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PlanGuru is our best overall pick for small businesses that want detailed forecasts without starting with quote-only pricing: its entry plan is listed at $83 when billed annually, but it allows one user and one entity. Jirav is worth comparing for its listed $50 starting price, while Dryrun suits cash-flow scenario work if its $249 starting price and one-entity limit fit. Vena, Abacum, and Prophix may suit broader finance teams, but their pricing is not published here. OnPlan is a project-controls resource, not financial planning software.
Quick picksThe shortlist
PlanGuruPlanGuruBest overall · $83/mo
JiravJiravBest for FP&A firms · $50/mo
DryrunDryrunBest for cash flow · $249/mo
MartusMartusBest for budgeting · $554.17/mo
VenaVenaBest for Excel teams · Custom
AbacumAbacumBest for shared planning · Custom
ProphixProphixBest for planning through close · Custom
OnPlanOnPlanBest for project controls · $1,041.67/mo
01Compared at a glance
02The picks, in detail
- Best overallPlanGuruPlanGuru
PlanGuru is the strongest starting point for small businesses that need detailed forecasts and scenario modeling. The entry plan is listed at $83 when billed annually, which makes its cost easier to assess than quote-only options. The trade-off is a strict one-user, one-entity limit, so teams managing multiple companies or sharing work should check whether a higher plan fits before committing.
What works
- Forecasts income statements, balance sheets and cash flow
- Projects financial statements up to 10 years
- Unlimited scenarios per company on listed plans
What doesn't
- No free plan is listed
- Entry plan is limited to one user and entity
- Analytics raises the annual-billed price to $166 monthly
- Best for FP&A firmsJiravJirav
Jirav combines planning and reporting, with a fit for FP&A advisory firms, multi-year forecasts, and scenario modeling. Its listed starting price of $50 makes it worth comparing early, though the published pricing details do not specify what that entry tier includes. Setup effort and plan caps deserve scrutiny, especially if you need to manage several clients or build a repeatable advisory workflow.
What works
- Combines budgeting, forecasting, scenarios, reporting and dashboards
- Models income, balance sheet and cash flow
- Controller Essentials starts at $50 per month
What doesn't
- No free plan is listed
- Annual pricing and discounts are not stated
- Controller Essentials is limited to two plans
- Best for cash flowDryrunDryrun
Dryrun focuses on cash-flow scenarios and can replace spreadsheet-based modeling for businesses or fractional CFOs. The constraint is material: its listed starting price is $249, it requires an annual commitment, and the plan is limited to one entity. That makes it a more specific choice than PlanGuru for most buyers. Compare the entity cap and commitment against the number of businesses you actually need to model.
What works
- Daily, weekly, or monthly cash forecasts
- Adjust expected receipt and payment dates
- Compare hiring, project, and purchase scenarios
What doesn't
- Business costs $249 monthly when billed annually
- Business Plan includes only 1 entity
- Business Plan includes 3 users
- Best for budgetingMartusMartus
Martus is a good fit when the priority is consolidating budget-owner submissions, planning personnel costs, or tracking nonprofit grants and funds. Its budgeting and reporting breadth is useful, but the listed starting price of $554.17 is a substantial commitment, and public pricing is limited. Buyers should confirm the total cost and whether the workflows they need are included before treating it as a spreadsheet replacement.
What works
- Unlimited collaborative budget worksheets on listed plans
- Unlimited budget lines on listed plans
- Budget-to-actual reporting refreshed from accounting data
What doesn't
- Essentials starts at $6,650 annually
- Monthly prices are not published
- Plus and Premium pricing requires contacting sales
- Best for Excel teamsVenaVena
Vena suits finance teams that want Excel-centered planning alongside governed workflows and consolidation with close. That breadth makes it a reasonable shortlist option for organizations with more involved processes. The drawback is that pricing is not published here, and available user feedback is thin, so it is harder to judge value before a sales conversation. Ask for a clear quote and verify which workflows are included.
What works
- Excel-native budgets, forecasts and what-if scenarios
- Central platform combines OLAP and relational data
- Supports consolidation, reconciliations and intercompany eliminations
What doesn't
- Professional and Complete prices are not published
- Plan inclusions are not specified on the vendor's site
- Free plan and trial availability are not published
- Best for shared planningAbacumAbacum
Abacum is aimed at teams replacing spreadsheet-based planning with shared workflows, and it includes AI-assisted models and reports. The feature set may suit finance teams that need collaboration, but its pricing is not published here, making the value difficult to assess before speaking with sales. Treat it as a shortlist candidate rather than a price-led choice, and confirm the cost against the planning and reporting features you need.
