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Religion · head to head

ChurchDesk vs Planning Center

ChurchDesk logo

ChurchDesk

Religion

Church management and member portal platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Planning Center logo

Planning Center

Religion

Complete church management platform for services, volunteers, and giving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Planning Center has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ChurchDesk all subscription plans carry a one time setup fee of 655 GBP per parish for onboarding and training; Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • They diverge on capability: ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Planning Center covers Service Planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ChurchDesk and Planning Center actually diverge.

Attributes where ChurchDesk and Planning Center differ
AttributeChurchDeskPlanning Center
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)
Founded20102003

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Religion).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ChurchDesk

  • Member Portal
  • Announcements
  • Event RSVP
  • Volunteer Coordination
  • Email Integration
  • Calendar Systems
  • Giving Platforms
  • Mobile App

Only in Planning Center

  • Service Planning
  • Volunteer Management
  • Check-in System
  • Accounting Software
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Pushpay
  • IOS support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ChurchDesk

  • Member managementnot Planning Center
  • Donation trackingnot Planning Center
  • Event planningnot Planning Center
  • Volunteer schedulingnot Planning Center
  • Communicationnot Planning Center

Planning Center

  • Integrated church management and schedulingnot ChurchDesk
  • Volunteer coordination and event managementnot ChurchDesk
  • Worship service planning and schedulingnot ChurchDesk
  • Online giving and donation trackingnot ChurchDesk

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ChurchDesk

  • All subscription plans carry a one time setup fee of 655 GBP per parish for onboarding and training
  • Multi-Parish support is only available by contacting sales on the Small, Medium and Large plans
  • Payment Terminal add-on costs 456 GBP per year on top of the Basic through Medium plans

Planning Center

  • Free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • Pricing model requires customers to pay per product used; total cost scales with adoption
  • No monthly minimums but multiple product subscriptions can accumulate

Pricing, plan by plan

ChurchDesk

On request
  • Starter$99/month
    • Basic features
    • Up to 500 members
  • Plus$299/month
    • All features
    • Unlimited members
    • Advanced portal

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ChurchDesk if

  • You need member portal.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want announcements.
ChurchDesk review

Choose Planning Center if

  • You need service planning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile (Church Center app).
  • You also want volunteer management.
Planning Center review

Questions people ask

Is ChurchDesk or Planning Center better?
Neither clearly leads. ChurchDesk starts at On request and Planning Center at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ChurchDesk or Planning Center?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ChurchDesk and Free for Planning Center.
Does ChurchDesk or Planning Center run on more platforms?
ChurchDesk runs on Web, Mobile. Planning Center runs on Web, Mobile (Church Center app).
Can I use Planning Center for free?
Yes. Planning Center has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ChurchDesk starts at On request.
What is ChurchDesk best used for?
ChurchDesk is most often used for member management, donation tracking, event planning, volunteer scheduling. Of those, member management and donation tracking are not what Planning Center is typically brought in for.
What can ChurchDesk do that Planning Center cannot?
ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Announcements, Event RSVP, Volunteer Coordination. Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ChurchDesk: What is ChurchDesk's pricing structure?

ChurchDesk offers four subscription plans billed annually: Basic at £54/month, Small at £97/month, Medium at £140/month, and Large at £239/month, excluding VAT.

Source
ChurchDesk: What is included in ChurchDesk plans?

All tiers include the same core modules: Calendar, People, Forms, Website, Workflows, and Finance, plus attendance tracking, payments, booking enquiries, and studio access.

Source
ChurchDesk: What setup costs does ChurchDesk charge?

ChurchDesk charges a one-time setup fee of £655 per parish for 'Upstart & Training,' which covers initial configuration and onboarding.

Source
ChurchDesk: What ChurchDesk add-ons are available?

Add-ons include Studio (£57/month), Cookies & Analytics (£10/month), Additional Websites (£36/month), and Payment Terminal (£456/year for smaller plans). The Large plan includes one Payment Terminal.

Source
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