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Religion · head to head

IconCMO vs Planning Center

IconCMO logo

IconCMO

Religion

Comprehensive church and organization management software

From
$50/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: IconCMO membership and accounting are priced as two separate subscriptions, so a church needing both pays for both; Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product
  • They diverge on capability: IconCMO covers Member Management, Planning Center covers Service Planning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where IconCMO and Planning Center differ
AttributeIconCMOPlanning Center
Starting price$50/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, DesktopWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)
Founded19852003

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 IconCMO

  • Member Management
  • Financial Management
  • Volunteer Coordination
  • Facility Management
  • Accounting Packages
  • Payment Processing
  • Email Systems
  • Reporting Tools

Only in Planning Center

  • Service Planning
  • Volunteer Management
  • Check-in System
  • Accounting Software
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Pushpay
  • IOS support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

IconCMO

  • Church membership and attendance recordsnot Planning Center
  • Donation tracking and contribution statementsnot Planning Center
  • Fund accounting for a congregationnot Planning Center
  • Event registration and child check-in on the Premium tiernot Planning Center
  • Bulk email to membersnot Planning Center

Planning Center

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

Where each one falls short

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

IconCMO

  • Membership and accounting are priced as two separate subscriptions, so a church needing both pays for both
  • The Basic membership plan at $50 a month includes a single user
  • Communications and email statements start at the Standard plan at $75 a month, capped at 2,000 emails a month and 5 users
  • Event registration, check-in and document storage require Premium at $125 a month
  • Accounts payable and receivable are gated to the Premium accounting tier at $45 a month

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

IconCMO

$50/month
  • Membership & Donation - Basic$50/month
    • 1 User account
    • Membership tracking
    • Attendance tracking
  • Membership & Donation - Standard$75/month
    • 5 Users
    • All Basic features
    • Communications
  • Membership & Donation - Premium$125/month
    • Unlimited Users
    • Unlimited Emails
    • All Basic and Standard features
  • Accounting - Standard$35/month
    • 1 User
    • General Ledger
    • Banking

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Which should you pick?

Choose IconCMO if

  • You need member management.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want financial management.
IconCMO 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 IconCMO or Planning Center better?
Neither clearly leads. IconCMO starts at $50/month and Planning Center at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IconCMO or Planning Center?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/month for IconCMO and Free for Planning Center.
Does IconCMO or Planning Center run on more platforms?
IconCMO runs on Web, Desktop. 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. IconCMO starts at $50/month.
What is IconCMO best used for?
IconCMO is most often used for church membership and attendance records, donation tracking and contribution statements, fund accounting for a congregation, event registration and child check-in on the premium tier. Of those, church membership and attendance records and donation tracking and contribution statements are not what Planning Center is typically brought in for.
What can IconCMO do that Planning Center cannot?
IconCMO covers Member Management, Financial Management, Volunteer Coordination, Facility Management. Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IconCMO: What is the lowest price for Icon CMO Membership & Donation package?

The Basic Membership & Donation plan costs $50/month for 1 user account and includes membership tracking, attendance tracking, donations tracking, and support. Alternatively, you can bill annually at $550/year.

Source
IconCMO: How many users are supported in each Icon CMO tier?

Membership & Donation tiers support 1 user (Basic, $50/month), 5 users (Standard, $75/month), or unlimited users (Premium, $125/month). Accounting packages support 1 user (Standard, $35/month) or 5 users (Premium, $45/month).

Source
IconCMO: What add-on services are available for Icon CMO?

Icon Systems offers Icon Bookkeeping starting at $500/month, Icon Payroll starting at $40/month, and SMS Text Messaging ranging from $20 to $300/month depending on message volume (500 to 10,000 texts per month).

Source
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