# Financial modeling and scenario planning for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "financial modeling software" and as "scenario planning tool for finance", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/planning/financial-modeling-and-scenario-planning/smb

**Standing:** Microsoft Excel (tied with Google Sheets) leads with 22% of first choices; verdict contested. 60 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Microsoft Excel](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/microsoft-excel/index.md) | 22% | 3% | 30 |
| 2 | [Google Sheets](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/google-sheets/index.md) | 22% | 4% | 26 |
| 3 | [Jirav](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/jirav/index.md) | 10% | 27% | 30 |
| 4 | [Fuelfinance](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/fuelfinance/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 20 |
| 5 | [LivePlan](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/liveplan/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 17 |
| 6 | [Causal](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/causal/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 12 |
| 7 | [Cube](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/cube/index.md) | 3% | 5% | 20 |
| 8 | [Finmark](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/finmark/index.md) | 3% | 0% | 15 |
| 12 | [PlanGuru](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/planguru/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 11 |
| 15 | [Fathom](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/fathom/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 15 |
| 16 | [Float](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/float/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 11 |
| 17 | [Datarails](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/datarails/index.md) | 0% | 16% | 19 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 154 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Excel/Google Sheets; alternatives Anaplan, Planful, Vena, Workday Adaptive Planning
- GPT-5.4 mini: Jirav; alternatives Fathom, Float
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Causal; alternatives Clockwork, Cube, LiveFlow, Mosaic
- Perplexity Sonar: Jirav; alternatives Cube, Drivetrain, Excel or Google Sheets, Fathom
- Grok 4.20: Microsoft Excel; alternatives Causal, Jirav, PlanGuru
- Mistral Small: Cube, Google Sheets; alternatives Datarails, Finmark, Microsoft Excel
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Causal, Finmark; alternatives Fuelfinance, Jirav, PlanGuru
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Microsoft Excel; alternatives Agicap, ChartMogul, Fathom, Float
- Kimi K2: Causal, Jirav; alternatives EasyFinancialModels, Excel/Google Sheets, Fuelfinance
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Fuelfinance; alternatives Datarails, PlanGuru, Upmetrics
- MiniMax M2.5: Fuelfinance, LivePlan; alternatives Compass AI, Finmark, Microsoft Excel
- GPT-6 Luna: Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel; alternatives Fathom, Jirav
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Fuelfinance; alternatives Cube, Datarails, Finmark, Google Sheets

## Sources the answers cite

67 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- fuelfinance.me: 29 answers, 44 citations
- gane.ai/index: 20 answers, 44 citations
- datarails.com: 19 answers, 19 citations
- sourceforge.net: 17 answers, 35 citations
- slashdot.org: 15 answers, 15 citations
- softwaresuggest.com: 14 answers, 15 citations
- golimelight.com: 13 answers, 13 citations
- centage.com: 10 answers, 10 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://gane.ai/index/finance/planning/financial-modeling-and-scenario-planning/smb (20 answers)
- https://datarails.com/blog/best-financial-modeling-software (18 answers)
- https://fuelfinance.me/blog/financial-modeling-software (18 answers)
- https://softwaresuggest.com/financial-modeling-software (14 answers)
- https://slashdot.org/software/financial-modeling/f-small-business (11 answers)
- https://autymate.com/blog/best-financial-modeling-software-in-2026-top-10-tools-with-pricing (9 answers)
- https://fathomhq.com/blog/the-6-best-financial-modelling-software-tools (8 answers)
- https://fuelfinance.me/blog/best-financial-forecasting-software (8 answers)
- https://fuelfinance.me/blog/scenario-planning-software (8 answers)
- https://irisfinance.co/blog/best-financial-modeling-software (8 answers)

## Warned against

- Anaplan: 21 of 23 labels negative. "Enterprise performance-management suites such as Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle Hyperion, and SAP BPC. They can involve opaque pricing, lengthy implementations" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)
- Workday Adaptive Planning: 19 of 22 labels negative. "What I'd avoid for a small B2B company - Enterprise platforms like Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Pigment, Planful, or OneStream" (GPT-5.4 mini, direct prompt)
- Oracle Hyperion: 10 of 12 labels negative. "Enterprise performance-management suites such as Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle Hyperion, and SAP BPC." (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)
- SAP BPC: 8 of 8 labels negative. "Enterprise performance-management suites such as Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle Hyperion, and SAP BPC." (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 10 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Google Sheets (19%) to Microsoft Excel (22%). Margin 0 points, within noise.

- Fathom: 12% to 0%, −12. Cleared the floor by 2 points · rank 3 → 15 of 154.
- Microsoft Excel: 14% to 22%, +8. Inside the floor by 2 points · rank 2 → 1 of 154.
- Fuelfinance: 0% to 8%, +8. Inside the floor by 2 points · rank 25 → 4 of 154.
- Float: 7% to 0%, −7. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 5 → 16 of 154.
- LivePlan: 3% to 8%, +5. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 9 → 5 of 154.
- Google Sheets: 19% to 22%, +3. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 1 → 2 of 154.
- Causal: 5% to 8%, +3. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 6 of 154, unchanged.
- Datarails: 3% to 0%, −3. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 8 → 17 of 154.
- Futrli: 3% to 0%, −3. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 10 → 61 of 154.
- Jirav: 10% to 10%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 4 → 3 of 154.
- Cube: 3% to 3%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 7 of 154, unchanged.
- Finmark: 3% to 3%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 11 → 8 of 154.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/finance.