Churchory vs Planning Center
Planning Center is a set of separate products, each priced by its own usage tier with free starting levels; Churchory is one people directory with a free Core and products at a flat $99 a year each, or $599 a year for everything with Churchory One. One directory and one member app mean nobody enters people twice, and the price doesn't move as attendance grows.
How does Churchory compare with Planning Center?
| Feature | Churchory | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $99/yr or $25/mo per product, or Churchory One at $599/yr ($129/mo); Core free forever | Each product priced by its own usage tier; many have a free level source |
| People database | Shared directory with families, roles and permissions (Core, free forever) | People: unlimited people, lists, workflows and forms, free source |
| Kids check-in | Kids product: security codes, Brother labels or plain paper, live room dashboard | Check-Ins: priced by check-ins on your busiest day; free starting level source |
| Serving and worship planning | Sunday product: auto-scheduler, blockouts, swaps, ChordPro charts | Services: priced by team members who log in; free starting level; Music Stand is a paid add-on source |
| Small groups | Groups product | Groups: priced by active group members; free starting level source |
| Group and team chat | Chat product | Chat product and chat in Groups source |
| Event registration | Events product: paid tickets, capacity, discount codes, deposits, waivers | Registrations: priced by attendees at your largest event; free starting level source |
| Online giving | Giving via your church's own Stripe account; no Churchory platform fee, Stripe's standard fees | Giving: priced by donations per month; free starting level; plus card processing fees source |
| Member app | Churchory Mobile, free with Core; your own branded app with Churchory One | Church Center, one app shared by Planning Center churches; Planning Center says it doesn't offer a branded app icon in the app store source |
| Texting | Beta; Churchory One planned to include 500 texts/mo at launch | Paid per-text credits source |
| Free trial | 45 days, no card | First 30 days free on paid plans source |
| Contracts | None, cancel anytime | No contracts, cancel anytime source |
Competitor details verified as of October 6, 2026 from their public pages.
What's the difference between Churchory and Planning Center?
The biggest difference is how each one is put together and priced. Planning Center is a family of separate products (People, Services, Check-Ins, Giving, Groups, Registrations, Calendar, Publishing, Home and Chat, plus the Church Center app for members), and each paid product is priced on its own usage measure, such as daily check-ins or group members. Several products start with a free level (Planning Center pricing, verified as of 2026-10-06).
Churchory is church management software for small and mid-size churches. Start free with Core (your people directory, families, roles and church-wide email and push), then add only the products you need, like groups, events, Sunday serving and check-in, kids, care, chat and voting, or get everything with Churchory One. Each Churchory product is $99 a year, a $201 saving over paying $25 a month. Churchory One (every product, including every future product and your church's own branded app) is $599 a year, a $949 saving over paying $129 a month. Core is free forever, there are no contracts or people-count tiers, you can cancel any month, and prices are in USD. The price doesn't move when more people check in or join a group.
Both are good choices. Planning Center is long-established, with deep worship planning in Services. Churchory is built for smaller teams who want one directory, one app for members, and a price they can predict.
How do Churchory and Planning Center compare, feature by feature?
| Feature | Churchory | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| How it's priced | $99/yr or $25/mo per product, or Churchory One at $599/yr ($129/mo); Core free forever | Each product priced by its own usage tier, many with a free level |
| People database | Shared people directory with families, roles and permissions, free forever in Core | People is free, with unlimited people, lists, workflows and forms |
| Kids check-in | Kids product: security codes, Brother label printers or plain paper, live room dashboard | Check-Ins, priced by people checked in on your busiest day |
| Serving and worship planning | Sunday product: auto-scheduler, blockout dates, swap requests, ChordPro charts with live transpose | Services, priced by team members who can log in; Music Stand is a paid add-on |
| Small groups and chat | Groups and Chat products | Groups (priced by active group members) and Chat |
| Event registration | Events product: paid tickets, capacity per ticket type, discount codes, deposits, waivers | Registrations, priced by attendees at your largest event |
| Online giving | Giving through your church's own Stripe account; no Churchory platform fee, Stripe's standard processing fees | Giving, priced by donations per month, plus card processing fees |
| Member app | Churchory Mobile (iOS and Android), free with Core; your own branded app with Churchory One | Church Center; Planning Center doesn't offer a branded app icon in the app stores |
| Texting | In beta; Churchory One is planned to include 500 texts a month when Texting launches | Paid per-text credits |
| Congregational voting | Voting product (secret ballot, quorum) | Not listed on Planning Center's product list |
| Free trial | 45 days, no card | 30 days free on paid plans |
Planning Center facts come from its pricing page and product list, verified as of 2026-10-06.
What does Churchory replace for a church?
Churchory replaces the separate tools many churches pay for and juggle: a people directory, a groups tool, event registration, check-in, a chat app, a newsletter tool, online giving and a church app. For a Planning Center church, that means people, check-in, serving, groups, events and giving share one directory and one set of screens, instead of separate products your volunteers each have to learn. One directory feeds every product, so nobody enters the same family twice and members open one app instead of several.
