Nucleus vs Planning Center
Nucleus
nucleus.church
Planning Center
planningcenter.comSide by side
| Figure | Nucleus | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $65/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 11 |
| Spec score · Church Website Builders | 7.7 (#17) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Founded | 2017 | 2006 |
| Giving fees | The pricing page says card processing cost is shown as 2.3% and bank-account gifts cost $0.25 with no percentage fee charged to the church. | US Giving and event payments charge 2.15% plus $0.30 for cards and 0% plus $0.30 for ACH, with an additional 1.5% for international cards. |
| Integrations | Flows and Posts support native Planning Center integrations, and Posts can connect to other ChMS or mailing systems through Zapier. | The integrations directory includes services such as BoxCast, Checkr, Mailchimp, PraiseCharts, SongSelect, Zapier, Clearstream and ProPresenter; most connections are maintained by third parties. |
| Support | Support includes step-by-step help documentation, live classes, and access to a real person; the homepage reports a 2-hour 3-minute average support response. | 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
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
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.