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Church & Religious · head to head

ChurchDesk vs Planning Center Services

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ChurchDesk

Church & Religious

Church management and member portal platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Planning Center Services logo

Planning Center Services

Church & Religious

Digital worship planning and service execution platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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 Services the free tier of Services stops at 5 team members
  • They diverge on capability: ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Planning Center Services covers Service Planning.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where ChurchDesk and Planning Center Services differ
AttributeChurchDeskPlanning Center Services
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, IOS, Android
Founded20102006

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Church & Religious).

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
  • Giving Platforms
  • Mobile App
  • Mobile support

Only in Planning Center Services

  • Service Planning
  • Volunteer Scheduling
  • Song Setlists
  • Planning Center Giving
  • Music Database
  • IOS support
  • Android support

Both cover

  • Calendar Systems
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

ChurchDesk

  • Member management
  • Donation tracking
  • Event planning
  • Volunteer scheduling
  • Communication

Planning Center Services

  • Member management
  • Donation tracking
  • Event planning
  • Volunteer scheduling
  • Communication

Both are used for member management, donation tracking, event planning, volunteer scheduling, communication, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

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 Services

  • The free tier of Services stops at 5 team members
  • Each Planning Center product is billed separately, so Registrations, Giving, Check-ins, Groups and Calendar each carry their own free cap and their own subscription
  • The Music Stand add-on is a further $5 a month
  • Text messaging costs $5 a month for a toll-free number plus $0.02 per message
  • Card payments are charged at 2.15 percent plus $0.30 per transaction, with a further 1.5 percent on international cards

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 Services

On request
  • Basic$49/month
    • Service planning
    • Basic volunteer scheduling
  • Plus$99/month
    • All features
    • Advanced scheduling
    • Mobile app

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 Services if

  • You need service planning.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want volunteer scheduling.
Planning Center Services review

Questions people ask

Is ChurchDesk or Planning Center Services better?
Neither clearly leads. ChurchDesk starts at On request and Planning Center Services at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ChurchDesk or Planning Center Services?
ChurchDesk starts at On request and Planning Center Services at On request.
Does ChurchDesk or Planning Center Services run on more platforms?
ChurchDesk runs on Web, Mobile. Planning Center Services runs on Web, IOS, Android.
What is ChurchDesk best used for?
ChurchDesk is most often used for member management, donation tracking, event planning, volunteer scheduling.
What can ChurchDesk do that Planning Center Services cannot?
ChurchDesk covers Member Portal, Announcements, Event RSVP, Volunteer Coordination. Planning Center Services covers Service Planning, Volunteer Scheduling, Song Setlists, Planning Center Giving. Both handle Calendar Systems, Web support.
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Related pages

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