# Page 13 | Planning Center Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra

> Page 13 - Is Planning Center the right Church Management solution for you? Explore 1137 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/76708/Planning-Center/reviews

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Planning Center

4.7 (1137)

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

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Last updated March 13th, 2026

# Page 13 - Reviews of Planning Center

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 301-325 of 1137 Reviews

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Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

Ryan H.  
Worship & Executive Pastor  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great customer service, apps that make sense"

October 11, 2018

5.0

Planning Center's a-la-carte approach to church management software is brilliant. Churches can choose what they need and not have to pay for features they don't. And, PCO is continually improving all of their apps with smart and timely updates.

Pros

Probably the best thing about Planning Center is their customer service! Their support team is always quick to respond and happy to help. On the rare occasion that things have gone wrong, they are transparent and thorough in their follow-up.

Cons

Some of PCO's mobile apps lack some of the more useful features of the web/desktop versions.

Review Source

dK

debbie K.  
Pastor  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "PCO is Helpful"

January 13, 2023

5.0

Pros

We are able to manage all of our kids services and classes and communicate with our volunteers.

Cons

We aren't able to set up multiple service schedules on the same plan

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

January 16, 2023

Thanks Debbie for the review! Our team is always happy to look into any issues you are running into with scheduling. You can reach out to us at support@planningcenter.com, and we'd love to help you today.

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Bookkeeper  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Not keeping up with todays needs..."

February 12, 2019

2.0

Pros

It did have a ton of versatility built into the system.

Cons

Oh my - it would be a very long list. When I was using the product it had very little ability to sync with any app service or any giving service. We are a progressive church and was looking with software that would grow with us and stay current to the times we live in. At the time, that was in no way found here.

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

February 13, 2019

We're sorry to hear that your last experience with Planning Center didn't meet the needs of you and your church. It sounds like it may have been a while since you've last used our apps and with the introduction of APIs for most of them, many third-party integrations are now available. We'd love to address your long list so we can make sure we're moving forward just as your church is. You can send that to support@planning.center!

Jeremy D.  
Business Manager  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Does It All! Planning, Communicating, Streamlining, and MORE!"

May 7, 2018

5.0

I believe it to be the most streamlined event organization software available. From planning, scheduling and communication...every facet is polished and personalized for administrators and users alike. It eliminates the frustrations of guesswork and "over-saturated" notifications, by allowing users to personalize their experience. It truly was developed with the user in mind!

Pros

If you are looking for an organizational software that centers and focuses event information and communicates with all members in a straight-forward, streamlined manner (via email and text notifications)...this is IT! Planning Center handles all aspects of organizing events, while maintaining contacts and communications in a user-friendly fashion. The multiple contact formats allows users to personalize their OWN experience as well, which definitely decreases frustrations for everyone involved. It receives my highest recommendation!

Cons

Quite honestly, and not sounding trite, there really are no cons with this software that would prevent it from being one of the most viable pieces of planning software you own.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Marketing Associate  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Useful tool for churches"

July 16, 2019

4.0

Pros

I appreciated how easy Planning Center is to use and to add people to. The dashboard makes it easy to view services, add members, and add videos/mp3s/pdfs for the service that members can view. It also has a lot of different products that you can take advantage of depending on your team's needs. Overall, it's a great tool to keep your volunteers and staff on the same page and your team doesn't have to be incredibly tech-savvy to take advantage of it.

Cons

I think the emailing system on Planning Center could be a better. It was easy for emails and notifications to get lost or not show up in the primary section of my inbox. Overall though, I really appreciated the easy and versatility of this platform.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Consultant  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Easy to use."

May 21, 2018

5.0

Pros

This software makes it easy to add volunteers and schedule them for positions on Sundays. The volunteers can set how often they can be scheduled in a month and black out dates.

Cons

The network has a tendency to get bogged down on Sundays during peak time. This slow down makes it take longer to check-in guests and register new guests.