- Core is free forever. The people directory, families, roles and permissions, church-wide email and push, and the Churchory web, mobile and Mac apps cost nothing.
- No platform fee on giving. Churchory takes no percentage of gifts; only Stripe's processing fees apply.
- Free staff-run migration. Our team moves your people, groups, serving teams and history for you.
- Your own branded app in the App Store and Google Play comes with Churchory One.
- Support from the people who build it, a husband-and-wife team.
- A price that fits a budget line. Pay yearly and one product is $99; three products are $297; everything is $599 with Churchory One, which becomes the better deal from the seventh product on yearly billing (the sixth on monthly).
If you pay for a separate check-in tool, chat app and newsletter tool today, add up what those cost and compare it with $99 a year per product or $599 a year for everything.
Who should choose Planning Center?
Planning Center is the better fit if your church:
- Leans heavily on worship planning and wants the depth of Services.
- Needs only one or two specialised tools and likes adding products one at a time as needs grow.
- Already has staff trained on Planning Center and integrations built around it.
- Wants to mix and match many specialized products, each with its own depth.
Who should choose Churchory?
Churchory is the better fit if your church:
- Wants one people directory and one member app instead of several separate products.
- Wants a flat price that doesn't climb as attendance, volunteers or groups grow, with Core free forever.
- Wants features like congregational voting, meal trains or live Q&A alongside the basics.
- Would like its own app in the App Store and Google Play, which comes with Churchory One.
How do I move from Planning Center to Churchory?
Moving is free, and our team can do it for you. Churchory's team moves your data for free: people and households, groups and leaders, upcoming events, serving teams, documents, and up to two years of attendance history. Giving ledgers stay with your giving provider, and nobody gets an invite email until you say go.
You can also bring data across yourself. The history import has a Planning Center preset for Check-Ins exports and for Services schedules, and worship teams can pull their whole song library from Planning Center Services: titles, CCLI numbers, authors and ChordPro charts. See switching to Churchory for the step-by-step guide.
Which should your church choose?
Choose Churchory if…
- You want one people directory and one member app instead of several separate products.
- You want a flat price that doesn't rise as check-ins, volunteers or group members grow.
- You'd like voting, meal trains or live Q&A alongside the basics.
- You want your church's own app in the stores (with Churchory One).
Choose Planning Center if…
- Worship planning is the center of your week and you want Services' depth.
- You only need one or two specialised tools and like adding products one at a time.
- Your staff is already trained on Planning Center and you rely on its integrations.
How do you move from Planning Center to Churchory?
Free staff-run migration: people and households, groups and leaders, upcoming events, serving teams, documents and up to two years of attendance history (giving ledgers stay with your giving provider; nobody is invited until you say go). Self-serve: people CSV import; attendance and serving history import with a Planning Center preset (Check-Ins → Check-ins → Export → CSV; Services → service type → Matrix or People → Export to CSV); and Planning Center Services song import using a personal access token (titles, CCLI numbers, authors, ChordPro charts; preview first; the token is never stored).
Weighing more than two options? See Planning Center alternatives.
Questions about Churchory and Planning Center
What does a church get for the price of Churchory?
Core is free forever: the people directory, families, roles and permissions, church-wide email and push, and the Churchory apps. Each product is $99 a year (or $25 a month), and Churchory One is $599 a year (or $129 a month) for every product and your church's own branded app. Churchory takes no fee on giving beyond Stripe's processing, and migration is free.
Can I import my songs from Planning Center Services?
Yes. An admin creates a Planning Center personal access token, and Churchory imports titles, CCLI numbers, authors and ChordPro charts; the token is used for that import and never stored, and you see a preview before anything is written.
Does Churchory have a free plan like Planning Center?
Yes. Churchory Core is free forever with no card: the people directory, families, roles and permissions, church-wide email and push, and the Churchory apps. Products are $99 a year (or $25 a month) each, or $599 a year (or $129 a month) for Churchory One, each with a 45-day free trial.
Can my church have its own app like Church Center?
Yes. Free Core includes the Churchory Mobile app for iOS and Android, and Churchory One adds your church's own branded app, published under your church's own Apple and Google developer accounts.
Will Planning Center check-in history come across?
Yes. Export check-ins from Planning Center Check-Ins as a CSV and import them with the Planning Center preset, or let our team move up to two years of attendance history for you as part of the free migration.
Which systems can you migrate from?
We migrate churches from Planning Center, Breeze, Church Community Builder, Tithe.ly ChMS / Elvanto, Realm / ACS, Servant Keeper, ChurchTrac, and spreadsheets in Excel or Google Sheets. If you use something else, choose "Something else" on the request form and send an export. Every church database can produce a spreadsheet.
Can we keep our old system running while we switch?
Yes, and most churches do for about a month. Nothing is deleted from your current system by moving. You export a copy, we import it, and the old tool stays as it is until you cancel it.