Church technology

ChurchTrac vs Planning Center (2026)

By FlockConnect · Directed and edited by Michael Tribett · July 3, 2026 · 8 min read

A church plant with no budget and a church running a five-piece worship band every Sunday do not need the same software. ChurchTrac and Planning Center were built for those two different churches, and the honest comparison starts there, not with a feature checklist.

Key takeaways

ChurchTrac has no free plan. As of October 26, 2026, its pricing starts at $29 a month for up to 75 names, with a 30-day free trial, and every size includes fund accounting, giving, a website, and a mobile app.

Planning Center's People database is free at any size, and each other product a church adds, such as Services, Giving, or Check-Ins, is priced by its own measure; its pricing calculator gives the monthly total for a church's own numbers.

ChurchTrac is the strongest budget all-in-one for churches under roughly 2,000 members that want one system covering membership, giving, and basic accounting without stacking modules.

Planning Center wins decisively on worship-team scheduling and integration ecosystem, both areas where ChurchTrac is functional but not built to compete.

Neither system holds the care around each person. FlockConnect adds that layer on top of either one, connecting to ChurchTrac by CSV import and to Planning Center through its Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration.

Quick answer: ChurchTrac or Planning Center?

ChurchTrac is the stronger choice for a small church, a new church plant, or any congregation under roughly 2,000 members that wants one affordable, all-in-one system covering membership, giving, fund accounting, a website, and a mobile app without paying for separate modules. Planning Center is the stronger choice for a worship-driven or growing church that wants best-in-class service planning, a large integration ecosystem, and the flexibility to pay only for the modules it actually uses.

What ChurchTrac actually is

ChurchTrac has been in the church-software market for more than two decades, longer than most of its budget-tier competitors, which gives it a maturity that newer low-cost entrants have not had time to build. It bundles membership management, giving, event planning, fund accounting, a church website builder, and a mobile app into a single subscription, positioning itself as a true all-in-one rather than a suite of separate add-ons.

Pricing model. As of October 26, 2026, ChurchTrac's pricing page lists no free plan. Plans scale with the number of names in the database, from $29 a month for up to 75 names to $119 a month for unlimited names, with 10 percent off for paying yearly and a 30-day free trial that needs no credit card. Confirm current pricing with ChurchTrac.

Best for. Small churches, new church plants, and congregations up to roughly 2,000 members that want one predictable bill covering membership, giving, and basic accounting without assembling a stack of separate tools.

What Planning Center actually is

Planning Center's modular structure was covered in depth in the ultimate church management software comparison: a suite of separate products, People, Services, Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, and Calendar, each turned on as a church needs it.

Pricing model. Per product. As of October 26, 2026, Planning Center's pricing page lists People free at any size and gives most other products a small free tier, then prices each by its own measure: Services by team members, Giving by donations a month, Check-Ins by Sunday check-ins, and Groups by group members. Its calculator gives the monthly total for a church's own numbers.

Best for. Churches with an active worship team, growing or multi-staff churches that want modular control over cost, and any church that wants to pay for exactly the modules it uses.

Where ChurchTrac genuinely wins

Price is the obvious answer, but it is not the only one. ChurchTrac's fund accounting is a real strength: churches running multiple designated funds, memorial gifts, or basic budget tracking get accounting features baked into the core product rather than bolted on or requiring a separate tool like QuickBooks. Its website builder and mobile app are included standard, which for a small church replaces two additional subscriptions many competitors would require separately. For a church watching every line item, that bundling is the whole value proposition, not a minor convenience.

Where Planning Center genuinely wins

Worship-team scheduling is the clearest gap. Planning Center Services remains the category leader for building rotations, managing setlists, and coordinating rehearsal logistics for a band or choir, a depth ChurchTrac's scheduling tools were not built to match. Integration ecosystem is the second clear gap: Planning Center exposes documented APIs and webhooks that a wide range of other church software, FlockConnect included, connects to natively, while ChurchTrac's broader integration list is thinner, generally covering accounting tools like QuickBooks and basic connections to Planning Center and Mailchimp rather than a wide third-party ecosystem.

The honest tipping point

Below roughly 2,000 members, and especially for a church plant or a congregation with no dedicated worship band, ChurchTrac's bundled pricing and included fund accounting usually deliver more value per dollar than assembling an equivalent Planning Center stack. Above that size, or for any church where worship-team scheduling depth genuinely matters, Planning Center's modular structure and stronger Services product tend to justify the higher cost. A church should also weigh the integration question directly: a church that plans to connect several other specialized tools over time will find Planning Center's ecosystem the safer long-term bet.

Where FlockConnect fits with either

Neither ChurchTrac nor Planning Center was built to hold a team's shared care for each person, which is the specific gap FlockConnect, a Church Relationship Manager, exists to close. It does not compete with either system and does not run giving, membership records, or scheduling of its own.

For a church on ChurchTrac, FlockConnect connects the same way it does for any system other than Planning Center: CSV import. A church exports its people from ChurchTrac and brings that file into FlockConnect to add a presence reading for each person, a pastoral interaction log, and care-partner distribution on top of the records ChurchTrac already holds. Planning Center remains the one system FlockConnect syncs with, as an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration, covered in getting the most from Planning Center for pastoral care.

How this fits a full stack decision

Churches rarely choose only between these two vendors. They pick an operational backbone first, then layer giving, apps, and relational care on top. For the full landscape, start with the ultimate church management software comparison (2026). FlockConnect adds shared care on top of whichever ChMS you already run through native Planning Center sync or CSV import everywhere else.

About the editor

Michael Tribett is the founder of FlockConnect, a Church Relationship Manager (ChRM) built for pastoral care. He holds a Master of Divinity in Christian Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he focused on missions and discipleship, and he serves as a small group leader at his church in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. FlockConnect participated in the Missional Labs Faith & AI Accelerator during Winter and Spring of 2026 and is an Official and Authorized Planning Center Integration.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ChurchTrac and Planning Center?

Is ChurchTrac free?

No. As of October 26, 2026, ChurchTrac lists no free plan: pricing starts at $29 a month for up to 75 names and scales with database size, and a 30-day free trial needs no credit card. Confirm current pricing with ChurchTrac directly.

Is ChurchTrac good enough to replace Planning Center for a growing church?

For churches under roughly 2,000 members without a complex worship-team scheduling need, ChurchTrac is a credible all-in-one replacement. Churches with an active worship band or a need for a broad third-party integration ecosystem generally outgrow it and find Planning Center's depth worth the higher cost.

Does ChurchTrac include fund accounting?

Yes, fund accounting is a core, built-in feature of ChurchTrac, which distinguishes it from many budget competitors that require a separate accounting tool like QuickBooks.

Can FlockConnect connect to ChurchTrac?

Yes, through CSV import, the same path FlockConnect uses for every church management system other than Planning Center. A church exports its people from ChurchTrac and imports that file into FlockConnect to add the shared care layer.

Which system has better volunteer or worship scheduling, ChurchTrac or Planning Center?

Planning Center, specifically through its Services product, which is widely regarded as the category leader for worship-team scheduling. ChurchTrac's scheduling tools are functional for general volunteer coordination but were not built to match Services for a band or choir rotation.

Does a small church really need Planning Center's integration ecosystem?

Usually not immediately. A small church with simple needs rarely feels the absence of a broad integration ecosystem. It becomes relevant once a church starts connecting specialized tools, such as a shared care layer like FlockConnect, background-check services, or advanced communication platforms, where Planning Center's documented APIs make those connections easier to build and maintain.

How this was written: drafted with AI from Michael Tribett's ideas and research, then fact-checked and edited by him. How FlockConnect uses AI