ChurchDev vs Planning Center
ChurchDev
churchdev.comPlanning Center
planningcenter.comSide by side
| Figure | ChurchDev | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.58/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 11 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 8.7 (#7) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Founded | BBB records the business start date as August 20, 2012. | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Mooresville, North Carolina, United States | Carlsbad, California, United States |
| Integrations | The live-streaming service supports streaming to church websites and social media, including Facebook and YouTube. | The integrations directory includes services such as BoxCast, Checkr, Mailchimp, PraiseCharts, SongSelect, Zapier, Clearstream and ProPresenter; most connections are maintained by third parties. |
| Mobile app | ChurchDev includes a church mobile app for sermons, events and direct phone messages. | The Planning Center mobile app provides dashboards, tasks, push notifications and product access, but dashboard editing requires a web browser. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | Apple’s listing says the app has not received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview. | 4.6 out of 5 from 34 ratings |
| Rating on Google Play | The Our Church app was rated 4.4 out of 5 from 49 reviews on the opened listing. | 4.1 out of 5 from 8,200 reviews |
| Security | ChurchDev lists SSL hosting, password-protected pages, and nightly backups among plan features. | Planning Center states it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and PCI Level One compliant, encrypts data in transit and at rest, and uses a multilayered backup strategy. |
| Support | ChurchDev advertises phone support Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern and 24/7 email availability. | Support is free for customers and noncustomers, with a stated response time of about one business hour Monday through Friday and a weekend crew for emergencies. |
Plans
ChurchDev
- Membership Directory$10 a month
- Domain registration or transfer$19 a year
- Domain Registration/Transfer$19 a year
- Do It Yourself$29 a month
- Done Exclusively for You$29 a month
- Done for You$29 a month
- Webmaster services$30, paid once
- Webmaster services as needed$30, paid once
- Live Streaming Small$39 a month
- Live Streaming Medium$79 a month
Planning Center
- CalendarFree
- PeopleFree
- ServicesFree
- Services FreeFree
- Services 20$15 a month
- Services 50$32 a month
- Services 150$69 a month
- Services 400$115 a month
- Services 1000$179 a month
- Services$239 a month
In their own words
ChurchDev
ChurchDev provides website design, hosting and management services for churches. Its CMS includes a drag-and-drop builder for people without coding skills, with plans listing unlimited pages, storage, bandwidth, sermons, blog posts and podcasts. Church features include calendars, event registration, prayer requests, volunteer signups, online giving and staff directories. The included mobile app lets members watch sermons, view events and receive messages. An optional member directory supports password-protected access, member self-service, guest logins and CSV import. Live streams can reach church websites and social media such as Facebook and YouTube, but streaming plans require an active ChurchDev website and allow 10 to 50 hours monthly. Stripe processes online giving at 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, with no ChurchDev markup. Website plans start at $29 a month; some include one-time setup charges. Other listed prices include a 10.00 USD monthly membership directory, 19.00 USD annual domain registration and streaming plans from $39 a month.
Planning Center
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.