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

May 29, 2018

Hi! Sounds like this network issue that you're experiencing on Sunday might be related to something in your building. We take great care to make sure that everything works properly at that time, especially for Check-Ins. If you're continually seeing these types of issues, please contact us at support@planning.center and we'll be happy to troubleshoot with you. Thanks! Reagan Helms Community Support Lead Planning.center

Dana B.  
Worship Leader  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "PCO is essential for Worship Leaders"

September 24, 2019

5.0

I've used PCO for almost 8 years. It is an absolute essential part of my daily ministry planning and programming. It keeps getting better and better.

Pros

The functionality and ease of use. The ability to easily plan, communicate and coordinate several areas of ministry. The price points are great

Cons

I don't really have anything that I don't like about PCO.

Review Source

YL

Yvonne L.  
Coordinator  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Planning center integration for many different purposes within the church"

December 12, 2019

5.0

I have been in charge of importing our database and setting it up and it leaves lots of room for error. It has help me Start work clothes and run reports very easily.

Pros

Planning center integration for many different purposes within the church. When I first use planning center I was a user at a church where I was involved with worship ministry and the planning of services. I would receive an email saying that I had been scheduled for something and it was easy to respond and also give the dates that I wasn’t available in advance. Now I Work for a nonprofit that uses planning center people to organize it’s volunteer base. It easily integrates with mail champ and I love that.

Cons

When I originally used it for service planning I didn’t realize how integrated the People section was. The different sections that you can obtain our little confusing but once you figure that out it’s easy to use.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Restorative Representative  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "I was a worship leader for 10 years, and when this came out it revolutionized it."

May 9, 2018

4.0

Pros

I love that you can schedule players, songs, and have a practice section for the players. One of my favorite features is transposing songs on the fly. Easy for last minute changes and capo transitions.

Cons

Not very easy to use. You need to use planning center for a little while to really understand how to navigate it.

Review Source

LN

Lylah N.  
Worship Pastor  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Planning Center"

December 9, 2021

4.0

Pros

Planning Center is just okay for me - I think there are probably better things to use - but I am not in charge of purchasing a new one.

Cons

Planning Center is not very user friendly initially - it takes quite a while for someone to get acclimated and that is on the time of the volunteer - meaning it is not something I can enforce.

Review Source

MD

Melissa D.  
Pastor  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Planning Center: Learning Curve"

November 5, 2022

4.0

Pros

I like being able to utilize the features of Planning for promoting events, managing volunteers, and creating service plans.

Cons

Planning Center is a major learning curve and takes a lot time to understand in order to fully use it to its full potential.

Review Source

EB

Erica B.  
Operations and Development Manager  
Civic & Social Organization  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Planning Center Gratitude"

December 1, 2023

5.0

Has been a great experience overall! I needed help with a very specific inquiry and the \[sensitive content hidden\] from Customer Service went above and beyond to help.

Pros

Our ministry has been around for some time, but now that we have the capacity to hire staff, we also have the capacity to upgrade our data management. We were already using Planning Center for donor management, but can now use Check-Ins for tracking guests, and Services for a Volunteer Scheduler. It’s been great that this database for churches has worked so well for our nonprofit as well!

Cons

Takes some time to really learn, but thankfully there are tons of videos and a great customer service team. Would love to see a space where you could Test your Event, etc. before it becomes live and you have to make changes.

Review Source

JS

Jesse S.  
Lead Pastor  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Good Church software that does most of what we needed"

October 31, 2019

5.0

Overall I like Planning center. We still use it for a couple departments of our church. But we use a different solution for the major lifting.

Pros

I liked the user interface the most. It was more intuitive than others. We used the giving function and liked it better than other solutions. We like the worship band aspect as well.

Cons

It didn't do scheduling very well. It was limited in robustness - though I know they are getting better.

Reason for choosing Planning Center

Ease of use and support.

Switched from

[ChurchStaq](https://www.capterra.com/p/211982/ChuchStaq/)

CCB was more robust and checked more of the boxes we needed.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Director of Communications  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Planning Center is a No-Brainer for Churches"

July 18, 2019

5.0

Pros

Planning Center keeps our music and tech teams organized.

