Planning Center bills your church module by module. Most churches pay $200–$500/month. Passport starts at $9.95.
Planning Center starts free — then adds Check-Ins, Groups, Services, Registrations, and Giving on separate invoices. By the time your church uses the full stack, you're paying 5–10x more than Passport.
What Planning Center actually costs your church
Planning Center's pricing looks simple until you add up the modules your church actually uses. Here is what a typical church with 200-500 attendees pays: (as of April 2026 — verify periodically)
| Module | What it does | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| People | Contact database | Free (the hook) |
| Check-Ins | Attendance tracking | $10–$50 |
| Groups | Small group management | $10–$50 |
| Services | Worship team scheduling | $10–$50 |
| Registrations | Events & sign-ups | $10–$50 |
| Giving | Donation processing | 0.5% of donations* |
| Typical total | $200–$500+/month |
*0.5% on donations = $1,000+/year for a church giving $200k annually.
Savings: $101–$490/month. That is $1,212–$5,880/year your church keeps.
The Planning Center tax
Three ways Planning Center costs more than it should for visitor-focused churches.
Module overload
You pay for 10 modules, you use 3. Every feature you don't need is still on your bill.
Sticker-shock pricing
Costs climb as your church grows. Most churches hit $200–$500/month before they've finished setting up every module they need.
No visitor retention
Great for staff operations, not for the first-time visitor experience. Your guests fall through the cracks.
Feature comparison
How the two platforms stack up across the dimensions that matter for visitor retention.
| Feature | Passport | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor retention focus | — | |
| Purpose-built newcomer journey | — | |
| Attendee & visitor portal | Church Center app | |
| QR guest capture | Check-Ins module | |
| Gift cards for first-time guests | — | |
| Pricing model | Flat $9.95–$99/mo | Per-module, usage-tiered |
| Monthly price | $9.95–$99/mo flat | $200-$500+ across modules |
| Groups & fellowship | ||
| Ease of setup | Simple, under 30 min | Complex, days–weeks |
One retained family pays for a year of Passport
The math is straightforward.
If Passport helps you retain even one family per year, it pays for itself — and then some.
3 months free for Planning Center switchers
Verified Planning Center customers get 3 months of Passport free — no strings attached.
SWITCHPC- Eligibility: verified PC customers (screenshot of PC billing or active PC login on onboarding call)
- Rolling 60-day window from page launch. Does not stack with annual discount.
Which tool is right for you?
We'll be honest — Planning Center is excellent software. Here's how to think about the choice.
Choose Passport if…
Your church's biggest challenge is visitor retention — people show up once and don't come back. Passport gives you a purpose-built newcomer journey: QR check-in, a mobile-first visitor portal, gift card incentives issued at intake, and group connection pathways. At $9.95–$99/month with no per-module pricing, it's approachable for small and mid-sized congregations. If you already use Breeze ChMS, Passport imports your existing member data as a one-way starting point — no migration required.
The math: Passport (from $9.95 for Basic; Plus $49) + Breeze ChMS ($72) = $81.95–$121/month complete stack — versus Planning Center full modules at $200–$500+/month.
Choose Planning Center if…
Your church runs complex worship operations — multi-team volunteer scheduling, detailed service planning, music stand for your worship team, or large-scale giving and registrations. Planning Center's 10-module ecosystem is deep and mature. If you're a larger church that needs a full operational back office and your staff is comfortable learning complex software, Planning Center is a strong choice — just budget $200–$500+/month once you add the modules you actually need.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from churches considering the switch.
Yes, Passport imports your people list. For full ChMS data, we recommend keeping Breeze or your existing ChMS as your record of truth and using Passport layered on top.
No. Many churches run Passport alongside Planning Center during a transition window.
Passport now includes built-in worship service planning — song library, drag-and-drop service order builder, and worship team integration. For complex multi-campus worship team scheduling, Planning Center Services remains a strong specialist tool. Passport's worship planning is designed to complement your scheduling workflow, not replace it.
Not yet. Passport is purpose-built for visitor retention and member engagement. If you need a full ChMS, pair Passport with Breeze (native integration included).
Passport does not charge platform fees on donations. Standard Stripe payment processing rates (2.9% + 30¢) apply, same as any platform — but you will never pay Planning Center-style 0.5% platform cuts on top of that.
Visitor retention is your priority?
Try Passport free. No charges today. See how a purpose-built newcomer journey compares to building workflows manually in Planning Center.
Already use Breeze? See how the integration works →