Planning Center Pricing 2026

Plans, hidden costs, and cheaper alternatives compared

Is Planning Center worth the price?

95/10

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 Trial

People

Membership database
Profile management
Custom reporting
Online forms
Workflows
Communication tools

Rooms (Unlimited Events)

Manage unlimited events for free
Priced by the number of rooms you are managing

Daily Check-Ins

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

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

Priced by the number of members (including leaders) in an active group
Members counted once
Unlimited groups
Unlimited group events

Essential App Management

App setup and management
Home page
Engagement analytics

Event Attendees

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)

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

Calculate your cost View full pricing

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.