How to Move Your Church From Planning Center (Step by Step)

Planning Center is a capable, well-built platform, and plenty of churches are happy on it. But a lot of leaders reach a point where the model stops fitting — the bill grows with every module and every person added, the giving product carries a per-transaction fee, and there's no native AI to help with sermons or discipleship. If you've been quietly wondering whether the move is worth the hassle, here's the honest answer: the migration is far less work than staying somewhere that no longer fits. Below is the exact process.

Why churches switch from Planning Center

The reasons are consistent. First, cost structure: Planning Center is priced per product and scales with the number of people in your database, and its Giving product adds a per-transaction fee (pricing as of July 2026 — verify on their site). As you grow, so does the bill, across every module you use. Second, no native AI: there's no built-in help for turning sermons into clips, answering members in your church's voice, or grounded Bible study. Third, churches simply want fewer tools — one all-in-one place instead of a stack of separate products to manage and pay for.

We built the full comparison out on our Planning Center alternative page if you want the side-by-side before you commit. The short version: SoapBox is free for churches under 100 members, uses flat pricing above that, takes zero platform fee on giving, and ships built-in AI.

Step 1: Export your data from Planning Center

Everything starts with your data, and it's yours to take. In Planning Center, open each product you use and use its export option to download CSV files. The two that matter most:

1. People — export your full contact list, including households, roles, and any custom fields you rely on. This is your directory.
2. Giving — export your donation history and donor records so your giving statements and reporting stay continuous.

Export from any other module you actively use (Groups, Calendar/Events), keep the files clearly named in one folder, and store them securely — these CSVs contain personal information.

Tip: do a quick cleanup pass in the CSV before importing — merge obvious duplicates and fix empty email fields. A tidy export makes for a clean directory on the other side.

Step 2: Import your people into SoapBox

Create your church on SoapBox — it takes under ten minutes, with no credit card and no contract. Then import your People CSV into the member CRM. Your directory, households, and contact details come across in one pass, so you're not re-keying anyone. Spot-check a handful of records after import to confirm the fields mapped the way you expect.

Step 3: Reconnect online giving

This is the step leaders worry about most, and it's usually the easiest. SoapBox giving runs on Stripe, so you connect (or create) your church's Stripe account and giving is live. The important difference: SoapBox charges zero platform fees. Donations are paid directly into your church's own account — SoapBox never takes a cut, and only standard Stripe processing fees apply. Import your Giving CSV so historical records and statements stay intact, then send a test donation to confirm the flow end to end.

Step 4: Invite your members

With people and giving in place, invite your congregation to the app. Because SoapBox is an all-in-one app — Bible, prayer, sermons, community, and giving in one place on iOS, Android, and web — members have a reason to actually open it, which is the difference between a migration that sticks and one that fizzles. Announce it on a Sunday, send invitations, and point people to the app stores.

Step 5: Turn on the parts Planning Center didn't have

Once you're moved, you get the features that likely prompted the switch. ORA gives members a Scripture-cited Bible study companion in 140+ languages. On paid plans, the AI Sermon Clip Generator turns a sermon into shareable short clips, Pastor Voice Cloning and the Customized Discipleship AI answer members grounded in your own teaching, and the Monday Morning Report summarizes attendance, giving, new members, and engagement. Paid plans start at $50/mo (up to 250 members) with regional discounts up to 80% applied automatically at checkout — a flat plan, not a per-module, per-person bill.

A realistic timeline

For most small and mid-size churches, the core migration is a single day: a couple of hours to export and tidy your CSVs, the import, reconnecting Stripe, and sending invitations. The one habit that makes it painless is a short overlap — keep Planning Center active for a couple of weeks while your congregation moves over, so nothing falls through the cracks during the handoff. Then cancel, and your software bill stops growing every time your church does.