The Planning Center pricing problem
Planning Center charges per module, and most of those modules charge more as your church grows. Check-In, Services, Giving, Groups, and Registrations are all priced separately, and several are tiered by congregation size. A church of 500 using four or five modules can easily spend $200–$400/month. A larger church can push past $1,000/month.
Tithely All Access bundles everything—giving, church management, messaging, a custom church app, a full website, service planning, and events—for a flat $119/month, no matter how much your church grows.
Planning Center
$
200–
1,000+
/mo
Price scales with your congregation size. Each module is billed separately — Giving, Services, Check-In, Groups, and Registrations all cost extra.
- Per-module billing — costs stack up
- Price increases as your church grows
- No church app included
- No website builder included
- Giving is a separate add-on
Tithely All Access
Everything included
$
119
/mo
One flat rate — always. Price never changes no matter how much your church grows.
- Giving — free, always included
- Church management & people
- Custom church app (iOS & Android)
- Church website builder
- Service & worship planning
- Email, text & push messaging
- Events, check-in & groups
What Planning Center does well (and where it falls short)
Planning Center built its reputation on service planning and volunteer scheduling, and it earns it. If your worship team's primary need is service order management, song libraries, and volunteer communication, Planning Center Services is genuinely excellent.
Where it runs into friction:
Volunteer complexity. Scheduled volunteers need their own Planning Center account to accept or decline. For churches with a large pool of occasional volunteers, this creates real adoption problems and frustrated volunteers who don't want another app login.
No built-in giving. Planning Center Giving is a separate, add-on product. If you want giving integrated with your member management, that's an additional cost on top of whatever modules you're already paying for.
No church website or app included. If you want a church website or a custom mobile app for your congregation, you'll need third-party tools and another monthly bill. Tithely includes both.
Tithely vs Planning Center: full feature comparison
See how both platforms stack up across giving, church management, communication, and more.
| Feature |
Tithely All Access |
Planning Center |
| Pricing |
| Monthly cost |
$119/mo flat rate |
$200–$1,000+/mo |
| Price scales with congregation size |
Never increases |
Yes — grows as you grow |
| Per-module billing |
No — everything included |
Yes — each module billed separately |
| Free trial |
30 days, no card required |
Limited free tier available |
| Giving |
| Online giving |
Included free |
Add-on product, extra cost |
| Recurring giving |
Included |
Available via Giving add-on |
| Donor fee coverage |
Yes — 60% of donors opt in |
Available via Giving add-on |
| Text giving |
Included |
Available via Giving add-on |
| NFC tap giving (physical tap point) |
Tithely Tap — included |
Not available |
| Giving data synced to ChMS |
Native, automatic sync |
Requires separate integration |
| People & church management |
| People / member database |
Included |
Included |
| Attendance tracking |
Included |
Included |
| Groups management |
Included |
Separate module — extra cost |
| Events & check-in |
Included, unlimited |
Separate module — extra cost |
| Background checks |
Included |
Not available |
| Service planning & volunteers |
| Service & worship planning |
Included |
Included (Planning Center's strength) |
| Volunteer scheduling |
Included |
Included |
| Volunteers need their own account |
No account required |
Yes — required for scheduling |
| Communication |
| Email & text messaging |
Included |
Limited — full messaging is add-on |
| Push notifications via church app |
Included |
Not available |
| Digital presence |
| Custom church mobile app |
Included — iOS & Android |
Not available |
| Church website builder |
Included |
Not available |
| Support |
| Phone, chat & email support |
Included, no contracts |
Varies by plan |
| Onboarding & training resources |
Tithely University — free |
Included |
| GDPR compliance |
Fully compliant |
Partial |
Ready to make the switch?
Everything your church needs.
One flat price. No surprises.
Tithely All Access includes giving, church management, a custom app, a website, and service planning—all for $119/month, no matter how much your church grows.
Who should use Planning Center
Planning Center is a good fit for larger churches that have a dedicated tech-savvy staff, primarily need service planning and volunteer management, and are already invested in the Planning Center ecosystem. If your worship team lives in Planning Center Services and your church has the budget for the module stack, it works well.
Who should use Tithely
Tithely is the better fit for churches that want a single platform for giving, communication, people management, a church app, and a website without stitching together multiple tools or watching costs scale with every new member. Tithely All Access is especially strong for small to mid-sized churches that need everything to work together from day one.
With 50,000+ churches already on Tithely, it's proven at scale, and the flat $119/month price means there are no surprises as your church grows.
What Churches Are Saying About Tithely
“I can see both a high-level view of the church and drill down to individual members. As a pastor, that’s invaluable.” — Doug
“Scheduling teams became effortless, and making last-minute changes was easy. Tithely saved me so much time.” — Alyson
Final Thoughts
Planning Center is a respected tool, but it’s not right for every church, especially as costs rise with growth. Tithely offers a powerful, affordable alternative designed to help churches thrive without financial strain.
Make sure you explore all your options and choose the ChMS that best supports your mission.
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