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Religion · head to head

Ecclesia vs Planning Center

Ecclesia logo

Ecclesia

Religion

Church management and member app built in Chennai for Indian congregations and diaspora churches

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: Ecclesia pricing is not published anywhere, so a small church cannot budget without a sales conversation, which is a poor fit for the volunteer treasurers who typically make this decision.; Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • They diverge on capability: Ecclesia covers Member and family records, Planning Center covers Service Planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Ecclesia and Planning Center differ
AttributeEcclesiaPlanning Center
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
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 Ecclesia

  • Member and family records
  • Contribution recording
  • Church accounting
  • Member mobile app
  • Event and service scheduling
  • Group communication

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.

Ecclesia

  • An Indian parish moving membership registers and offering books off paper for the first timenot Planning Center
  • A denominational body wanting consistent member records across several parishes under one administrationnot Planning Center
  • A diaspora congregation whose giving and record-keeping conventions do not fit US-built church softwarenot Planning Center
  • A church that needs a member app for notices and prayer requests without commissioning custom developmentnot Planning Center

Planning Center

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

Where each one falls short

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

Ecclesia

  • Pricing is not published anywhere, so a small church cannot budget without a sales conversation, which is a poor fit for the volunteer treasurers who typically make this decision.
  • The installed base is small and concentrated in India, so there is little peer community, few third-party consultants and limited evidence of long-term product viability.
  • There are no published integrations with accounting packages, payment gateways or presentation software, so data tends to stay inside the system.
  • Support runs on Indian business hours from a single small vendor, which is a real constraint for diaspora congregations in other time zones.
  • Feature depth is well behind established church platforms on areas such as child check-in, volunteer scheduling and multi-site campus management, so growing churches will outgrow it.

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

Ecclesia

On request
  • Ecclesia$undefined/year
    • Church management web application
    • Member mobile app
    • Membership, giving and accounting modules

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Ecclesia if

  • You need member and family records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want contribution recording.
Ecclesia 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 Ecclesia or Planning Center better?
Neither clearly leads. Ecclesia 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, Ecclesia or Planning Center?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Ecclesia and Free for Planning Center.
Does Ecclesia or Planning Center run on more platforms?
Ecclesia 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. Ecclesia starts at On request.
What is Ecclesia best used for?
Ecclesia is most often used for an indian parish moving membership registers and offering books off paper for the first time, a denominational body wanting consistent member records across several parishes under one administration, a diaspora congregation whose giving and record-keeping conventions do not fit us-built church software, a church that needs a member app for notices and prayer requests without commissioning custom development. Of those, an indian parish moving membership registers and offering books off paper for the first time and a denominational body wanting consistent member records across several parishes under one administration are not what Planning Center is typically brought in for.
What can Ecclesia do that Planning Center cannot?
Ecclesia covers Member and family records, Contribution recording, Church accounting, Member mobile app. Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ecclesia: Is Ecclesia a real, buyable product?

Yes. It is sold by EinNel Technologies of Chennai and is listed on the major software directories, though its footprint is small and concentrated in India.

Ecclesia: Does it publish pricing?

No. Pricing is quoted by congregation size.

Ecclesia: Does it handle online giving?

It records contributions and generates receipts. Card and UPI collection depends on what the vendor configures for you rather than a published processor relationship.

Ecclesia: Should a US or UK church consider it?

No. Established platforms in those markets have deeper features and larger support ecosystems.

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