Cons

The print options look clunky and not very well designed.

Review Source

SV

Scott V.  
Operations Director  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Manages Volunteers Beautifully!"

December 5, 2018

5.0

Pros

This is by far the best product I have used for managing volunteers. You can communicate directly from the platform. It has the ability to have volunteers sign up manually for open positions. It works great with the app that volunteers can download. Amazing way to schedule and maintain teams! I know who is showing up, when they confirmed, where my open positions and needs are every week. Love this platform! Love that its completely cloud based as well. Can access easily from anywhere.

Cons

It can take quite of bit of work to get off the ground depending on the number users you are setting up. Also, can be a little clunky to navigate but once you get the hang of it it works out quite well.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Assistant to Senior Pastor and Adult Discipleship Team Resident  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Helpful for planning services"

November 5, 2018

5.0

Used it for church - small group teams, worship teams, set up and tear down volunteer crews, etc.

Pros

Planning center is most useful for planning services that include songs, charts, speaking times, etc. and delegating roles.

Cons

It is difficult to estimate the number of users required ahead of time, so the pay structure is a bit bothersome and when various users (team leaders with edit rights) tried to add new people, they received a message that they'd have to upgrade the number of users. It would be great if there were more email notifications for when a group is close to thresholds, or someway the account administrator could pre-approve increasing the number of people in the system, so when we need to level-up, a team lead could do this rather than having their service planning be interrupted.

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

November 16, 2018

Hey there, Thanks for taking the time to write a review. Your idea sounds like a great idea. If you haven't already, would you mind sending that in to our support team as a feature request? You can do that by emailing them at support@planningcenteronline.com. Thanks!

Cory C.  
Attorney  
Law Practice  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Very useful overall, but wish there was a way to always access previous weeks"

March 5, 2019

4.0

Pros

For the weeks that I am scheduled to serve, it shows me all the information I need: the order of service, the other people serving with me, the songs, and song file attachments.

Cons

I wish there was a way to look at your previous weeks of service when you are not currently scheduled for any upcoming dates. Also, when playing audio files from the playlist, the system often automatically downloads every file. I don't want to listen to a bunch of click tracks and orchestration tracks that I need to physically skip when I'm listening in the car.

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

March 6, 2019

Thank you, Cory! many of your cons are things that have solutions. Our support teams can help you at support@planning.center.

TN

Tami N.  
IT / Communications Manager  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Your church needs Planning Center"

October 3, 2019

5.0

We used Planning Center for years on the recommendation of another church, thinking it was only for Services because that was all they used it for. Once we realized its full potential, we got rid of our previous CRM and haven't looked back. Being able to add people and not worry about price jumps for that purpose only is an excellent feature and the integration of those people only in the other areas where needed is great. The only thing some might miss about using Planning Center over the larger CRMs is the financial part. Planning Center has a great online giving platform, but not a full blown financial package where you log expenses and all income, etc.

Pros

Starts with a FREE people manager that doesn't charge as you add people Covers areas needed in church management beautifully Doesn't overdo as some of the larger CRMs do Has a step-up program that allows you to grow into pricing factors

Cons

Large gaps in some of the plan update numbers (in "Services" portion) I have a minimum number of characters I have to use here in order to submit, but the above is all I can think of!

Review Source

John C.  
Educational/Leadership Consultant  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Good tool for Musicians to keep up with and practice for song sets"

April 10, 2018

4.0

Pros

The ability to upload files to the server, schedule musicians, and message them all in one place makes it easy to use.

Cons

Oftentimes, some files won't load properly and then have to be reloaded. The ability to better categorize songs by key or topic (multiple tags, perhaps,) would be great.

Review Source

JG

Jeremy G.  
Lead Pastor  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Simple and Easy to Use "

November 8, 2019

5.0

Planning Center is helping us save money, time and energy. Instead of spending time and resources training people on how to use the software, we can spend more time doing what God has called us to do which is minister to people.

