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Software · head to head

Planning Center Services vs Rock RMS

Planning Center Services logo

Planning Center Services

Software

Digital worship planning and service execution platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rock RMS logo

Rock RMS

Software

Comprehensive relationship and resource management system for churches

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Planning Center Services the free tier of Services stops at 5 team members; Rock RMS pricing not published on website; requires contacting sales for quote, preventing transparent cost comparison
  • They diverge on capability: Planning Center Services covers Service Planning, Rock RMS covers Member Management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Planning Center Services and Rock RMS actually diverge.

Attributes where Planning Center Services and Rock RMS differ
AttributePlanning Center ServicesRock RMS
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile apps, TV apps
Founded20062008

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Planning Center Services

  • Service Planning
  • Volunteer Scheduling
  • Song Setlists
  • Planning Center Giving
  • Music Database
  • Calendar Systems
  • IOS support
  • Android support

Only in Rock RMS

  • Member Management
  • Giving & Finances
  • Group Management
  • Event Planning
  • Payment Processing
  • Email Marketing
  • Accounting Software
  • Custom APIs

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Planning Center Services

  • Member managementnot Rock RMS
  • Donation trackingnot Rock RMS
  • Event planningnot Rock RMS
  • Volunteer schedulingnot Rock RMS
  • Communicationnot Rock RMS

Rock RMS

  • Churches managing 10M+ people records with integrated giving and event systemsnot Planning Center Services
  • Organisations needing offline-first workflows with eventual replicationnot Planning Center Services
  • Tech-enabled churches seeking customisable digital engagement and mobile appsnot Planning Center Services

Where each one falls short

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

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

Rock RMS

  • Pricing not published on website; requires contacting sales for quote, preventing transparent cost comparison
  • Self-hosted deployment requires 'technical experience'; non-technical churches limited to managed hosting options
  • Managed hosting through third-party providers (Rock Cloud, Cloud 9); switching providers involves vendor lock-in complexity

Pricing, plan by plan

Planning Center Services

On request
  • Basic$49/month
    • Service planning
    • Basic volunteer scheduling
  • Plus$99/month
    • All features
    • Advanced scheduling
    • Mobile app

Rock RMS

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Rock RMS review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Planning Center Services if

  • You need service planning.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want volunteer scheduling.
Planning Center Services review

Choose Rock RMS if

  • You need member management.
  • You work on Web, Mobile apps, TV apps.
  • You also want giving & finances.
Rock RMS review

Questions people ask

Is Planning Center Services or Rock RMS better?
Neither clearly leads. Planning Center Services starts at On request and Rock RMS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Planning Center Services or Rock RMS?
Planning Center Services starts at On request and Rock RMS at On request.
Does Planning Center Services or Rock RMS run on more platforms?
Planning Center Services runs on Web, IOS, Android. Rock RMS runs on Web, Mobile apps, TV apps.
What is Planning Center Services best used for?
Planning Center Services is most often used for member management, donation tracking, event planning, volunteer scheduling. Of those, member management and donation tracking are not what Rock RMS is typically brought in for.
What can Planning Center Services do that Rock RMS cannot?
Planning Center Services covers Service Planning, Volunteer Scheduling, Song Setlists, Planning Center Giving. Rock RMS covers Member Management, Giving & Finances, Group Management, Event Planning. Both handle Web support.
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Related pages

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