Comparison · updated 22 October 2026
Church Flow vs Planning Center, from South Africa.
Planning Center prices each product on its own monthly meter, in US dollars. Here is how it compares with Church Flow for a South African church, with their facts read on their own pages on the date above. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Why Church Flow
What changes when you move from Planning Center.
01
One subscription, priced in rand
Church Flow is one subscription, priced in rand by how many people attend on an average Sunday, with every ministry module on it. Planning Center bills each product on its own meter: team members, event attendees, monthly donations, check-ins, people in groups and rooms.
02
Online giving for a South African church
Gifts come in through your church's own payment account, with Paystack, Payfast or Peach Payments for rand. Church Flow adds no fee on donations. Planning Center's Giving page lists four countries, each with its own currency: the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
03
WhatsApp in your team's inbox
Your team answers WhatsApp, SMS and email in one shared inbox, one thread per person, on your church's own WhatsApp Business number. Planning Center's texting is a $5 a month toll-free number for Text2Give and texts at $0.02 each from bought credits.
04
Your Planning Center records come with you
Church Flow connects to Planning Center directly and pulls your people and households, groups, giving, pledges, Check-Ins history and notes across. Every record is checked before it is saved.
The differences that matter
Side by side.
| Question | Church Flow | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| How is it priced? | In rand, by how many people attend on an average Sunday, from R79 a month for up to 50 on a Sunday. Every ministry module is on every plan. Extra: the Church Flow App add-on, at half your plan's price again; with it, your members install the Church Flow app and see your church's name, logo, colours and content. Messages are billed by your own SMS, email and WhatsApp accounts, or paid from Church Flow SMS credits. Branded short links come with Growing (R449 a month, up to 300 on a Sunday) and up, your own web address with Thriving (R999 a month, up to 750 on a Sunday) and up. No VAT is added: Church Flow isn't VAT-registered. The pricing page lists every size. | Per product, each on its own monthly meter, such as team members in Services, donations a month in Giving and check-ins in Check-Ins. People, the member database, is free. Past their free levels, Services, Registrations, Giving, Check-Ins, Groups and Calendar each cost from $15 a month, up to $239 at their highest level. |
| Which currency is the bill in? | Rand. | US dollars: their Giving page says Planning Center pricing is in USD. What it costs in rand moves with the exchange rate. |
| Online giving in South Africa | Gifts come in through your church's own payment account, with Paystack, Payfast or Peach Payments for rand. Church Flow adds no fee on donations; you pay only your payment provider's charges. Pledge campaigns, batch counting and year-end statements are on every plan. | Their Giving page lists four countries, each with its currency: the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; South Africa isn't one of them. |
| Messaging your congregation | One shared inbox for WhatsApp, SMS and email, one thread per person, with assignment and message templates. Mass messages go out at a steady pace, and anyone who replies STOP is opted out automatically. WhatsApp runs on your church's own WhatsApp Business number. | Email, plus texting: a toll-free number at $5 a month for Text2Give, and texts at $0.02 each from bought credits. |
Planning Center facts read on planningcenter.com, its pricing and Giving pages, on 22 October 2026. Planning Center is a trademark of its owner; this page is our reading of their public pages, and corrections are welcome.
The bottom line.
The move from Planning Center is built in: connect it with a personal access token, look over every row, then confirm. Pull once to try it, and again on the weekend you switch: records the first pull brought in are recognised, so they are not added twice.
From then on, one subscription in rand runs your services and volunteer scheduling, and your giving with pledge campaigns and year-end statements. Services plans, songs and schedules don't come across, so you plan your services afresh in Church Flow. Your team answers WhatsApp, SMS and email in one inbox.
Asked at decision time.
Planning Center's Giving page lists four countries, each with its currency: the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; South Africa isn't one of them. On Church Flow, gifts come in through your church's own payment account, with Paystack, Payfast or Peach Payments for rand. Church Flow adds no fee on donations.
People, its member database, is free. Each product also has a free level, such as 10 donations a month in Giving and 10 daily check-ins in Check-Ins. Past those, each product is its own monthly subscription in US dollars, from $15 a month at the first paid level to $239 at the highest. Church Flow is one subscription in rand, by how many people attend on an average Sunday. A month, it is R79 for up to 50 on a Sunday, R149 up to 100, R299 up to 200, R449 up to 300, R699 up to 500, R999 up to 750, R1 399 up to 1 200 and R1 999 up to 2 000. Every ministry module is on every plan, and the Church Flow App add-on is half your plan's price again: R448.50 a month in all on Rooted, for up to 200 people. Short links come with Growing and up, and your own web address with Thriving and up. Messages are billed by your own SMS, email and WhatsApp accounts, or paid from Church Flow SMS credits. No VAT is added: Church Flow isn't VAT-registered.
Yes. Start the trial and pull your Planning Center records into it. On the weekend you switch, pull again: anything new comes across. Records the first pull brought in are recognised by their Planning Center IDs, so they are not added twice.
Yes. Planning Center connects directly: an administrator creates a personal access token in Planning Center, a code that lets Church Flow read your records there. Church Flow then pulls your people and households, profile photos, custom fields, groups and their members, giving, pledges, Check-Ins history and notes. Anything else, such as Services plans, songs and schedules, Registrations and Calendar events, and recurring donation schedules, stays in Planning Center. Look over the rows, choose what to do with any possible duplicates, and confirm. Nothing is saved before that, and you can undo the import for 30 days. If you would rather use a file, Church Flow also recognises Planning Center's people export. If you get stuck, a person helps, free. The switching guide shows each step.
Start with a test import.
Your workspace opens as soon as you finish signing up, and you bring your people in when you are ready.
Start your 30-day free trialNo card needed. When the 30 days end, nothing is charged unless you subscribe.
Want to see it first? Book a demo, on demo data or a test import of your own.
Questions first? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp +27 68 619 2116, and a person replies within one business day.