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Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs Planning Center

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

Church management with strong volunteer rostering, now owned by Tithe.ly

From
$72/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: Elvanto tithe.ly owns both Elvanto and Breeze, two overlapping church management systems, and has directed most recent product investment towards Breeze and giving, so Elvanto buyers are betting on a product that is maintained rather than actively advanced.; Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Planning Center covers Service Planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elvanto and Planning Center differ
AttributeElvantoPlanning Center
Starting price$72/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by 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 Elvanto

  • Volunteer rostering
  • Service planning
  • People and groups
  • Child check-in
  • Online giving
  • Forms and event registration
  • Multi-site support
  • Church website and app

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.

Elvanto

  • A multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problemnot Planning Center
  • A church outside the United States wanting a management system that was not designed solely around American church practicenot Planning Center
  • A congregation replacing spreadsheets for service planning, song rotation and CCLI reportingnot Planning Center
  • A church that wants management and online giving on one invoice rather than integrating two vendorsnot Planning Center

Planning Center

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

Where each one falls short

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

Elvanto

  • Tithe.ly owns both Elvanto and Breeze, two overlapping church management systems, and has directed most recent product investment towards Breeze and giving, so Elvanto buyers are betting on a product that is maintained rather than actively advanced.
  • The advertised monthly price excludes card processing on donations, which for a church taking most giving online is the larger of the two costs and is set by the payment provider, not the licence.
  • The interface is functional but dated relative to Planning Center, and volunteer-facing screens draw complaints from occasional users who only log in to accept a roster.
  • Reporting is adequate for attendance and giving summaries but weak for pastoral care analysis and cohort tracking, so larger churches export to spreadsheets.
  • Support is documentation-and-ticket based with no phone line on the standard plan, which is difficult for a volunteer administrator troubleshooting check-in on a Sunday morning.

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

Elvanto

$72/month
  • Church Management + Giving$72/month
    • Full church management modules
    • Volunteer rostering and service planning
    • Child check-in
  • Church Management + Giving + Custom App$119/month
    • Everything in the base plan
    • Branded church mobile app
    • Push notifications

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Elvanto if

  • You need volunteer rostering.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want service planning.
Elvanto 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 Elvanto or Planning Center better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month and Planning Center at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elvanto or Planning Center?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $72/month for Elvanto and Free for Planning Center.
Does Elvanto or Planning Center run on more platforms?
Elvanto 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. Elvanto starts at $72/month.
What is Elvanto best used for?
Elvanto is most often used for a multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problem, a church outside the united states wanting a management system that was not designed solely around american church practice, a congregation replacing spreadsheets for service planning, song rotation and ccli reporting, a church that wants management and online giving on one invoice rather than integrating two vendors. Of those, a multi-site church rostering several hundred volunteers across campuses where double-booking is a weekly problem and a church outside the united states wanting a management system that was not designed solely around american church practice are not what Planning Center is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that Planning Center cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elvanto: Is Elvanto still being developed?

It is maintained and sold to new customers, but Tithe.ly also owns Breeze and has prioritised that product and its giving tools. Ask the vendor directly what is on the Elvanto roadmap before a multi-year commitment.

Elvanto: What does it really cost?

$72 a month for management plus giving, or $119 with a branded app, plus payment processing on every donation charged by the provider. Budget the processing rate as the main variable cost.

Elvanto: Is it better than Planning Center for rostering?

For availability handling, clash detection and swap requests it is genuinely competitive. Planning Center is stronger on service and worship team workflow and has a larger integration ecosystem.

Elvanto: Can we migrate our data out?

Yes, exports are available, but rebuilding rosters, forms and check-in configuration in a new system is manual work regardless of the export.

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