Planhat vs ChurnZero 

For Customer Success and post-sales professionals, managing accounts without a dedicated Customer Success Platform often means dealing with challenges like:

• Scattered data across multiple tools
  
  
• Relying on spreadsheets and manual tracking
  
  
• Missed renewal and expansion opportunities
  
  
• Limited visibility into customer health
  
  
• Difficulty showing impact to leadership
  
  

To solve these problems, many teams turn to platforms like Planhat and ChurnZero. And now, more modern options like Velaris bring AI-first automation and hands-on implementation services into the picture.

Let’s compare Planhat and ChurnZero, while also showing how Velaris stacks up as an alternative.

Comparing Planhat vs ChurnZero vs Velaris

*Exact pricing varies by vendor and contract structure.

Platform overviews

Planhat

Planhat is a Customer Success platform that also incorporates CRM and professional services functions. Its strength lies in helping companies consolidate tools across different teams, reducing the need to manage multiple systems. While versatile, Planhat can sometimes feel more like a CRM than a dedicated CS tool, and that flexibility may add complexity for teams that only need core Customer Success functionality.

ChurnZero

ChurnZero is a Customer Success platform designed to help teams manage the customer journey end-to-end. It includes features like customer health scoring, playbooks, in-app messaging, and journey mapping. While powerful, ChurnZero can take time to configure and may require ongoing admin effort to fully leverage its automation capabilities. It’s often chosen by mid-market companies looking to strengthen their digital Customer Success programs.

Velaris

Velaris takes an AI-first approach, combining predictive insights, automation, and 70+ integrations into a single platform. It’s designed to give teams real-time visibility into customer health while reducing manual workload. Compared to Planhat and ChurnZero, Velaris is built for mid-market and enterprise teams that want advanced capabilities without the burden of heavy admin, balancing usability with power.

Feature comparison

Data consolidation and visibility

• Planhat: Combines CRM, Customer Success, and Professional Services data in one place. Useful for teams that want a single tool across functions, though this breadth can make it feel more like a CRM.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Integrates with CRMs and product data sources to provide customer insights. Offers journey mapping, though configuration can be time-intensive.
  
  
• Velaris: Centralizes data from all your systems into a single view. Designed for real-time visibility with AI features such as account summaries, Slack summaries and meeting analysis, making it easier for teams to see the full customer picture. Supports 70+ integrations and deep customization

Customer health and analytics

• Planhat: Offers customizable health scores and reporting.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Strong health scoring features and customizable analytics. Flexible but may require ongoing admin support to fine-tune.
  
  
• Velaris: Includes AI-driven health scores and predictive analytics out of the box. Designed to reduce manual setup while helping teams identify risks and opportunities early. One advantage of Velaris is that it can analyze both quantitative and qualitative data. By analyzing customer comms in tickets, emails and messages, Velaris can report on recurring themes and patterns in them.

Digital Customer Success and automation

• Planhat: Supports playbooks and workflows that can span across sales, CS, and professional services. Flexible, but setup can be complex.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Known for its digital CS capabilities, including playbooks, in-app messaging, and automated journeys. Effective, though setup and management can be complex.
  
  
• Velaris: Uses a visual automation builder and AI tools to automate routine tasks, and personalize outreach at scale. Built to reduce manual admin work while scaling CS impact.

Project and task management

• Planhat: Offers task management that ties into its CRM and CS functions, making it useful for multi-team coordination.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Offers task tracking and account planning tools.
  
  
• Velaris: Provides built-in project and task management with collaborative dashboards, helping teams coordinate renewals, onboarding, and success plans in one place.
  

Other considerations

Ease of use

• Planhat: Flexible but can feel complex, especially since it combines CRM and CS functions. Some teams may find it less intuitive.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Offers many features but can feel clunky to navigate. Setup and management often require admin resources, which can slow down adoption.
  
  
• Velaris: Prioritizes simplicity with intuitive dashboards and automation. Designed to reduce admin overhead and get teams up and running quickly.
  

Scalability

• Planhat: Scales across multiple functions (sales, CS, professional services), though the all-in-one approach can become heavy as processes grow.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Scales for mid-market companies but managing the platform can become cumbersome as processes expand.
  
  
• Velaris: Scales with mid-market and enterprise teams by combining AI, automation, and integrations, without requiring heavy customization.
  

Integrations

• Planhat: Offers integrations with CRMs, support systems, and other tools, but may fall short for complex requirements.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Integrates with major CRMs and customer data systems, though syncing and configuration can require technical expertise.
  
  
• Velaris: Offers 70+ integrations with real-time sync, aiming to make setup easier and reduce silos.
  

Support

• Planhat: Provides standard support and resources, as well as access to the Planhat community. Experiences can vary depending on configuration complexity.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Provides robust support for enterprise customers, but smaller teams often report receiving less hands-on attention.
  
  
• Velaris: Emphasizes a hands-on approach with personalized onboarding and responsive support. Dedicated CSM and Slack channel offered to all customers.

AI Innovation

• Both Planhat and ChurnZero have rolled out AI products by means of acquisition. However, these products are not part of their core Customer Success offering and need to be purchased separately.
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• Velaris is an AI-first platform that has built AI into the foundations of their core offering. For Customer Success teams, this translates into AI that feels seamless, actionable, and accessible without needing to buy extra products or manage disconnected tools.

To see how Velaris’ AI can help your workflows, book a demo here.

Choosing the right platform

Who should pick Planhat
Planhat is a good fit for companies that want to consolidate multiple functions — like CRM, Customer Success, and Professional Services — into one system. If you’re looking for a flexible tool that can stretch across departments and you have the resources to manage that complexity, Planhat may be the right choice.

Who should pick ChurnZero
ChurnZero works for mid-market companies that want detailed journey mapping and strong digital CS capabilities. However, it can feel clunky to use and requires dedicated effort to manage effectively. High-touch support is typically reserved for enterprise customers, so smaller teams may find themselves with less guidance.

Who should consider Velaris
Velaris is designed for mid-market and enterprise teams that want deep visibility, AI-driven insights, and automation without the clunkiness or heavy admin burden. With 70+ integrations and hands-on support, it helps Customer Success teams scale efficiently while staying easy to use. You can dive deeper into Velaris’ functionality by booking a personalized demo here.

Conclusion

Planhat, ChurnZero, and Velaris each bring different strengths to the table. Planhat enables tool consolidation across functions, ChurnZero emphasizes digital CS capabilities, and Velaris provides an AI-driven alternative designed for visibility and efficiency.

The right choice depends on your team’s goals, data structure, and the resources you have to manage a platform. What works for one organization may not be the best fit for another.

If you’re looking for an AI-driven platform that balances power with ease of use, book a demo with Velaris.