Planning Center vs ChurchTrac
Which church management platform is right for your church? An honest, side-by-side comparison to help you decide.
Overview: Planning Center vs ChurchTrac
Planning Center and ChurchTrac both offer church management software, organised in different ways. Planning Center sells separate apps, including People, Services, Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, Calendar and Registrations, each with its own monthly plan and a free tier. ChurchTrac sells one all-inclusive plan, priced by the number of names you track, that covers people, fund accounting, giving, a website and app, check-in, worship planning, groups, events and volunteers.
This comparison sets out what each product's own site says about its features and pricing.
At a Glance
Planning Center
A suite of separate church software apps
Strengths
- People: church database with custom fields, forms, workflows, email and texting
- Services: worship planning, volunteer scheduling, a song library and key transposition
- Giving reports by donor, fund, campus and payout, with CSV export
- Integrations including ProPresenter, Mailchimp, Clearstream, Checkr and SongSelect
- An open, documented API
Best for churches that want to choose separate apps for people, services, giving, check-in, groups and events
Monthly plans per product. People and Church Center are always free. Calendar, Services, Registrations, Giving, Check-Ins and Groups each have a free tier, with paid tiers from $15/month to $239/month set by usage. Planning Center says there are no contracts and you can cancel anytime.
ChurchTrac
All-in-one church management software
Strengths
- People, groups, attendance and check-in labels with security codes
- Built-in single-entry fund accounting with budgets, balance sheet and income statement
- Stripe-based online giving with recurring gifts and statements
- Church Connect website, iOS and Android app and member portal, included in the subscription
- Worship planning with a song library and service outlines, plus volunteer scheduling
- Triggered and scheduled follow-up automations
Best for small and mid-sized churches, the audience ChurchTrac says it builds for
One all-inclusive plan priced by the number of names tracked: $29/month for 75 names, $39/month for 125, $59/month for 250, $79/month for 500, $99/month for 1,000 and $119/month for unlimited names. ChurchTrac says you can pay yearly and save 10%, and offers a 30-day free trial. ChurchTrac says: no contracts, cancel anytime.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
How Planning Center and ChurchTrac compare across key church management categories.
Planning Center People is a church database with custom fields, a directory, forms and multi-step workflows. ChurchTrac's member database includes member statuses, custom fields, a directory and small groups.
ChurchTrac includes built-in, single-entry fund accounting with budgets, bank sync, and balance sheet, income statement and fund reports, and it calls itself 'a complete QuickBooks replacement for small and mid-size churches'. Planning Center Giving reports by donor, fund, campus and payout, and Planning Center says its CSV exports can be imported into most accounting software.
Planning Center Services covers worship planning, volunteer scheduling, team communication and rehearsal tools, with song transposition and imports from SongSelect, PraiseCharts and RehearsalPack. ChurchTrac's worship planning includes a song library, service outlines, chord charts and a worship app, with SongSelect and PraiseCharts integrations.
Planning Center's paid plans start with the first 30 days free, and People and Church Center are always free. ChurchTrac offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card needed, and says it will import your people and families for you.
Planning Center publishes monthly plans per product: People and Church Center are free, and each other product has a free tier and paid tiers from $15/month to $239/month. ChurchTrac publishes one plan priced by names tracked, from $29/month for 75 names to $119/month for unlimited names.
Planning Center's integrations page lists ProPresenter, Mailchimp, Clearstream, Checkr and SongSelect, and describes an open, documented API. ChurchTrac's site names Stripe for giving, MinistrySafe for background checks, SongSelect and PraiseCharts for songs, Google Calendar sync and Mailchimp email export.
Our Verdict
Planning Center suits churches that want to pick separate apps for people, worship planning, giving, check-in, groups and events, starting on free tiers and adding paid tiers as usage grows.
ChurchTrac suits small and mid-sized churches, the audience ChurchTrac says it builds for, that want people, fund accounting, giving, a website and app, and worship planning on one plan priced by names tracked.
Compare each product's current features and pricing directly before you decide.
Why Consider MosesTab?
Full disclosure: MosesTab is our product. We aim to keep this comparison honest and balanced.
MosesTab brings giving, member management, events and communications together in one platform. Its plans are published on mosestab.com: Free, Growth at $39/month, Pro at $99/month and Enterprise at $199/month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is accounting included in ChurchTrac's plan?
Yes. ChurchTrac's pricing page lists fund accounting in every plan size, and describes it as built-in, single-entry fund accounting. ChurchTrac also offers a one-time Accounting Setup service that sets up your chart of accounts, funds and starting balances.
Can a church move between ChurchTrac and Planning Center later?
Both export data. ChurchTrac's help centre says some reports can be generated as a CSV using an 'Export to CSV' button. Planning Center's help centre describes a full People export under People > Actions > Import & Export CSV, and Planning Center says Giving reports can be exported to CSV.
What does each offer a church plant?
ChurchTrac says it offers church plant discounts through a custom quote. Planning Center People and Church Center are always free, and each other Planning Center product has a free tier.
Does Planning Center include any accounting features?
Planning Center Giving includes giving reports by donor, fund, campus and payout, and Planning Center says its CSV exports can be imported into most accounting software.
Planning Center and ChurchTrac are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for identification purposes only. MosesTab is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Planning Center and ChurchTrac, and they have not reviewed or approved this page. Product information is based on publicly available materials and may change; to report an error, contact [email protected].