Planning Center

Planning Center brings church operations into one platform. The service combines people records, worship services, groups, check-ins, calendars, registrations, publishing and giving. Each product offers a no-cost tier; subscriptions begin at $5 monthly, and new accounts receive 30 free days. It runs on web, mobile apps and an API.

Planning Center is a practical option for churches seeking one system for people records, worship schedules, groups, check-ins, registrations and giving. Free access lowers the starting cost, while Services subscriptions offer defined team and storage levels. An API and listed integrations support connected setups. Buyers should allow for browser-based administration, manual account transfers and English-only support materials. More complex organizations may need time to configure permissions, modules and communications.

Churches coordinating worship, people, groups and events

Small churches beginning with free product tiers

Teams seeking an API and ministry integrations

Windows compatibility is required for the Services mobile app

Built-in merging of organization accounts is necessary

Users need support materials in languages other than English

Overview

Founded in 2006 by Jeff Berg and Aaron Stewart, Planning Center is a church ministry platform headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Its stated audience ranges from small neighborhood churches to organizations with multiple campuses. It can serve as a [[list:church-management-software|Church Management Software]] option.

The platform brings together tools for managing people, events, worship, donations, groups and church apps.

Features

People centralizes member information alongside activity such as attendance, giving and volunteer work. Groups provides group registration, attendance tracking, chat, events, resources, reports, permissions and confidential groups.

Services combines worship-plan preparation with volunteer rosters, team communication and rehearsal support, plus reusable plans and media libraries. Check-Ins manages child arrival and departure, labels, security codes, emergency texts, medical information, live updates and attendance reporting.

Calendar brings events, rooms and resources together, with approvals, iCal feeds, templates and synchronization. Registrations handles tailored signups, attendee caps, categories, household enrollment, add-on purchases and payments. Publishing has a free tier for app management, homepages and analytics; paid options add custom pages, themes, sermon notes and audio or video channels.

The public API currently exposes Calendar, Check-Ins, Giving, Groups, People and Services. Developer tools include OAuth applications, personal access tokens, webhooks and an API Explorer, while the public repository documents the Ruby pco_api gem. Listed integrations include SongSelect, PraiseCharts, Checkr, Mailchimp and Zapier.

Pricing

Planning Center follows a freemium approach: all products have free access levels, and the first 30 days of a new account cost nothing. People has no record-count charge, and paid options begin at $5 per month.

Calendar's free level covers one room. Services Free allows five team members and 100MB of storage at no charge. Services 20 is $15 monthly, and Services 50 is $32 monthly. The top Services tiers cost $239 monthly and include unlimited team members with 200GB of storage.

For US Giving and event transactions, card processing is 2.15% plus $0.30, while ACH is 0% plus $0.30. International card transactions incur another 1.5%.

Platforms

Web access is complemented by Android and iOS apps, macOS and Windows availability, and API access. Web products support current releases of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.

The Services app runs on iOS and Android phones and tablets, not on Windows devices. The main mobile app offers dashboards, tasks, push alerts and product access, although dashboard changes must be made in a browser.

Support

Customers and noncustomers can use support without paying. Planning Center reports replies in roughly one business hour Monday through Friday and maintains a weekend team for emergencies.

Resources include a help center, Planning Center University courses and community assistance. Planning Center reports SOC 2 Type 2 certification and Level One PCI compliance; it encrypts data in transit and at rest, uses multilayer backups, requires employee two-factor authentication and applies GDPR standards.

Limits

Services charges according to how many people access the system. Within a selected plan, features, teams, service types and plans are unlimited. Exceeding a limit does not stop the account, but exceeding it repeatedly generates an upgrade recommendation.

Organization accounts cannot be merged through a built-in function, and moving Services songs and media requires manual work. Documentation, videos and support are provided only in English.

Reviewers mention choice overload, functions limited to desktop use, sign-in difficulties and unreliable media links. Other comments point to increasing modular costs, duplicate profiles, form restrictions and occasional bugs.

Verdict

Planning Center suits churches that want distinct ministry tools connected within one account. Free options allow a small beginning, while Services subscriptions increase capacity through team-member and storage levels. The API and listed integrations can connect additional tools.

The tradeoff is operational complexity. Some administration remains browser-based, account transfers are manual, and support materials are English-only. Review product limits and transaction fees before consolidating several ministries.