What works
- Abra answers questions, builds models and drafts board packs.
- Supports shared planning and budgeting workflows.
- Includes AI forecasting and driver-based planning.
What doesn't
- The pricing page publishes no monthly or annual rates.
- No free plan is listed.
- A free trial is not published on the vendor's site.
- Best for planning through closeProphixProphix
Prophix covers planning through close and may fit mid-market finance teams consolidating workflows or handling multi-GAAP requirements. But pricing is quote-only in the information available here, and customization questions warrant careful diligence. Before moving from spreadsheets or another platform, ask what implementation and ongoing customization involve, and get a quote tied to your requirements rather than judging it on feature breadth alone.
What works
- Connects planning, close, consolidation, reporting, and analytics
- Supports multi-currency, multi-lingual, and multi-GAAP consolidation
- Offers driver-based budgets, forecasts, and scenarios
What doesn't
- Monthly and annual rates are not published
- Seat and usage limits are not published
- Plan inclusions are not published
- Best for project controlsOnPlanOnPlan
OnPlan is not a financial planning tool: it is positioned as a resource for project controls, budgeting reviews, and risk-management guidance. The listed starting price is $12,500 a year, or $1,041.67 as the monthly equivalent shown in the published pricing. That combination makes it a poor fit for buyers comparing business forecasting or FP&A software. Consider it only if project controls are the actual need.
What works
- Covers project budgeting and cost planning
- Includes risk management guidance
- Addresses structured change control
What doesn't
- Does not describe financial planning software
- Starting price is $12,500 per year
- Monthly billing prices are not published
03How we chose
Our framework weighs published pricing, plan limits, product documentation and Reddit sentiment, with extra attention to what could change the cost or fit of a switch. The published published material names PlanGuru, Dryrun, Vena, OnPlan, Prophix, Martus, Jirav and Abacum, but includes no pricing, limits, docs or Reddit posts to assess. We therefore leave those product-specific details unverified rather than infer them. We do not claim hands-on testing, benchmarks or screenshots.
04Match the forecast to the decisions you need to make
Start with the decisions your model must support: setting budgets, updating cash-flow forecasts, or testing business performance under different assumptions. Then write down who supplies the inputs, how often they change and who approves the final numbers. Use the same checklist to compare PlanGuru, Dryrun, Vena, OnPlan, Prophix, Martus, Jirav and Abacum; the published sources do not establish which product fits a particular workflow best.
Ask vendors to show how your actual planning cycle would work, including revisions and scenario changes. Confirm which data sources connect to the product, what setup is required and whether your finance team can maintain the model. Treat capabilities not confirmed in product documentation as questions, not promises. A polished forecast is not useful if its assumptions are hard to update or its outputs do not answer the decisions your team faces.
05Compare the full cost and switching work
Do not compare vendors on a headline subscription price alone. Request a written quote and ask what changes the price: user count, modules, data connections, implementation or support. The published material contains no vendor prices or plan limits, so we cannot rank these eight products by cost or say which plan includes a specific feature. Ask each vendor to identify the relevant caps in writing.
Before switching, inventory your current models, source data, reporting outputs and approval steps. Ask how historical data and existing assumptions move over, who handles configuration, and what work falls to your team. Confirm the migration scope, timeline, training and renewal terms before signing. If a vendor will not document an important limit or migration responsibility, treat that as an unresolved cost—not as a detail to sort out after purchase.
Questions people ask
How much does financial planning software cost?
The published published material contains no prices for PlanGuru, Dryrun, Vena, OnPlan, Prophix, Martus, Jirav or Abacum. Pricing is not published in the materials we can verify here. Ask each vendor for a quote that separates subscription, implementation, support and any usage-based charges.
Which financial planning software is best for a small business?
The published sources do not provide enough detail to name a best option for small businesses. Compare each product against your planning needs, team size, data sources and budget, then verify pricing and plan limits directly with the vendor. A feature or price not confirmed in writing should not decide the shortlist.
Do these products offer free trials?
Free-trial availability is not stated on the vendor's site material for any of the eight products. Ask vendors whether they offer a trial, demo environment or guided evaluation, and whether access includes the workflows and data connections your team needs to assess the product.
What should we check before switching financial planning software?
Document the models, assumptions, data sources, reports and approval steps you rely on today. Ask the new vendor what migrates, what must be rebuilt, who does the work and whether training or support costs extra. Get the migration scope, plan limits and renewal terms in writing before committing.