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Church & Religious · head to head

Planning Center vs Pushpay

Planning Center logo

Planning Center

Church & Religious

Complete church management platform for services, volunteers, and giving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pushpay logo

Pushpay

Church & Religious

Mobile-first giving platform for churches and nonprofits

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; Pushpay the pricing page names Core, Advanced and Complete packages but publishes no price, no minimum and no per-transaction rate for any of them
  • They diverge on capability: Planning Center covers Service Planning, Pushpay covers Mobile Giving.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Planning Center and Pushpay differ
AttributePlanning CenterPushpay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)Web, IOS, Android, SMS
Founded20032012

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Church & Religious).

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
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Pushpay

Only in Pushpay

  • Mobile Giving
  • Recurring Donations
  • Text-to-Give
  • Planning Center
  • CRM Systems
  • SMS support

Both cover

  • Accounting Software
  • Web support
  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Planning Center

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

Pushpay

  • Mobile and online giving for churchesnot Planning Center
  • Church management with attendance, groups and follow-up processesnot Planning Center
  • Custom branded church apps for congregationsnot 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

Pushpay

  • The pricing page names Core, Advanced and Complete packages but publishes no price, no minimum and no per-transaction rate for any of them
  • Integrations and API access are withheld from the Core package and require Advanced
  • Giving history on Advanced is capped at 7 years
  • Multi-site support, per-campus branding, multiple bank accounts and metric dashboards require the Complete package
  • Check-in, facility management, forms and volunteer scheduling are excluded from Core
  • Check scanning and remote deposit start at $0.29 per check on top of the plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Pushpay

On request
  • StandardFree
    • Transaction fees apply (2.2% + $0.30)
    • Mobile giving
  • Premium$299/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Priority support
    • Custom integrations

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 Pushpay if

  • You need mobile giving.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, SMS.
  • You also want recurring donations.
Pushpay review

Questions people ask

Is Planning Center or Pushpay better?
Neither clearly leads. Planning Center starts at Free and Pushpay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Planning Center or Pushpay?
Planning Center has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Planning Center and On request for Pushpay.
Does Planning Center or Pushpay run on more platforms?
Planning Center runs on Web, Mobile (Church Center app). Pushpay runs on Web, IOS, Android, SMS.
Can I use Planning Center for free?
Yes. Planning Center has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Pushpay 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 Pushpay is typically brought in for.
What can Planning Center do that Pushpay cannot?
Planning Center covers Service Planning, Volunteer Management, Check-in System, PayPal. Pushpay covers Mobile Giving, Recurring Donations, Text-to-Give, Planning Center. Both handle Accounting Software, Web support, IOS support, Android support.
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Related pages

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