Softwr

Software · head to head

Planning Center vs Praise.com

Planning Center logo

Planning Center

Software

Complete church management platform for services, volunteers, and giving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Praise.com logo

Praise.com

Software

Worship songs and hymn lyrics platform for churches

From
On request
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: Planning Center free tier limited to 5 team members and 10 daily check-ins per product; Praise.com praise.com is a free online Christian music radio station operated by CBN, not paid software; its own homepage, as captured by the Internet Archive in 2021, names it 'Free Online Christian Music Radio' with a Listen Now stream and no product, plan, or price of any kind.
  • They diverge on capability: Planning Center covers Service Planning, Praise.com covers Song Lyrics Database.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Planning Center and Praise.com actually diverge.

Attributes where Planning Center and Praise.com differ
AttributePlanning CenterPraise.com
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)Web, Mobile
Founded20032005

Identical on both: 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

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

Only in Praise.com

  • Song Lyrics Database
  • Setlist Creation
  • Lyric Projection
  • Streaming Services
  • Presentation Software
  • Music Rights Database
  • Mobile support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Planning Center

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

Praise.com

  • Member managementnot Planning Center
  • Donation trackingnot Planning Center
  • Event planningnot Planning Center
  • Volunteer schedulingnot Planning Center
  • Communicationnot Planning Center

Where each one falls short

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

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

Praise.com

  • Praise.com is a free online Christian music radio station operated by CBN, not paid software; its own homepage, as captured by the Internet Archive in 2021, names it 'Free Online Christian Music Radio' with a Listen Now stream and no product, plan, or price of any kind.

Pricing, plan by plan

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Praise.com

On request
  • Basic$19/month
    • Song lyrics
    • Basic projection
  • Pro$59/month
    • All features
    • Advanced projection
    • Mobile access

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Praise.com if

  • You need song lyrics database.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want setlist creation.
Praise.com review

Questions people ask

Is Planning Center or Praise.com better?
Neither clearly leads. Planning Center starts at Free and Praise.com at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Planning Center or Praise.com?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Planning Center and On request for Praise.com.
Does Planning Center or Praise.com run on more platforms?
Planning Center runs on Web, Mobile (Church Center app). Praise.com runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use Planning Center for free?
Yes. Planning Center has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Praise.com starts at On request.
What is Planning Center best used for?
Planning Center is most often used for integrated church management and scheduling, volunteer coordination and event management, worship service planning and scheduling, online giving and donation tracking. Of those, integrated church management and scheduling and volunteer coordination and event management are not what Praise.com is typically brought in for.
What can Planning Center do that Praise.com cannot?
Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, Accounting Software. Praise.com covers Song Lyrics Database, Setlist Creation, Lyric Projection, Streaming Services. Both handle Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Planning Center

More on Praise.com

Keep looking

Other head to heads