Pros

Planning Center is easy to learn, and utilize. We have used another church management system and it was extremely difficult to navigate and to teach others to use. Planning Center People make people management and follow-up simple and streamline. We do not have to send people to workshops to figure out how to use it.

Cons

The one con is that there are different apps to download for each major function (services, people etc.). It would be nice to have one central app.

Reason for choosing Planning Center

Training is everything when it comes to setting people up for success. Planning Center accomplishes the same as Fellowship One, yet it is easier to manage and train people on.

Switched from

[FellowshipOne](https://www.capterra.com/p/230779/Fellowship-One/)

Fellowship One was costly and difficult to utilize. It was not streamlined and took too many steps to accomplish a task. It was very difficult to train people on how to use the software. We had F1 for eight years so we did give it a fair try.

Review Source

PE

Preston E.  
Technical Arts Director  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "The \*Only\* Church Management Software To Use In Your Church"

June 26, 2019

5.0

Pros

It takes care of absolutely every scenario that you might have in your church. There are modules for planning your services, managing the database of people, small groups, event registration, resource management, check-ins for events and services, and tithe/giving. There is NO other platform that handles things the way Planning Center does. If you're not using it, you're missing out. I've been using it for the past 10+ years and it's a game-changer to any church. The Ministry Centered Technologies team really cares about their customers too.

Cons

No complaints about any of it. It does everything you need it to do.

Reason for choosing Planning Center

It's the best. No one else comes close.

Review Source

Andrey C.  
Technology Consultant  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Best in class web-based church CRM"

June 29, 2022

5.0

Pros

Planning Center and all of its extension products really make managing various aspects of a congregation so much more productive. From registrations, to services, to communication, to check ins. So much has been built around Planning Center that it's a pleasure to see it continue to grow and extend out into many gaps in our ministry.

Cons

I don't have anything negative to say about the product. The only down-side is the price, but the product is under constant development and maintenance so it is justified.

Review Source

WJ

William J.  
Corps Officer  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "A must for the organized worship team"

December 14, 2018

4.0

Keeping the worship team prepared and on the same page Maintaining a history of songs we've used (for CCLI as well as just a general history) Music Stand for using chord charts during worship

Pros

I love the collaborative aspect of PCO. The ability for anyone on the team to make changes and see the current plan is fantastic!

Cons

I wish it were a little easier to share chord charts with other churches. I get that there are copyright laws, but for chord charts that are available in different formats online, there shouldn't be any problem with exporting/importing chord charts.

Review Source

Response from Planning Center

December 18, 2018

Hi William! Thanks for the kind and honest review! It's great that you and your team use the app to collaborate. Lots of great things can come from team collaboration! You did mention that you wish it were easier to share chord charts between churches. You'll always have the ability to download and upload chord charts as attachments to any organization, but we recommend making sure you are staying within the bounds of the licensing that you have purchased. If you have any questions about licensing or transferring songs, hit us up through the helpdesk within the app or email us here: support@planning.center.

Greg S.  
Owner  
Computer & Network Security  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Perfect for Churches of all Sizes"

April 17, 2019

4.0

It was a revolutionary product for a much-needed solution and continues to evolve with time.

Pros

Our church uses this software to manage many areas of planning. I regularly interact with the worship team side. We have multiple campuses with multiple teams on each campus. Planning Center allows us to keep track of team members, schedules, songs, multimedia and on. A great feature is the ability for team members to select black-out dates when they are unavailable. No more trying to keep track of who is available when.

Cons

The mobile system navigation (UI) is a little clunky. Even after using it for a long while, you can sometimes lose your way.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Production Support  
Banking  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Highly Recommended"

December 20, 2021

4.0

Pros

easy to use, user friendly, can be accessed on both pc and mobile phone. it doesn't take much space.

Cons

the design is too simple, not beautiful. I hope it can be customized.

Review Source

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