Culminate LifeEvents and rooms at no extra cost
Event tickets come with Community, with no charge per attendee, and facility management is free. Planning Center prices Registrations by attendees and Calendar by rooms.
Planning Center alternative
Like Planning Center, with your name.
Culminate Life prices each solution on its own too, without charging for event tickets or rooms, and adds an app with your name.
Side by side
Planning Center and Culminate Life
What each one offers, from Planning Center’s public pages as of November 2026.
| What you need | Planning Center | Culminate Life |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. People is free with no limit, and Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, and others are free at small sizes, such as 10 donations a month. | Yes. Every solution has a free tier, such as Community for up to 100 members and Check-in for up to 50 check-ins a month. |
| How pricing works | Each product is priced on its own by size, from $15 to $239 a month per product. No contracts. | Turn on only the solutions you need. Each is priced by its own size, with 2–10% off when you pay for two or more. |
| Kids check-in | Name tags and parent security labels. Free for up to 10 check-ins a day, then $15–$239 a month. | Self check-in, two-color labels, digital checkout, and one-time pickup codes. |
| Online giving | Card and bank gifts, plus cash and check batches. Free for up to 10 donations a month, then $15–$239. | One-time and recurring gifts by card or bank, plus cash, check, and non-cash gifts in one record. |
| Events and tickets | Registrations, priced by attendees at your largest event: free for 5, then $15–$239 a month. | Events with forms, free or paid tickets, and payments, in Community. No charge per event or attendee. |
| Rooms and facilities | Calendar books rooms: free for 1 room, then $15–$239 a month by number of rooms. | Free: buildings, rooms, booking requests with approval, setups, and equipment. |
| Member app | Church Center, a shared app listed under Planning Center’s name, included. | The Culminate Life app on iPhone and Android: give, check in, groups, and announcements. |
| App with your church’s name | Not offered. Planning Center says it doesn’t offer a branded app icon in the app stores. | Yes, $100 a month: your name, icon, and colors in the App Store and Google Play. |
| Website | Church Center pages through Publishing (free, or $15–$32 a month), on a Church Center address rather than your own domain. | Drag-and-drop website builder, free with Community. |
| Text messaging | $5 a month for a toll-free number, plus 2¢ per text sent. | $2 a month per phone number, plus 2¢ per text sent or received |
| Live streaming | Links to streams on YouTube, Vimeo, Resi, or BoxCast. Needs Publishing Premium, $32 a month. | Video on demand $65 a month; add live streaming for $10. |
| Volunteer scheduling | Services schedules teams and plans services. Free for up to 5 team members, then $15–$239 a month. | Teams is coming soon. |
| Point of sale | Not listed on their site. | Point of sale, $20 a month. |
| Moving your data | Admins can export People and Giving to CSV. | Tell us what you use and we’ll check whether we can bring your records across. |
Prices change. Check Planning Center’s own site for their current details.
Why switch
Where we’re different
Your name in the app stores
Planning Center’s Church Center app is listed under its own name. With white-label, your church’s name and icon are in the App Store and Google Play for $100 a month.
A website of your own
Build your site with drag and drop, free with Community, and it stays in sync with your app.
Video you host with us
Put your sermon library and live stream in your app and on your website, rather than linking out to another service.
Being honest
When Planning Center fits better
No one tool is right for every church.
You plan worship and schedule volunteers today
Planning Center Services is mature and widely used. Our volunteer solution, Teams, is coming soon.
You need a large free people database
Planning Center People is free with no limit. Community is free for up to 100 members, then priced by size.
Moving over
Switching from Planning Center
Start free
Set up the solutions you need on their free tiers while you decide.
Bring your people over
Tell us you’re coming from Planning Center and we’ll check whether we can move your records across.
Invite your people
Share the app and your website, then retire the old tools.
Switch one piece at a time
You don’t have to move everything at once. Start with check-in or giving, and add the rest when you’re ready.
FAQ
Good questions
Does Planning Center offer a white-label app?
No. Planning Center says it doesn’t offer a branded app icon in the app stores; churches use the shared Church Center app. Culminate Life’s white-label puts your name and icon in the stores for $100 a month.
Do we pay for event registrations or room booking?
No. Event tickets come with Community, with no charge per event or attendee, and facility management is free. Planning Center prices Registrations by the attendees at your largest event and Calendar by the number of rooms.
Is Culminate Life cheaper than Planning Center?
It depends on what you use. Both price each product by size and both have free tiers. Build your plan on our pricing page to see your monthly price.
Can we bring our data from Planning Center?
Planning Center lets admins export People and Giving to CSV. Tell us you’re coming from Planning Center and we’ll check whether we can bring your records across.
Do we have to switch everything at once?
No. Start with one solution, such as check-in or giving, and add the rest when you’re ready.
Sources
Planning Center’s own pages, checked November 2026.
- Planning Center pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Church Center vs custom church apps (opens in a new tab)
- Planning Center Publishing (opens in a new tab)
- Planning Center Registrations (opens in a new tab)
- Planning Center Calendar (opens in a new tab)
- Set up text messaging (help) (opens in a new tab)
- Publish your livestream (help) (opens in a new tab)
- Export data (help) (opens in a new tab)
Comparing others? Tithe.ly, Breeze, ChurchTrac.
Planning Center is a trademark of its owner. Culminate Life isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Try it before you switch.
Start free today and bring the rest over at your pace.