Planning Center
Planning Center is a suite of purpose-built ministry modules — People (free), Giving, Services, Groups, Registrations, and Check-Ins. Each module is best-in-class within its category. Churches adopt modules incrementally, paying only for what they use. Independently owned and deeply trusted by larger evangelical and liturgical churches since 2006.
Tithely
Tithely started as a church giving platform and expanded through acquisitions (Breeze ChMS in 2021, among others) into a full church management suite. The all-in-one bundle includes ChMS (powered by Breeze technology), Giving, Sites (website builder), Church Apps, and streaming partnerships. One invoice, one vendor, broad coverage — though less deep in specialized areas than Planning Center's dedicated modules.
The Tithely–Breeze Acquisition: Why This Comparison Matters Now
Before 2021, Planning Center and Breeze ChMS occupied very different niches. Breeze was the affordable, simple ChMS for small churches; Planning Center was the powerful, modular platform for medium-to-large churches. They rarely competed directly.
When Tithely acquired Breeze in 2021, everything changed. Tithely bundled Breeze's people management and member database into its broader platform, creating a legitimate all-in-one competitor that now goes head-to-head with Planning Center across nearly every product category. A church shopping for a new ChMS in 2026 will almost certainly evaluate both.
The competitive tension is real: Planning Center wins on depth; Tithely wins on breadth and simplicity. This guide helps you figure out which tradeoff serves your ministry better.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
✅ Full feature ⚡ Partial / limited — Not available 🏆 Category winner
| Feature | Planning Center | Tithely |
|---|---|---|
| 👥 People & Database | ||
| Member profiles & contact databaseSearchable, custom fields | 🏆 | |
| Household / family grouping | ||
| Custom people lists & filters | ||
| Attendance tracking | ||
| Child check-in systemKiosk, labels, allergies | 🏆 | |
| Small group management | 🏆 | |
| Event & registration management | 🏆 | |
| 💰 Giving & Finance | ||
| Online & mobile giving | 🏆 | |
| Recurring giving managementDonor portal, schedules | 🏆 | |
| Text-to-give | 🏆 | |
| Donation fund tracking | ||
| Year-end contribution statements | ||
| Pledge campaigns | ||
| Kiosk / in-person giving terminal | 🏆 | |
| 🎵 Worship & Planning | ||
| Service order / set list buildingDrag-and-drop, timing | 🏆 | |
| Volunteer scheduling & confirmationsBlackout dates, auto-reminders | 🏆 | |
| Chord charts & song library | 🏆 | |
| Rehearsal scheduling & media attachments | 🏆 | |
| Team notifications & scheduling emails | ||
| 📣 Communication | ||
| Email messaging to members | ||
| SMS / text messaging | ||
| Push notifications (mobile app) | 🏆 | |
| Automated follow-up workflows | ||
| 🌐 Website & App | ||
| Church website builderDrag-and-drop, hosting included | 🏆 | |
| Branded church mobile app | 🏆 | |
| Live streaming integration | 🏆 | |
| Sermon media hosting & library | ||
| Member-facing app / portal | ||
| 💵 Pricing & Value | ||
| Free tier available | 🏆People module forever free | |
| Flat monthly pricing | ||
| Predictable all-in-one cost | Depends on modules used | 🏆 |
| Per-transaction giving fees | 2.15% + $0.30 (card) | 2.9% + $0.30 (standard) |
Pros & Cons
Planning Center
Pros
- Free People module — no cost to get started with member database
- Best-in-class Services module for worship & volunteer planning
- Deep Groups module for small group ministry tracking
- Robust Check-Ins with child safety labels and allergy alerts
- Modular pricing — pay only for modules you actually use
- Trusted by thousands of large churches; extremely stable platform
- Excellent API & third-party integration ecosystem (Zapier, Slack, etc.)
- Independently owned — not a VC-driven acquisition roll-up
Cons
- No native church website builder — requires separate tool
- No branded mobile app — uses generic Planning Center app
- No live streaming integration
- Costs can stack up fast using 4+ modules at scale
- Steeper learning curve; new staff often need onboarding
- SMS messaging is limited without third-party add-ons
- Each module has its own UI — can feel fragmented to some users
Tithely
Pros
- All-in-one flat rate ($119/mo) covers ChMS, Giving, Website, App, and streaming
- Best-in-class giving tools — text-to-give, kiosk, recurring, campaigns
- Branded church mobile app included in bundle
- Drag-and-drop website builder with hosting included
- Live streaming partnerships (Boxcast, YouTube integration)
- Simpler, more unified admin experience — one login, one vendor
- Push notification support for direct member communication
Cons
- No dedicated service/worship planning module — major gap vs. PC Services
- Volunteer scheduling is basic compared to Planning Center
- Small groups and registrations module depth is limited
- Breeze ChMS is functional but less polished than PC People at scale
- Tithely is a VC-backed acquisitions platform — product direction can shift
- Website builder is entry-level; custom design requires workarounds
- Higher giving transaction fees than Planning Center Giving
Pricing Breakdown
Pricing is where these two platforms diverge most significantly. Planning Center charges per-module with size tiers; Tithely charges a flat bundle rate.
