Planning Center review

Planning Center splits church management into separate products that share one People database: Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, Services, Registrations, Calendar and Publishing, plus the Church Center app for members. The People database, reporting and communication are free with no record limit, and every other product has a free tier, so a small church can run on it at no cost. Paid tiers follow usage: Check-Ins starts at $15 per month for 30 daily check-ins and Services at $15 per month for 20 team members, rising to $239 per month for unlimited. Giving charges 2.15% + $0.30 per US card gift, which is lower than several rivals. Texting uses a $5 per month toll-free number plus $0.02 per text. The tradeoff is that a church using five or six paid products can spend more than an all-in-one plan, and there is no fund accounting, so budget the full stack before comparing.

Who it is for

Churches of any size that want to pay only for the ministry tools they use

Price

Free plans for every product; paid tiers from $15 per month per product, for example Check-Ins for 30 daily check-ins.

30 Daily check-ins $15/mo.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• People: a free, unlimited member database with reporting and communication
• Check-Ins: free for 10 daily check-ins, then from $15 per month for 30, with unlimited stations
• Services: worship planning and volunteer scheduling, free for 5 team members and $15 per month for 20
• Giving at 2.15% + $0.30 per US card gift and 0% + $0.30 per ACH gift
• Church Center member app and web platform, free at the Essential level

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: People, Calendar events and the Church Center app are always free
• Strength: No contracts, setup fees or cancellation fees, with a 30 day free trial
• Strength: Exceeding a plan limit occasionally does not cut off service
• Weakness: Costs add up product by product as a church adopts more modules
• Weakness: No built-in fund accounting
• Weakness: Room and facility booking in Calendar is a paid add-on

Key facts

• Pricing model: Per product, by usage
• US card giving fee: 2.15% + $0.30
• Text giving number: $5 per month

Where it ranks

Planning Center is No. 1 in our Best Church Management Software verdict.