Planning Center VS Pro Don

Planning Center focuses on church management while ProDon specializes in donor databases, but both charge monthly fees that add up over time. Zeffy gives you complete donor management, online giving, event ticketing, and member communication tools with zero fees — so every dollar raised stays with your ministry.

Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits

ProDon

Planning Center VS Pro Don

Planning Center VS Pro Don: What nonprofits should know before choosing.

Donor Management CRM Features

Easy Donor Database

Information not available

Donation History & Notes per Donor

Information not available

Donor Tags / Segments

Information not available

Built-in Donation Tracking (No Integrations Needed)

Information not available

Emailing to Donors (Receipts, Thank yous, Newsletters)

Information not available

Smart Filters (Search by Donation, Campaign, Date...)

Information not available

Export Donor Data Anytime

Information not available

Offline Donations Tracking

Information not available

Pre-filled donation forms

Information not available

Pricing

N/A.

No pricing information available

N/A.

No pricing information available

Processing fees

2.15% + $0.30.

per donation for credit/debit cards in the USA; additional regional rates for ACH, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

0.25%.

discount on processing fees for the Collaborator plan; base rate is competitive, varies by plan, and is processed via Paysafe.

Platform fees

$0.

No platform fees beyond the subscription – no setup fees, monthly minimums, or cancellation fees.

N/A.

Included in monthly subscription (online forms platform for Donations, Ticketing, and Donor Cover).

Monthly fees

$0.

Free tier for up to 10 donations per month; higher-volume tiers available on paid plans.

N/A.

Contact for pricing – no public pricing available.

Value for money

4.5.

3.0.

Features

4.5/5.

Built for churches. Solid donor tracking, but needs extra tools for fundraising events and email campaigns.

3.0/5.

Powerful donor database, but steep learning curve. Extra fees and integrations add up fast.

Donations

Basic donation tracking and donor management, but no built-in payment processing or donation forms

ProDon handles donation processing and donor management but charges processing fees on top of their monthly subscription costs.

Ticketing

Event registration and check-in features, but limited ticketing options for fundraising events

ProDon doesn't provide event ticketing features. You'd need additional software to sell tickets and manage event registrations.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Limited peer-to-peer fundraising tools, mainly focused on event registration rather than campaign creation

ProDon doesn't offer peer-to-peer fundraising tools. Supporters can't easily create their own fundraising pages for your cause.

Auctions

Planning Center doesn't offer auction management tools or bidding features for fundraising events

ProDon doesn't offer auction functionality. You'd need separate auction software and manual processes to track bidders and donations.

Raffles

No dedicated raffle management system or ticket sales functionality for fundraising raffles

ProDon lacks built-in raffle functionality. You'd need separate tools to manage ticket sales and winner selection processes.

Online store

No e-commerce or online store functionality available for selling merchandise or products

ProDon doesn't include online store capabilities. You'd need to integrate with separate e-commerce platforms for merchandise sales.

Memberships

Planning Center focuses on church management rather than traditional nonprofit memberships. Limited membership tracking features.

ProDon offers basic membership tracking but requires manual setup and lacks automated renewal reminders or member communication tools.

Donor Management/CRM

Strong church-focused donor tracking with giving history, family connections, and attendance integration. Built for church workflows.

ProDon provides comprehensive donor management with detailed giving history, pledge tracking, and custom fields, but the interface feels outdated and complex.

Emails & Newsletter

No built-in email marketing. Requires separate tools or integrations for newsletter campaigns and donor communications.

ProDon includes basic email capabilities but lacks advanced segmentation, automation, and modern email design tools for effective donor communication.

Payment Processing

Basic online giving with transaction fees. Requires integration with third-party processors for full payment functionality.

Payment methods

Basic giving features for churches only

No payment processing - data management only

Credit Card Payments

Limited - Only basic giving features for churches, not comprehensive payment processing

Not supported - ProDon focuses on donor data management, not payment processing

Apple Pay & Google Pay

Not supported - Planning Center is church management software, not a payment platform

Not supported - ProDon focuses on donor data management, not payment processing

ACH / Bank Transfers

Not supported - Planning Center focuses on church management, not payment processing

Not supported - ProDon focuses on donor data management, not payment processing

Tap to Pay App

Not supported - Planning Center doesn't offer point-of-sale or mobile payment solutions

Not supported - ProDon focuses on donor data management, not payment processing

Customer Support

4.5/5.

3.0/5.

Unlimited Support

Planning Center offers limited support based on plan tier

ProDon offers limited support based on subscription tier

Phone Support / Office Hours

Planning Center provides phone support during standard business hours

ProDon provides phone support during standard business hours

Webinars

Planning Center offers regular training webinars and educational sessions

ProDon offers training webinars and educational sessions for users

Help Center

Planning Center maintains a comprehensive help center with articles and guides

ProDon maintains a comprehensive help center with guides and FAQs

Planning Center provides live chat support during business hours

ProDon provides live chat support during business hours

Nonprofit-Focused Support Team

Support access depends on plan tier with phone and chat during business hours only

Support access depends on subscription tier with phone and chat during business hours only

Zeffy is 100% free, always.

Calculate savings

How is Zeffy free?

Why Zeffy over Planning Center and ProDon?

Why choose Zeffy over Planning Center and ProDon if you're a nonprofit

💸

Planning Center and ProDon charge monthly fees plus card processing costs

Zeffy eliminates all fees so your donor management actually saves money instead of adding monthly costs to your budget.

💳

Planning Center lacks payment processing while ProDon requires technical setup

Zeffy includes built-in payment processing and simple setup so you can start accepting donations immediately without technical barriers.

🤝

Planning Center serves churches only while ProDon offers limited support options

Zeffy serves all nonprofits with unlimited support so you get help when you need it, not just during business hours.

Frequently asked questions

Why choose Zeffy over Planning Center for donor management?

Planning Center is built for churches, not nonprofits. While it tracks giving, it lacks payment processing and charges monthly fees plus transaction costs. Zeffy offers complete donor management with zero fees, so 100% of donations reach your cause.

How does Zeffy compare to ProDon for fundraising campaigns?

ProDon requires monthly subscriptions plus processing fees that eat into donations. It also lacks built-in payment processing and peer-to-peer tools. Zeffy provides complete fundraising features with zero fees, keeping more money for your mission.

Can Zeffy handle what Planning Center and ProDon can't?

Yes. Unlike Planning Center's church focus or ProDon's limited payment options, Zeffy offers complete nonprofit tools: donation forms, event ticketing, auctions, and peer-to-peer campaigns. All with zero fees and donors can leave voluntary contributions.

How does Zeffy's donor management compare to Planning Center and ProDon?

Planning Center is built for churches, not nonprofits, while ProDon charges monthly fees plus processing costs. Zeffy offers complete donor management with zero fees, so every dollar donated stays with your cause.

Why do nonprofits choose Zeffy over traditional donor management systems?

Traditional donor management systems like Planning Center and ProDon charge monthly subscriptions plus transaction fees. Zeffy provides the same donor tracking and campaign tools with zero fees, keeping more money for your mission.

Looking for a better option?

Zeffy was built for nonprofits like yours

focus on what matters

Built for small teams with big missions.

Zeffy is the fundraising platform that cuts out the fees, clears up your tech mess, and puts your cause first — so your team, even if you're a small team wearing many hats or a one-person show, can focus on what really matters.

Start your nonprofit

ZERO-FEE

Keep 100% of every dollar.

No platform fees. No processing fees. No catch. We know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not. Every penny goes straight to your mission, while competitors take 2-3% off every donation.

Start your nonprofit

ALL-IN-ONE PLatform

Ditch the tech mess.

Stop bouncing between MailChimp, Eventbrite, and all those spreadsheets. Now you can handle donations, ticket sales, memberships, raffles, and all your donor info in one spot.

Start your nonprofit

plug-and-play

Get going, fast.

Built for teams like yours — whether you're volunteer-led or have limited staff. Set up donation forms, sell tickets, and launch campaigns without needing a tech wizard. It's super easy, and you'll be up and running in minutes.

Start your nonprofit

mobile-first

Fundraise from every device, anywhere.

From QR codes on flyers to Tap-to-Pay on a phone, Zeffy makes it easy to accept donations on the go. Mobile-optimized and offline-ready, so no donor slips through the cracks.

Start your nonprofit

No turnover

Never lose a donor to volunteer transition.

Centralize supporter relationships, automate thank-you messages, and preserve institutional knowledge when board members rotate out.

Start your nonprofit

100% free forever.

100,000+ nonprofits trust Zeffy — and keep their fees at $0.

For 7+ years, Zeffy has supported nonprofits with free, user-friendly fundraising tools.

As a startup nonprofit with only two members, and no funding (yet) we’d need something with low (or no) fees. Zeffy was a dream come true.

Masey, Loose Ends.

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“We were incurring a ton of fees for our past fundraising platform and Zeffy has helped us receive so much more of our donations.”

Zeffy has been invaluable in helping me track our donors, sales, events, and revenue in one spot. The coolest thing about Zeffy is it really is free!

Everything about Zeffy suits us starting with (of course, NO fees) but also the ease of use and customer experience as well as their client support!!

Zeffy is very easy to use and ensures that every dollar quickly gets into our account.. A huge help to our work!

Zeffy is very simple, allows for a lot of customization and seamlessly integrates into our website. The fact that all of this is free is still wild to me.

We couldn't believe there was a free payment platform for our Girl Scout group. Zeffy took ZERO fees from us, which is huge when you run on very small amounts of money.

We were ready to sell tickets in less than 30 minutes. The reporting capabilities were better than some other paid-for sites.

Since using Zeffy, our conversion rate of donations has skyrocketed. It's an easy platform to use. Plus customer support has always been responsive and helpful!