Compare
Ekkle vs. Planning Center
If Services is your whole world, Planning Center stays best-in-class. If you want one platform and an assistant that executes, Ekkle fits.
Where Planning Center is strong
- •Planning Center Services is the gold standard for worship planning and volunteer teams.
- •Trusted modular pricing and huge integration ecosystem.
- •Strong published giving rates (2.15% + $0.30).
Where Ekkle is stronger
- •Single all-in-one subscription for messaging, SMS, streaming, sermons, sites, groups, and Assistant — one bill.
- •Ekkle Assistant performs admin tasks across surfaces in one product (where enabled).
- •Branded subdomain and optional white-label iOS path for churches that want their name in the store.
AI positioning
AI list builder and external assistant connectors (e.g. Claude/ChatGPT) for People — read/query, not full cross-product actions.
Ekkle Assistant uses shipped tools to change data and run workflows in your tenant (where your church enables them). See the live list on /assistant.
Pricing snapshot
- Planning Center — monthly (typical)
- Modular: People is free; typical mid church stack $100–$300+/mo depending on modules and usage tiers.
- Ekkle — published
- $150/mo
- Card processing (public / common)
- 2.15% + $0.30 (US cards, published).
- Contracts
- No contracts; monthly or prepaid terms.
Illustrative monthly math
Example only: $8,000/mo in card gifts, ~160 card transactions, Ekkle uses Stripe's common ~2.9% + $0.3/txn for illustration. Competitor uses the "assumed card rate" column in our internal comparison sheet — not legal or tax advice.
| Line | Ekkle | Planning Center |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription (estimate) | $150 | $180 |
| Est. card processing | $280 | $220 |
| Illustrative total | $430 | $400 |
Questions
Should we leave Planning Center for Ekkle?▼
If Planning Center Services drives your whole worship operation, you may keep it and evaluate Ekkle elsewhere. If you want one bill and an assistant that executes tasks across the app, try Ekkle.
Is Planning Center cheaper than Ekkle?▼
Planning Center can be lower at small usage, or higher when you stack many modules. Model your stack on planningcenter.com/pricing and compare to $149.99/mo all-in on Ekkle.