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Religion · head to head

Elvanto vs Planning Center Services

Elvanto logo

Elvanto

Religion

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

From
$72/month
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: 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 Services the free tier of Services stops at 5 team members
  • They diverge on capability: Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, 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 Elvanto and Planning Center Services actually diverge.

Attributes where Elvanto and Planning Center Services differ
AttributeElvantoPlanning Center Services
Starting price$72/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month by plansubscription
FoundedUnknown2006

Identical on both: 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 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 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.

Elvanto

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

Planning Center Services

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

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 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 Elvanto if

  • You need volunteer rostering.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want service planning.
Elvanto 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 Elvanto or Planning Center Services better?
Neither clearly leads. Elvanto starts at $72/month 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, Elvanto or Planning Center Services?
Elvanto starts at $72/month and Planning Center Services at On request.
Does Elvanto or Planning Center Services run on more platforms?
Elvanto runs on Web, iOS, Android. Planning Center Services runs on Web, IOS, Android.
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 Services is typically brought in for.
What can Elvanto do that Planning Center Services cannot?
Elvanto covers Volunteer rostering, Service planning, People and groups, Child check-in. Planning Center Services covers Service Planning, Volunteer Scheduling, Song Setlists, Planning Center Giving.

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.

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
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.

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
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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