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Religion · head to head

easyTithe vs Planning Center

easyTithe logo

easyTithe

Religion

Church online giving with published plans where a higher monthly fee buys a lower card rate

From
$19/month
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: easyTithe the 500 record limit on the Pro plan makes its bundled church management unusable for any congregation above that size, so mid-sized churches end up paying for a separate ChMS anyway.; Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • They diverge on capability: easyTithe covers Online giving pages, Planning Center covers Service Planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where easyTithe and Planning Center differ
AttributeeasyTithePlanning Center
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month, with the card rate set by the planfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)
FoundedUnknown2003

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 easyTithe

  • Online giving pages
  • Text giving
  • Recurring gifts
  • Kiosk and card reader giving
  • Giving statements
  • Pledge tracking
  • Church management on Pro

Only in Planning Center

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

What people use each for

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

easyTithe

  • A church treasurer who wants to compare giving platforms on total cost rather than a headline monthly feenot Planning Center
  • A congregation moving from cash and cheque to recurring online gifts with year end statementsnot Planning Center
  • A small church needing text giving without buying a full management platformnot Planning Center
  • A church that can push regular givers to ACH at 1.00% and materially cut its cost of receiving moneynot Planning Center

Planning Center

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

Where each one falls short

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

easyTithe

  • The 500 record limit on the Pro plan makes its bundled church management unusable for any congregation above that size, so mid-sized churches end up paying for a separate ChMS anyway.
  • Processing rates are higher than a church could negotiate directly with a merchant acquirer at volume, so large congregations giving over $25,000 a month should push for the discounted rate rather than accept published pricing.
  • It is one brand among many at Ministry Brands, and product investment has concentrated on the group's larger integrated platforms, so feature development here is slow.
  • The church management capability on Pro is thin next to Breeze or Planning Center, lacking real volunteer scheduling, service planning and child check-in depth.
  • A $10 monthly minimum applies regardless of activity, which is a small but real cost for a seasonal or plant church with quiet months.

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

easyTithe

$19/month
  • Small Church$19/month
    • Online, text and kiosk giving
    • 3.00% + $0.42 per card gift
    • 1.00% + $0.42 per ACH gift
  • Small to Mid-Size Church$49/month
    • All giving methods
    • 2.6% + $0.42 per card gift
    • 1.00% + $0.42 per ACH gift
  • easyTithe Pro$75/month
    • Giving plus church management and mobile app
    • 2.75% + $0.42 per card gift
    • 1.00% + $0.42 per ACH gift

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Which should you pick?

Choose easyTithe if

  • You need online giving pages.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want text giving.
easyTithe 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 easyTithe or Planning Center better?
Neither clearly leads. easyTithe starts at $19/month and Planning Center at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, easyTithe or Planning Center?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for easyTithe and Free for Planning Center.
Does easyTithe or Planning Center run on more platforms?
easyTithe runs on Web, iOS, Android. 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. easyTithe starts at $19/month.
What is easyTithe best used for?
easyTithe is most often used for a church treasurer who wants to compare giving platforms on total cost rather than a headline monthly fee, a congregation moving from cash and cheque to recurring online gifts with year end statements, a small church needing text giving without buying a full management platform, a church that can push regular givers to ach at 1.00% and materially cut its cost of receiving money. Of those, a church treasurer who wants to compare giving platforms on total cost rather than a headline monthly fee and a congregation moving from cash and cheque to recurring online gifts with year end statements are not what Planning Center is typically brought in for.
What can easyTithe do that Planning Center cannot?
easyTithe covers Online giving pages, Text giving, Recurring gifts, Kiosk and card reader giving. Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

easyTithe: Which plan is cheapest for us?

Do the arithmetic. The $19 plan at 3.00% and the $49 plan at 2.6% cross over around $7,500 of monthly card giving. Below that, take the cheap plan.

easyTithe: Can we get a better rate?

Yes, if you process more than about $25,000 a month. easyTithe states that higher volume churches can qualify for reduced transaction rates on request.

easyTithe: Does the Pro plan replace our church management software?

Only for churches under 500 records, and even then it is a light database rather than a full ChMS.

easyTithe: What is the cheapest way to receive a gift?

ACH at 1.00% plus $0.42 on every plan. Moving recurring givers off cards is the single largest saving available.

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