Planning Center Review: Is It The Right Church Management Software For Your Team?
Best for SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise
Free Trial Available
GDPRPlanning Center offers custom pricing plan
NewSpring Church
Stonegate
Fellowship Church
The River ChurchTrusted by teams including NewSpring Church
Overview
Pricing
Features
Buyer feedback
Alternatives
Customers
Media
Security & Compliance
Support
FAQ
Blogs
What is Planning Center?
The Planning Center is a comprehensive, web-based software package designed from the ground up with the specific needs of church leaders in mind. It is so intuitive, churches can be up and running within minutes. With its flexible architecture, The Planning Center enables the church team to focus on ministry instead of technology.
Pricing
Planning Center offers custom pricing plan
Free Trial available
Best For
Suited for solo users, small teams, SMBs, and enterprise
Security & Compliance
GDPRSSO & MFA supported
Data residency:🇺🇸
Planning Center Software Demo
Planning Center was reviewed internally using user feedback, in-house testing, and market research to assess its performance, reliability, and user experience. Learn how we review products and our evaluation process.
Who should consider Planning Center
- Use cases
- Church event management, Ministry team coordination, Religious organization administration
- Team types
- Church leaders, Ministry coordinators
- Company size
- Small Business, Medium Business
- Workflow style
- Simple and streamlined
- Setup complexity
- Low
Why teams choose Planning Center
Easy setup and intuitive user interface
Customizable features with strong customer support
Seamless integration with other Planning Center products
Is Planning Center right for you?
Best for streamlined church event and ministry team management.
Choose Planning Center if
- You need quick, intuitive setup for church event coordination.
- Your team values seamless integration with other Planning Center tools.
- You want a platform tailored specifically for church leadership needs.
Consider alternatives if
- You require advanced event attendee analytics beyond basic registration.
- Your organization demands highly personalized data fields and customization.
What buyers should know before shortlisting Planning Center
The Planning Center Registrations (PCR) software has garnered positive feedback from users over the past 12 months, with many highlighting its ease of use and seamless integration with Planning Center products. Users appreciate the ability to set up events quickly, manage registrations efficiently, and communicate effectively with participants.
One standout feature of PCR is its customizable interface, allowing users to tailor registration pages to their needs. Additionally, the software's capacity to handle payments and track attendee data efficiently has been a significant benefit for many organizations, saving them time and resources.
While some users have noted minor issues like glitches in the mobile app and suggested enhancements such as automated registration for recurring events, the overall sentiment towards PCR remains highly positive. The consistent improvements to the back-end and the affordability of the software have been key reasons why users find PCR to be a valuable tool for event organization and registration management.
In summary, Planning Center Registrations stands out as a user-friendly, cost-effective solution that offers robust event management capabilities and seamless integration with other Planning Center products, making it a top choice for organizations looking to streamline their registration processes.
Planning Center pros and cons
- Planning Center pros
Easy setup and intuitive user interface
Customizable features with strong customer support
Seamless integration with other Planning Center products
- Planning Center cons
Mobile app experiences glitches
Users must register accounts to participate
Ready to try it?
Get started with Planning Center
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
Still comparing?
See how it stacks up
Compare Planning Center side-by-side with top Church Management Software alternatives.
What is the pricing of Planning Center?
Planning Center uses custom pricing — plans are tailored to your team size and needs. Contact them for a quote.
Planning Center Pricing Plans
Planning Center reviews and ratings
Buyer sentiment
Users generally praise the software for its ease of use, quick setup, and integration capabilities, while noting some limitations in mobile app stability and customization.
What buyers like
- Ease of use
- Integration with Planning Center products
- Customer support
Common complaints
- Mobile app glitches
- Limited customization options
Are you using Planning Center?
What users are saying
T
Trevor
11/09/21
It has loads of perks for event registration
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? It is easy to set-up and has a simple user interface. It is also easy to integrate with the ...
