Planning Center vs. Smart Church Solutions eSPACE

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Planning Center
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Planning Center in Carlsbad offers modular church management applications, providing CRM, tithe management, event registration and attendance, and volunteer resource scheduling.
$14
per month
eSPACE
Score 0.0 out of 10
N/A
The Cool Solutions Group (or Smart Church Solutions) in Charlotte offers eSPACE, a church management solution combining work order management, event management, and worship planning.N/A
Pricing
Planning CenterSmart Church Solutions eSPACE
Editions & Modules
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Planning CentereSPACE
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices increase based on the number of members and attendees.—
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Planning CenterSmart Church Solutions eSPACE
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

User Ratings
Planning CenterSmart Church Solutions eSPACE
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Planning CenterSmart Church Solutions eSPACE
Likelihood to Recommend
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).
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
No answers on this topic
Pros
Planning Center
  • Volunteer Management
  • Scheduling
  • File Hosting
  • Communication tools
  • Automated reminders
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
No answers on this topic
Cons
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.
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
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Return on Investment
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
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Smart Church Solutions (Cool Solutions Group)
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ScreenShots