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Church & Religious · head to head

Planning Center vs Realm

Planning Center logo

Planning Center

Church & Religious

Complete church management platform for services, volunteers, and giving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Realm logo

Realm

Church & Religious

Church management and engagement platform by Community

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; Realm the Internet Archive's capture of ACS Technologies' Realm church management page on 16 January 2021 named three distinct plan tiers, Inform, Connect and Multiply, sold via demo request with no price figure published.
  • They diverge on capability: Planning Center covers Service Planning, Realm covers Member Directory.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Planning Center and Realm differ
AttributePlanning CenterRealm
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (Church Center app)Web, IOS, Android
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
  • Accounting Software
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Pushpay

Only in Realm

  • Member Directory
  • Group Management
  • Online Giving
  • Communications
  • Payment Processing
  • Email Integration
  • Event Management
  • Mobile App

Both cover

  • 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 Realm
  • Volunteer coordination and event managementnot Realm
  • Worship service planning and schedulingnot Realm
  • Online giving and donation trackingnot Realm

Realm

  • 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

Realm

  • The Internet Archive's capture of ACS Technologies' Realm church management page on 16 January 2021 named three distinct plan tiers, Inform, Connect and Multiply, sold via demo request with no price figure published.

Pricing, plan by plan

Planning Center

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Planning Center review.

Realm

On request
  • Essential$99/month
    • Basic features
    • Up to 500 members
  • Complete$299/month
    • All features
    • Unlimited members
    • Advanced analytics

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 Realm if

  • You need member directory.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want group management.
Realm review

Questions people ask

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