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L
Lizzie
10/02/21
Amazing registration software
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? PCR is easy to use and everything is customizable. It also has a great support team and has a ...
Read more
A
Anderson
09/15/21
It is simply the BEST!
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? I can take payments on registration and change the format of the event page. It is also ...
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R
Rosendo
07/28/21
It's easy to organize church registrations using this tool
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? The back-end is always being improved. After three years of using it, I've seen a lot of ...
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S
Shany
05/22/21
It is a good organizational and user-friendly tool
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? Our church has a lot of events. PCR helps keep it organized and allows us to name different ...
Read more
C
Cyril
03/30/21
I hope I'd used this app years ago
PROS & CONS What are the best aspects of this product? I can now create registration pages smoothly and without any problem. I can also keep track ...
Read more
- See if Planning Center fits your business
- Real pricing — no sales pressure
- A demo or quick answers, your call
Step 1 of 4
How big is your team?
We tailor recommendations to companies your size.
What are the features of Planning Center?
The word "attendance tracking" usually refers to employees being assigned to a certain "location" – an employee arrives at a location to acc…
Child Check-In is a vital feature that allows organizations to efficiently manage and monitor the check-in process of children. It is a powe…
Donations management is a vital tool that allows non-profit and charitable organizations to effectively manage their donations and contribut…
Event management is a crucial aspect for any business or organization that aims to host a successful event. It encompasses a range of activi…
The Media Library feature is a robust and dynamic tool that allows users to easily organize and manage their digital media files. It serves…
Member Directory is a software feature designed to help users manage and organize information about their organization or community members…
Members Portal is a powerful tool designed to enhance user experience and streamline interaction between users and organizations. With its u…
Membership management is a crucial feature in software that is designed to help organizations effectively manage their members or customers.…
Multi-site management is a crucial feature of many software programs that enables users to effectively manage multiple websites in one centr…
Online giving is a revolutionary feature that allows individuals, organizations, and non-profits to collect donations or financial contribut…
Pledge management is a crucial software feature that enables organizations to efficiently track, organize, and manage their pledges. Pledges…
Small Group Management is an essential feature that is designed to simplify the management of small groups within a larger organization. Thi…
Volunteer management is an essential aspect of any organization that relies on the contribution of volunteers to accomplish their goals. Thi…
Worship planning covers the full process of organizing and coordinating worship services, including selecting themes, scriptures, hymns, and…
Planning Center security and data handling
Key compliance certifications and security features for IT and security teams evaluating Planning Center.
Certifications
Security features
Developer & data
Alternatives to Planning Center
Planning Center Customers
NewSpring Church
Stonegate
Fellowship Church
The River Church
Planning Center Support Options
Frequently Asked Questions About Planning Center
Common questions buyers ask before choosing Planning Center.
Planning Center is a Church Management Software. Planning Center offers Worship Planning, Volunteer Management, Small Group Management, Pledge Management, Online Giving and many more functionalities.
Planning Center is a strong fit if: You need quick, intuitive setup for church event coordination.; Your team values seamless integration with other Planning Center tools.. Consider alternatives if: You require advanced event attendee analytics beyond basic registration.; Your organization demands highly personalized data fields and customization..
Buyers commonly note the following limitations of Planning Center: Mobile app experiences glitches; Users must register accounts to participate; Limited personalization options for data fields.
Some top alternatives to Planning Center includes Breeze, Pushpay, ChurchTools, Church Windows and FellowshipOne.
Planning Center offers Free Trial, Quotation Based pricing models
The starting price is not disclosed by Planning Center. You can visit Planning Center pricing page to get the latest pricing.
Ready to try it?
Get started with Planning Center
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
About the reviewer
Rajat Gupta is the founder of Spotsaas. Over the past two years, he has reviewed 2,000+ tools across CRM, HR, AI, and finance — applying hands-on product research and a background in commerce and the CFA program to evaluate software through a business and ROI lens. His goal: help teams make software decisions they won't regret.
Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].
