Planning Center Pricing 2026
Plans, hidden costs, and cheaper alternatives compared
Is Planning Center worth the price?
Planning Center offers an incredibly generous pricing model, with most core functionalities starting at $0 and scaling based on usage metrics rather than fixed tiers.
This makes it exceptionally fair for small and growing churches, allowing them to only pay for what they use. It's best for churches of all sizes looking for a highly modular and scalable church management solution.
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPeople
Free
- Membership database
- Profile management
- Custom reporting
- Online forms
- Workflows
- Communication tools
Rooms (Unlimited Events)
Free
- Manage unlimited events for free
- Priced by the number of rooms you are managing
Daily Check-Ins
Free
- Priced by the number of check-ins on your busiest day of the week
- Full feature access
- Unlimited number of check-in stations
- Unlimited administrators
Monthly Donations
Free
- Priced by the total number of donations you collect and track each month
- Full feature access
- Card, ACH transfer, and Apple Pay transactions processed for a low, additional fee by Stripe
Group Members
Free
- Priced by the number of members (including leaders) in an active group
- Members counted once
- Unlimited groups
- Unlimited group events
Essential App Management
Free
- App setup and management
- Home page
- Engagement analytics
Event Attendees
Free
- Priced by the number of attendees for your largest event
- Full feature access
- Unlimited number of events
- Card and Apple Pay transactions processed for a low, additional fee by Stripe
Team Members (100MB Storage)
Free
- Priced by the number of people who access the system in any way
- Full feature access
- Unlimited number of teams
- Unlimited service types
- Unlimited plans
Music Stand Add-on
$5
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Stripe fees for donations/events
Music Stand is a $5 add-on
Usage-based pricing can increase
No annual discount mentioned
Which Plan Do You Need?
Churches of all sizes
Organizations needing modular solutions
Budget-conscious growing churches
How Planning Center Compares to Competitors
Compared to Church Community Builder (now Pushpay ChMS), which often starts around $100-$200/month for basic features, Planning Center's $0 entry point for most modules is significantly more accessible. Similarly, while Breeze ChMS offers a flat $72/month, Planning Center's modular approach allows churches to pay less if they only need a few specific functions, making it more flexible.
Planning Center Pricing FAQ
How much does Planning Center cost?
Planning Center starts at $5/month on the Music Stand Add-on plan. A free plan is also available with limited features.
Does Planning Center have a free plan?
Yes. Planning Center offers a free plan called "People". It includes: Membership database, Profile management, Custom reporting.
Does Planning Center offer a free trial?
Yes, Planning Center offers a free trial. No credit card is typically required to start the trial, though this may vary.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Planning Center?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Planning Center include Pushpay, ACS Technologies, FellowshipOne, ChurchTrac. Free alternatives include ChurchTrac. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Planning Center
1 of 6 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
