Compare / Planning Center
Kinship vs Planning Center
Ten separate products, each with its own tier and billing. A 400-person church typically pays $200–400/mo. Kinship includes everything for $50/mo at that size — and starts free for smaller churches.
Visit Planning Center's website to compare for yourself.
Kinship
$0–100/mo
Fair-share tiers. Free up to 50 active members.
Planning Center
$200–500+/mo
Per-module, per-usage tiers.
Annual savings
$1,200–6,000+
Based on a typical 400-person church ($50/mo tier).
Product Model
Planning Center
10 separate modules to buy and manage individually
Kinship
Everything included on every plan — one platform, one price
Communication
Planning Center
No built-in email — requires Mailchimp add-on at extra cost
Kinship
Email, SMS, automation, and A/B testing — all built in at $0 extra
Contracts
Planning Center
Annual commitments encouraged with discounts for lock-in
Kinship
Month-to-month. No annual contracts. No setup fees. Cancel anytime.
Feature-by-feature comparison
An honest look at what each platform offers. Where Planning Center excels, we say so.
People & Membership
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Member database | ||
| Family/household linking | ||
| Custom fields | ||
| Member self-service portal | ||
| CSV import/export | ||
| Merge duplicates | ||
| Background checks | Checkr | |
| Custom forms | ||
| Member notes | Workflows | |
| Multi-campus |
Communication
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Email sending (bulk) | ||
| SMS/text messaging | Paid credits | |
| Rich HTML email editor | Basic | |
| Email templates | ||
| Scheduled sending | ||
| Per-recipient tracking | Partial | |
| Audience segments | Advanced rule-based | |
| Automation / drip sequences | Workflows | |
| A/B testing | ||
| SMS conversation threading | ||
| Push notifications | Planned |
Giving & Finance
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Online giving | ||
| Recurring donations | ||
| Fund management | ||
| Pledge tracking | ||
| Giving statements | ||
| Processing fees | Zero markup. Volume discounts passed through | 2.15% + $0.30 |
| Donor-covers-fee | ||
| Text-to-give | Planned | |
| ACH / bank transfer | ||
| Kiosk giving |
Events & Attendance
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Event calendar | ||
| Event registration | ||
| Paid event ticketing | Stripe | |
| Recurring events | ||
| Room/resource booking | ||
| Attendance tracking | ||
| Self-serve check-in (kiosk) | ||
| Child check-in with security | Best-in-class | |
| QR code check-in | ||
| Event reminders | ||
| Public event calendar |
Groups
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Small groups | ||
| Group membership management | ||
| Group leaders | ||
| Group communication | ||
| Public group finder | ||
| In-app messaging (1-1, group, public) | Church Center |
Volunteer Scheduling
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Serving teams / positions | Best-in-class | |
| Volunteer scheduling | ||
| Blockout dates | ||
| Schedule accept/decline | ||
| Volunteer reminders | ||
| Auto-scheduling | Planned |
Admin & Platform
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Granular RBAC (30+ permissions) | ||
| Custom permission groups | ||
| Audit logging | Partial | |
| Scoped API keys with usage analytics | ||
| Public REST API | ||
| Webhooks | ||
| Feature flags | ||
| GDPR data export & deletion | Partial | |
| Onboarding wizard |
Safeguarding & Care
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Safeguarding system (risk flags, suspensions) | ||
| Accountability partners | ||
| Safeguarding audit trail | ||
| Pastoral care case management | ||
| Background check integration | Checkr |
Community & Messaging
| Feature | Kinship | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Community feed with reactions | ||
| Real-time member messaging | ||
| Member directory | ||
| Member achievements / badges |
Based on publicly available information as of March 2026. We encourage you to verify directly with Planning Center.
What Kinship doesn't have (yet)
- Worship planning / song database / chord charts (planned)
- Mobile app (planned)
- ProPresenter integration
Keep PC Services for worship planning. Use Kinship for everything else.
A note on giving processing rates
Planning Center processes donations at 2.15% + $0.30 — lower than Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30. That's volume negotiation across thousands of churches, not magic.
Our approach: Kinship offers two options. Connect through Kinship for streamlined processing where volume-based rate improvements are passed along automatically, or bring your own Stripe account if you prefer full control over your processing relationship. Either way, we add zero markup — the rate you pay is exactly what the processor charges, published transparently.
Stop paying per module
Everything Planning Center charges separately for — included on every tier. Start free with up to 50 active members.