Planning Center (Per Module)
A mid-size church (200–500 members) using People + Giving + Services + Groups typically pays $56–$126/mo in module fees, plus giving transaction fees of 2.15% + $0.30 per card donation.
Tithely (Bundle Pricing)
The $119/mo bundle includes ChMS, online giving portal, text-to-give, church website builder, branded mobile app, and streaming integrations. For churches using 4+ Planning Center modules, Tithely can be cheaper per month — though giving transaction fees are higher.
Transaction Fee Comparison
Over a year, giving transaction fees often dwarf the monthly subscription cost. Planning Center Giving charges 2.15% + $0.30 per card transaction and 1% for ACH (max $2). Tithely charges 2.9% + $0.30 for cards (standard) with some negotiated rates for larger churches.
For a church processing $10,000/month in online donations entirely by card: Planning Center nets approximately $785 in fees; Tithely nets approximately $920. That $135/month difference (~$1,620/year) is meaningful and often offsets the lower subscription cost for giving-heavy churches on Tithely.
Who Should Choose Each Platform?
Choose Planning Center if…
- Your church has 200+ members and growing ministry departments
- You have a dedicated worship leader or production team who needs set lists, chord charts, and rehearsal scheduling
- Volunteer scheduling complexity is a pain point — multiple service times, team positions, blackout dates
- Your children's ministry requires a robust check-in system with security labels and allergy tracking
- You run active small group programs and need a dedicated Groups module
- Your church already uses Planning Center Services and would lose too much workflow switching away
- You want modular flexibility — adopting tools incrementally as your church grows
- You prefer an independently-owned vendor with a track record of stability
Choose Tithely if…
- Your church is under 500 members and wants everything in one place
- Giving and donation management is your primary technology priority
- You want a church website and branded mobile app without managing multiple vendors
- You're tired of juggling separate subscriptions for ChMS, giving, and communications
- Live streaming integration is important and you don't want to configure it separately
- Your worship planning needs are simple — basic volunteer rosters, no deep set list management
- Budget predictability matters and a flat $119/mo is easier to plan around than per-module variable costs
- You're switching from Breeze and want to stay within the same ecosystem post-acquisition
Worship Planning: Planning Center's Biggest Advantage
Planning Center Services is widely regarded as the gold standard for church worship and service planning. No competitor — including Tithely — comes close in this category.
The Services module allows worship leaders to build complete service orders with drag-and-drop song arrangements, attach chord charts and MP3 tracks for each team member, schedule volunteers by position, set blackout dates and availability preferences, and send automated confirmation emails. Volunteers receive mobile-friendly schedule confirmations and can accept or decline directly from a text message.
Tithely has no equivalent. Its volunteer features (inherited from Breeze) allow basic scheduling and communication but lack the depth that a music director or production team needs. If your Sunday worship involves more than a few volunteers, Planning Center Services will dramatically reduce administrative overhead compared to what Tithely currently offers.
When Tithely's Simpler Approach Is Fine
Not every church needs deep worship planning software. If your service is led by a small, consistent team — the same five volunteers every week — basic scheduling in Tithely's ChMS may be perfectly sufficient. The complexity of Planning Center Services is overkill for many smaller congregations that simply need to know who is showing up on Sunday.
Giving Tools: Where Tithely Leads
Tithely was built as a giving platform first, and it shows. The giving feature set is more comprehensive out of the box than Planning Center's Giving module — particularly for churches that prioritize donor experience and multi-channel giving.
Tithely offers text-to-give with a dedicated short code, a physical giving kiosk for in-person donations, robust recurring giving management with a polished donor self-service portal, and native pledge campaign tracking. The mobile giving experience within Tithely's branded church app is seamless — members never leave the app to give.
Planning Center Giving is solid and handles the fundamentals well: online giving, fund management, contribution statements, and basic recurring donations. Its lower transaction fees (2.15% vs. 2.9% for card donations) are a meaningful financial advantage for high-volume churches. But it lacks the text-to-give polish, dedicated kiosk hardware, and embedded-app giving that Tithely provides.
The Transaction Fee Math
If your church donates heavily via ACH (bank transfer), Planning Center wins on fees: 1% capped at $2 versus Tithely's 1% uncapped. For large ACH donations, this cap saves real money each month. For card-heavy congregations, Tithely's 2.9% rate versus Planning Center's 2.15% adds up to a meaningful annual difference — often enough to reconsider which platform truly costs more once all fees are tallied.