Arbor vs Planning Center

Arbor is a Christian discipleship app for individuals, groups, and group leaders on Android and iOS. Its Daily Walk connects a Bible verse and reflection with a practical step; the app also includes a Bible, reading plans, a prayer journal, daily challenges, and streaks. Groups can use chat, a shared prayer wall, Group Pulse, a shared Daily Walk, and accountability circles. Leaders can create groups, schedule gatherings, send reminders, and prepare custom studies and reading plans. Arbor GO connects groups with community needs, supports service coordination, and records completed projects in God at Work. Churches and nonprofits can submit needs, and each submission is reviewed before it reaches users. Arbor Youth offers students daily faith features and group chat, plus tools for youth leaders; its Android app is described as coming soon. Solo users and group members can use Arbor free, while the group leader subscribes. Leader plans include up to 15 members; Church plans support up to 10 groups, with 25 members per group or 35 for Youth. Monthly plans cost $7.99 a month and $49.99 a month; annual plans cost $69.99 a year and $499.99 a year, respectively. Paid plans include a 30-day free trial.

Planning Center is a church ministry platform with products for people management, events, worship planning, donations, groups, and church apps. People centralizes membership information and ministry activity such as attendance, giving, and volunteering. Services supports worship planning, volunteer scheduling, team communication, and rehearsal tools. Other listed capabilities include group management, event registration, child check-in, and SMS messaging. Free plans are listed for Calendar, People, and Services: Calendar includes one room, People has an unlimited database and reporting, and Services includes five team members and 100 MB of storage. The pricing note lists paid access from $5/mo and a 30-day trial; a member limit of 75 is also listed. Services plans include unlimited feature access, teams, service types, and plans, with pricing based on the number of people accessing the system. The Services app supports iOS and Android phones and tablets, but not Windows devices. Integrations include SongSelect, PraiseCharts, Checkr, Mailchimp, Zapier, and third-party tools; an open API is also available. Planning Center states its products suit churches of any size.