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Certain Event Automation Software vs. Planning Center

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Certain Event Automation Software

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ACertain is a leading provider of enterprise Event Automation software to Fortune 1000 companies. The vendor’s value proposition is that Certain gives users everything they need to plan events, engage attendees, and achieve sales and marketing results. The vendor says their software helps data-driven marketers and event professionals capture and integrate rich buying signals and attendee insights into omni-channel marketing campaigns to improve sales and marketing results and deliver credible…

    $9,990

    per year

    Planning Center

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/APlanning Center in Carlsbad offers modular church management applications, providing CRM, tithe management, event registration and attendance, and volunteer resource scheduling.

    $14

    per month

    Pricing
    Certain Event Automation SoftwarePlanning Center
    Editions & Modules
    Be Certain Essential
    $9,990
    per year
    Be Certain Pro
    $19,999
    per year
    Be Certain Enterprise
    Contact
    Calendar
    14+
    per month
    Check-ins
    14+
    per month
    Giving
    14+
    per month
    Groups
    14+
    per month
    Registration
    14+
    per month
    Services
    14+
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Certain Event Automation SoftwarePlanning Center
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Prices increase based on the number of members and attendees.
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    Certain Event Automation SoftwarePlanning Center
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    Webex Events (formerly Socio)
    Score8.9 out of 10
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    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Certain Event Automation SoftwarePlanning Center
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Certain Event Automation SoftwarePlanning Center
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Certain, Inc.
    Certain is very well suited for any type of event or tradeshow that require specific fields from registrants and an automated email sequence to keep them engaged. It's less appropriate for one-off events, since setting up those pages can be quite complex if you're used to the types of Eventbrite/Sympla. If you don't really build event pages regularly, I'd recommend a software that's more simple, which should address what you need.
    Incentivized
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    Planning Center
    Planning Center is incredibly helpful if you are in the business of putting on events, performances, or productions. In such situations, Planning Center will help you coordinate with a large group of people, clearly showing who is expected to do what during the order of a service. If you are planning a major event (a wedding service, a major birthday party, a work event, or any kind of production), Planning Center will foster both teamwork and clarity. The only scenario I can envision Planning Center not being helpful would be a more laissez-faire type of event, (like a "come and go" reception).
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Certain, Inc.
    • Easy to use and create
    • Easy to pull reports once event has been sent to attendees
    • Great way to gather a lot of information
    Incentivized
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    Planning Center
    • Volunteer Management
    • Scheduling
    • File Hosting
    • Communication tools
    • Automated reminders
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Certain, Inc.
    • Dashboards: It's quite important for leadership to get a visual of what their event registrants look like (with graphs, for example). Now, Certain does not present a feature to create dashboards, so we have to export their reports and create our dashboards ourselves.
    • UX when setting up an event: Now this can be quite complex, as it's not as easy to use or intuitive. Many different tabs with many different sub-items can present a confusing experience for newcomers when building an event.
    Incentivized
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    Planning Center
    • Adding files to an item on a playlist can be hard to find outside of that set.
    • Previewing songs on import gives very limited info - can be hard to find the correct one.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Certain, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Planning Center
    Planning Center is very user friendly on both the front and back ends.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Certain, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Planning Center
    I've not needed to use Planning Center support. In the few instances that I would have thought would "require support," tips and notices popped up on screen letting me know what was happening. There are very VERY few issues that I've found with Planning Center. The interface has been intuitive and powerful, so I've not needed to use their support service.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Certain, Inc.
    My company selected Certain and continues to use Certain because it is quick, easy, and efficient. We create up to 20 registration links a year and Certain allows us to create templates to copy and create annual event links very fast. I also love that there is someone there to speak to if I ever need assistance
    Incentivized
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    Planning Center
    At one point, I was presented with both Asana and Trello as helpful tools to facilitate teamwork and collaboration amongst a large group of people. However, when it comes to putting on productions/services/events, Planning Center just seemed to have everything we need. I have never really once given thought to moving on from Planning Center. I'm sure Asana and Trello have much to offer, and I did briefly consider the, but Planning Center (for what we needed) was a grand-slam, home run.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Certain, Inc.
    • Certain helps to deliver a great customer experience, since it facilitates automatic email delivery and your company can keep them connected well before or well after an event.
    • Certain presents a wide variety of reports, which perfectly addresses any request for visibility coming from your organization.
    • Certain's configuration settings are quite complex, so our newcomers are not comfortable using the software at first.
    • In case you need a more visual representation of your audience, Certain, unfortunately, does not generate dashboards.
    Incentivized
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    Planning Center
    • Planning Center Services has become an irreplaceable part of our Sunday gathering preparation
    • Planning Center Music Stand is an invaluable tool for rehearsal and performance of songs each week
    • Planning Center Giving helped us establish easy ways for folks to give online during COVID and beyond
    • Planning Center Registrations helped us navigate attendance issues during COVID, and has always been our go-to for gathering information for Events
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots