Planning worship shouldn’t feel like herding cats through a spreadsheet. Between coordinating musicians, building set lists, transposing chord charts, and making sure the tech team knows what’s happening on Sunday, worship planning takes more admin work than most people realize. The right software turns that chaos into a workflow — so your team can focus on leading worship, not chasing down who’s playing keys this week.

We compared the top church music planning platforms on worship planning depth, song library management, team scheduling, chord chart handling, and pricing for churches of every size.

Quick Comparison

1. Planning Center Services — Best Overall

Planning Center Services is the most widely used worship planning tool in the church world, and it’s not close. It handles service order planning, song library management, team scheduling, chord chart distribution, and communication — all in one platform. If your worship team needs a single system of record for “what are we doing this Sunday,” this is it.

Pros:

• Generous free tier (small churches can use it at no cost)
• Full service order planning with drag-and-drop scheduling
• Built-in song database with CCLI integration and auto-reporting
• Chord charts with transposition — musicians see their preferred key
• Team scheduling with acceptance/decline and automatic reminders
• Files and attachments organized per service plan (charts, audio, videos)
• Church Center app for volunteers to confirm, view the plan, and access charts on their phone
• Integrates natively with Planning Center People, Groups, Registrations, and Check-Ins
• Revision history on every plan — you can see what changed and when

Cons:

• Can feel overwhelming at first (lots of features, lots of tabs)
• Design is functional, not flashy
• Free tier has limitations on attachments and advanced scheduling features
• Learning curve for volunteers who only need basic access
• No built-in presentation/projection — you need separate software for that
• Reporting beyond CCLI song usage is limited

Pricing: Free basic plan; paid plans start at $0/month and scale based on church size and features — most small to mid-size churches pay $0–$30/month across Planning Center’s ecosystem

Best for: Churches that want a complete worship planning system — from song selection to team scheduling to Sunday morning execution — and don’t mind connecting a separate presentation tool.

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2. Faithlife Proclaim — Best for Presentation + Planning Together

Faithlife Proclaim is primarily a church presentation tool, but it includes worship planning features that tie directly into your Sunday slide deck. Plan your service order, build your slides, and schedule your team — all in one app. If you’re tired of managing worship planning in one tool and presentation in another, Proclaim unifies them.

Pros:

• Worship planning and presentation in one application
• Smart media — drag a song in and it auto-generates lyric slides
• On-the-fly editing during a live service (fix typos, reorder items mid-service)
• Built-in song library with integration to SongSelect and CCLI reporting
• Team members can collaborate on the same presentation remotely
• Faithlife ecosystem integration (Logos Bible Software, Faithlife TV, etc.)
• Stage cues and confidence monitors built in
• Reasonable pricing for what you get

Cons:

• Planning features aren’t as deep as Planning Center — it’s a presentation tool first
• No chord chart management or transposition
• Team scheduling is basic — no conflict tracking or acceptance workflows
• Tied to the Faithlife ecosystem (less flexible if you use other tools)
• Windows and Mac only — no mobile app for service planning on the go
• Smaller song database than dedicated planning tools
• Learning curve for the presentation side if you’re coming from ProPresenter or MediaShout

Pricing: Starts at $9.99/month for one church; team plans scale from there

Best for: Churches that want to plan worship and present it from the same tool — especially smaller churches that don’t need the depth of Planning Center but want more than just a slide deck.

Get Faithlife Proclaim →

3. WorshipTools — Best Modern, Mobile-First Experience

WorshipTools rebuilt the worship planning experience from scratch for mobile-first teams. The interface is clean, fast, and designed for the way musicians actually work — swiping through chord charts on their phone, confirming schedules in two taps, and building set lists without opening a laptop. If your worship team lives on their phones, WorshipTools feels like it was built for them.

Pros:

• Best mobile experience of any worship planning tool — native iOS and Android apps
• Clean, modern interface that doesn’t feel like 2010 church software
• Built-in song library with chord charts and transposition
• Service order planning with drag-and-drop scheduling
• Team scheduling with confirmation, reminders, and conflict alerts
• Attach charts, audio reference tracks, and notes directly to service items
• WorshipTools Presenter included for basic slide projection
• Free basic plan for small churches
• Fast and responsive — no loading spinners

Cons:

• Newer platform — smaller community and fewer third-party integrations
• Song database isn’t as extensive as Planning Center’s
• No CCLI automatic reporting (you’ll need to track songs manually)
• Presentation tool is basic — not a ProPresenter replacement for larger churches
• Fewer advanced features for complex multi-service, multi-campus churches
• Limited reporting and analytics
• Importing from other tools requires manual work

Pricing: Free basic plan; paid plans start around $10/month for small teams

Best for: Worship teams that want a clean, modern, mobile-friendly planning experience — especially younger teams or churches that find Planning Center too heavy.

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4. OnSong — Best for Chord Charts and Live Musicians

OnSong is the musician’s tool. It’s not a full worship planning platform — it’s a chord chart library, transposer, and live performance display built by musicians for musicians. If your worship leader spends more time in chord charts than in service order planning, OnSong is where they’ll feel at home.

Pros:

• Best chord chart management of any tool — import from OnSong chart library, ChordPro, text files, or PDFs
• Instant transposition — change key on the fly during rehearsal
• Customizable display — font size, color, scrolling speed, capo positions
• Works completely offline — no internet needed during service
• Sticky notes, highlights, and annotations on charts
• Set list management — drag songs into order, add tempo and key info
• Audio playback integration for rehearsal (link tracks to charts)
• External display support — send chord charts to a confidence monitor
• One-time purchase (iOS) or affordable annual subscription (cross-platform)

Cons:

• Not a service order planning tool — it manages songs, not services
• No team scheduling — you’ll need another tool for confirming musicians
• No CCLI integration or song usage reporting
• No built-in communication or messaging
• iOS app is more full-featured than the cross-platform subscription version
• Doesn’t handle media, slides, or presentation
• Learning curve — lots of power under the hood, but it takes time to learn
• No free plan (free trial only)

Pricing: iOS one-time purchase at $29.99; OnSong 2025 subscription (cross-platform) at $29.99/year

Best for: Worship leaders and musicians who need serious chord chart management with transposition, annotation, and live performance features — and are okay using a separate tool for scheduling and service planning.

Get OnSong →

5. MediaShout — Best for Churches That Lead from the Stage Display

MediaShout has been a church presentation staple for over 20 years, and recent versions have added worship planning features alongside its presentation engine. It’s best understood as a presentation tool with planning bolted on — the reverse of Planning Center, which is a planning tool that connects to presentation software.

Pros:

• Powerful presentation engine — lyrics, media, announcements, sermons, video
• Built-in service order planning that ties directly to the slide deck
• Song library with integration for SongSelect and CCLI reporting
• Stage display and confidence monitor support
• Multiple display zones — lyrics, Scripture, announcements simultaneously
• Quick editing during live service
• Good for churches that want planning and presentation in one tool
• DVD and video playback built in

Cons:

• Planning features are secondary — not as deep as Planning Center or WorshipTools
• No chord chart management or transposition
• No team scheduling or volunteer coordination
• Windows only (MediaShout 7) — no Mac version
• Interface feels dated compared to WorshipTools or Proclaim
• Pricing starts higher than alternatives
• Resource-heavy — needs a dedicated presentation machine
• Learning curve on the presentation side
• No mobile app for worship planning

Pricing: Starts at $29/month or $299/year; site licenses available for multi-campus churches

Best for: Churches that prioritize the Sunday presentation experience and want basic service planning built into the same tool — especially Windows-based churches with a dedicated tech booth.

Get MediaShout →

How to Choose

1. What’s your primary need?

Full worship planning (service orders, scheduling, charts) → Planning Center Services or WorshipTools. Chord charts and live performance → OnSong. Presentation with some planning → Faithlife Proclaim or MediaShout.

2. What’s your budget?

Free or close to it → Planning Center Services (free basic) or WorshipTools (free basic). Under $15/mo → Faithlife Proclaim. One-time purchase → OnSong ($29.99 iOS). Dedicated presentation machine → MediaShout ($29/mo).

3. How does your team plan?

All in one tool → Planning Center Services (planning first, presentation via integration). Mobile-first → WorshipTools. Musicians focused → OnSong. Stage/presentation focused → Proclaim or MediaShout.

4. Do you need chord charts with transposition?

Yes, and it’s critical → Planning Center Services or WorshipTools for full teams; OnSong for individual musicians. No, you just need lyrics on screen → Faithlife Proclaim or MediaShout.

5. Do you need team scheduling?

Yes → Planning Center Services or WorshipTools. No, you handle that elsewhere → OnSong or MediaShout.

Our Top Pick

For most churches, Planning Center Services is the clear choice. It handles the full worship planning lifecycle — song selection, service order building, team scheduling, chord chart distribution, and communication — with a generous free tier that covers small churches completely. Pair it with your preferred presentation software (ProPresenter, Faithlife Proclaim, or WorshipTools Presenter), and you have a best-in-class setup.

If your worship team prioritizes a modern mobile experience, WorshipTools is a strong alternative. And if chord chart management is your worship leader’s primary pain point, OnSong solves it brilliantly — just plan to pair it with a separate scheduling tool.

SoftDecide helps churches, nonprofits, and small organizations find the right software. Our comparisons are independently researched. We may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page — at no extra cost to you.