Softwr

Religion · head to head

Ecclesia vs Planning Center Services

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 Services logo

Planning Center Services

Religion

Digital worship planning and service execution platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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 Services the free tier of Services stops at 5 team members
  • They diverge on capability: Ecclesia covers Member and family records, Planning Center Services 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 Services actually diverge.

Attributes where Ecclesia and Planning Center Services differ
AttributeEcclesiaPlanning Center Services
Pricing modelquotesubscription
FoundedUnknown2006

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Services

  • Service Planning
  • Volunteer Scheduling
  • Song Setlists
  • Planning Center Giving
  • Music Database
  • Calendar Systems
  • Web support
  • IOS 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 Services
  • A denominational body wanting consistent member records across several parishes under one administrationnot Planning Center Services
  • A diaspora congregation whose giving and record-keeping conventions do not fit US-built church softwarenot Planning Center Services
  • A church that needs a member app for notices and prayer requests without commissioning custom developmentnot Planning Center Services

Planning Center Services

  • Member managementnot Ecclesia
  • Donation trackingnot Ecclesia
  • Event planningnot Ecclesia
  • Volunteer schedulingnot Ecclesia
  • Communicationnot 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 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

Ecclesia

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

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 Ecclesia if

  • You need member and family records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want contribution recording.
Ecclesia 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 Ecclesia or Planning Center Services better?
Neither clearly leads. Ecclesia 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, Ecclesia or Planning Center Services?
Ecclesia starts at On request and Planning Center Services at On request.
Does Ecclesia or Planning Center Services run on more platforms?
Ecclesia runs on Web, iOS, Android. Planning Center Services runs on Web, IOS, Android.
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 Services is typically brought in for.
What can Ecclesia do that Planning Center Services cannot?
Ecclesia covers Member and family records, Contribution recording, Church accounting, Member mobile app. Planning Center Services covers Service Planning, Volunteer Scheduling, Song Setlists, Planning Center Giving.

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.

Planning Center Services: How much does Planning Center Services cost?

Planning Center Services pricing is not publicly available. The pricing page requires account authentication and redirects to the login portal. Contact Planning Center sales directly for rate information.

Source
Ecclesia: Does it publish pricing?

No. Pricing is quoted by congregation size.

Planning Center Services: Does Planning Center Services offer a free plan or trial?

No public information about free plans or trial availability is accessible without logging in. Contact Planning Center directly to inquire about trial options.

Source
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.

Share

Related pages

More on Ecclesia

More on Planning Center Services

Keep looking

Other head to heads