Comparisons

KanisaHub vs Planning Center

Planning Center is one of the most established church platforms in the United States, sold as separate products — People, Services, Giving, Check-Ins, Groups and Registrations — that you subscribe to individually.

At a glance

KanisaHub next to Planning Center

KanisaHub compared with Planning Center across giving, messaging, billing, branches, payroll, child check-in, member apps and support.
Capability	KanisaHub	Planning Center
M-Pesa & mobile money giving Members give from the wallet they already use, and the gift lands against the right fund.	Yes. M-Pesa, KCB, card and bank transfer, with automatic receipts	No. Card and US bank giving
Bulk SMS & WhatsApp to local numbers Reach the congregation through local gateways instead of exporting numbers to another tool.	Yes. Bulk SMS and WhatsApp built in, sent from your member lists	Partly. Email and SMS through Church Center; no WhatsApp
Priced and reported in KES No card in US dollars, no exchange-rate surprises on the church budget.	Yes. Plans billed in KES, monthly or annually	No. Billed in USD
Multi-branch congregations Each branch runs its own ministry while headquarters sees the combined picture.	Yes. Branch-level permissions with consolidated head office reporting	Partly. Multi-campus handled inside one account
Payroll with local statutory deductions Pastors and staff paid with PAYE, NSSF and SHIF handled inside the same system.	Yes. Staff payroll, ledgers, budgets and expenses in one place	No. Not offered
Child check-in with pickup codes Secure Sunday check-in with guardian codes, allergy notes and printed tags.	Yes. Tablet or phone check-in with matching pickup codes	Yes. Check-Ins module
Member mobile app Sermons, giving, events and announcements in the member's pocket.	Yes. KanisaHub app on Google Play and the App Store	Yes. Church Center app
Onboarding & support in your timezone A team that answers on a Saturday when Sunday is a day away.	Yes. Setup, data migration and support from our own team	No. US business hours

Planning Center details compiled from publicly available vendor information and last checked on 2 September 2026. Confirm the current feature set and pricing with Planning Center before you decide.

Where Planning Center is strong

Services is excellent for planning worship sets and rostering musicians and volunteers.
Check-Ins is a mature, widely used children's ministry product.
The Church Center app gives members a polished, familiar experience.
Deep integration between its own modules once you subscribe to several.

Where churches here hit friction

Giving is built for US bank accounts and cards, so mobile money is not part of the flow.
Subscriptions and support are priced and run in US dollars and US business hours.
Paying for several modules separately adds up quickly for a growing church.
No payroll, so staff pay and statutory deductions live in another system.

Choose Planning Center if

You are a US-based church whose weekly rhythm centres on worship planning and volunteer scheduling, and card or ACH giving is all your members need.

Choose KanisaHub if

Your members give by M-Pesa, your budget is in shillings, and you want membership, giving, finance, payroll and messaging in one subscription instead of five.

Book a walkthrough

Moving from Planning Center? Export your members, families and giving history and our team will map them into KanisaHub with you before you go live. Ask us about migration.