Comparison

Epistle vs Planning Center

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Epistle

This app facilitates communication and financial support for missionaries. It allows for easy sharing of ministry updates with photos and videos, automatically sending them to ministry partners who can respond with engagement. It simplifies the process of connecting with supporters and managing ministry outreach.

Highlights
  • Share ministry updates with photos and video
  • Automatic update distribution to partners
  • Ministry partner engagement (likes, prayers, comments)
  • Manage ministry sites
  • Connect with ministry partners
  • Automated email platform
Features
Read full description

Epistle is used by thousands of missionaries to stay connected and funded. It has never been easier to share ministry updates with photos and video. No more hassle with email templates, scheduling, etc. Epistle sends your updates to ministry partners, automatically, using our world-class email platform and gives them the opportunity to respond with likes, prayers and comments. Both missionaries and ministry partners love Epistle: "The greatest thing I could do for my ministry partners." "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Do the two week trial." Supporter: "I feel confident I'm investing well." With paid Epistle subscription you can manage your Epistle site, send updates, and connect with ministry partners. Ministry partners can access Epistle sites to read and respond to your updates without payment. Terms of Use: https://www.epistle.org/terms-of-use/

About

Planning Center

Manage church ministry tasks and access all essential tools on the go. Stay connected with your team, view important updates, and oversee ministry operations from anywhere. This app provides a centralized hub for church administration.

Highlights
  • Access all Planning Center products
  • View admin notifications
  • Home dashboard overview
  • Task management and collaboration
  • Syncs with web actions
Features
Read full description

Ministry work doesn’t just happen at your desk. With the Planning Center app, church admins get mobile access to every product they use, their task lists, and notifications all in one place. The Planning Center you know and love, now easily accessible from the church lobby, the youth building, or wherever your ministry work takes you. Key Features Access any product — Use People, Giving, Services, Check-Ins, or any other product, all from within the app All admin notifications — Facilities requests, workflow updates, form submissions, and more Your Home dashboard — A clear overview of stats, information, and items that need your attention Tasks — Keep collaborating with your team whether you're in a coffee shop or hustling on a Sunday morning Requirements Login requires an existing Planning Center account. Any action you take on web or mobile will be synced. Support Questions, issues, or want to request new features? Go to your profile page by tapping your avatar and use the "Contact Support" link to let us know. Typical reply time is ~1 business hour.

Screenshots

Epistle4 screens
Planning Center4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Epistle at 100% against Planning Center's 45%. Epistle also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). Planning Center's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ratings volume (37 vs 12). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Epistle sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Planning Center asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Epistle holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 37 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Epistle's written reviews are positive against 45% of Planning Center's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Epistle ships an update every 3 weeks, Planning Center fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Epistle versus Planning Center: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEpistlePlanning Center
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (12 ratings) — better4.6 (37 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better45.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1237 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB58 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEpistle LLCMinistry Centered Technologies

Customer experience

Epistle

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Planning Center

All ratings37 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Epistle

Subscriptions5
  • One Epistle Site$17.991 Month
  • Two Epistle Sites$39.991 Month
  • Three Epistle Sites$59.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Four Epistle Sites$79.991 Month
  • Five Epistle Sites$89.991 Month
None

Planning Center

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Epistle free?
Epistle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Planning Center free?
Planning Center is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Epistle or Planning Center?
Epistle is rated higher. Epistle averages 4.8 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Planning Center averages 4.6 from 37 ratings.
Do Epistle or Planning Center have ads?
Neither Epistle nor Planning Center shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Epistle or Planning Center?
Epistle ships an update every 3 weeks, and Planning Center fortnightly. Most recently, Epistle was updated on November 4, 2026 and Planning Center on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons