations

The platform also covers events, donations, groups, and church apps. Group management, event registration, child check-in, SMS messaging, and volunteer scheduling are among its capabilities. Listed integrations include SongSelect, PraiseCharts, Checkr, Mailchimp, and Zapier, alongside third-party tools; an open API offers another integration route.

Security and support

Planning Center states that it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and PCI Level One compliant, encrypts data in transit and at rest, and uses a multilayered backup strategy. Support is free for customers and noncustomers, with a stated response time of about one business hour on weekdays and a weekend crew for emergencies. Accounts continue working after exceeding a plan limit; an upgrade suggestion follows if the organization exceeds that limit more than once.

Pricing

The free plans provide useful starting points, but their individual caps matter: Calendar is free for one room, People is free with an unlimited database and reporting, and Services is free for five team members with 100MB of storage. These are product-specific plans, not one blanket allowance across the platform. Paid plans start at $5/mo, and a 30-day trial is offered. Services pricing is based on the number of people with system access, even though its plans include unlimited feature access, teams, service types, and plans. Churches should therefore weigh how broadly they need to grant access, rather than assuming that unlimited teams mean unlimited users at one price.

The stated 75-member limit is relevant when evaluating capacity, while the pricing page's over-limit behavior means exceeding a plan cap does not immediately stop an account from working. The upgrade prompt after repeated overages still makes choosing a plan with enough headroom important.

Platforms

Planning Center supports Android, iOS, web, and API access. The Services mobile app runs on iOS and Android phones and tablets but is not compatible with Windows devices, which rules it out for teams relying on Windows tablets for mobile worship workflows.

Who it's for

Planning Center is a strong fit for churches that want membership records and worship-team coordination alongside events, giving, groups, and other church operations. Its free Calendar, People, and Services tiers let organizations start with distinct tools before moving to paid plans. Churches should look elsewhere if Windows compatibility is essential or if user-based Services pricing does not suit their access needs.

Readers comparing specific workflows can also browse Church Directory Software, Church Check-In Software, Small Group Management Software, Church Volunteer Management Software, and Church Website Builders.

Pros and cons

Pros: People includes unlimited database and reporting on its free plan, giving churches room to maintain records without an immediate database cap.
Pros: Services includes unlimited teams, service types, plans, and feature access, making its user-based pricing more relevant than limits on worship-planning structure.
Pros: Free support extends to noncustomers, with a stated weekday response time of about one business hour and emergency weekend coverage.
Cons: The free Services plan is limited to five team members and 100MB storage, so it may not cover broader coordination needs.
Cons: Services pricing scales with the number of people accessing it, which can make wide access a cost factor.
Cons: The Services app does not support Windows devices.

Alternatives

ChMeetings is worth comparing for churches that prefer a free tier capped at 50 people and 50 donations per month, with a listed V. Small plan at $12.00 USD per month. Tithely Giving is a more focused option for churches prioritizing donations: its Free Giving plan has no monthly fees, applies transaction fees, and allows unlimited donations; Giving + Church Management is $72.00 USD per month.

Faith Teams has a free account for up to 100 active people, with online giving activation required within 30 days of sign-up. ChurchTrac may suit churches seeking a paid plan with desktop platform support; its 75-people plan is $29.00 USD per month and supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows.

FellowshipOne is another church software option with custom pricing. Rock RMS is a free, self-hosted alternative with a recommended donation of $4.45 per average weekend attendee per year. ChurchSuite starts with its Solo plan at $15.50 USD per month for 0–99 active contacts and the Address Book module. ChurchTools offers a Package XS plan at $39.00 USD per month for 100 people, with no additional campuses, 10 resources, 20 rosters, and paid add-ons for Sync and LDAP Service.

Verdict

Planning Center is a sensible choice for churches that want connected people records and worship-planning tools with free entry points for several products. Its strongest case is breadth paired with substantial free People and Services functionality; its clearest reasons to look elsewhere are the access-based Services cost model and the lack of Windows support in the Services app.

	Planning Center	SimpleUpdates
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$239/mo	$33.25/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	5 /mo	37 /mo
Custom domain	—	Yes
Event calendar	—	Yes
Staff pages	—	Yes

Planning Center vs SimpleUpdates

Planning Center

SimpleUpdates