The 10 best Cube competitors and alternatives in 2024

Financial planning and analysis (FP&A) software is designed to manage budgets and expenses, forecast revenue, develop forecasting models, and reveal actionable, data-driven insights. Such tools help SaaS business leaders and finance teams effectively evaluate the company’s financial health and performance, allocate and manage resources effectively, streamline planning processes, and ensure that the strategic plan stays on track. 

Financial planning enhances a business’ financial stability, profitability, and long-term success. Without software tools to streamline the planning process, FP&A teams can easily waste hours digging for data, cleaning up reports, and manually completing tedious tasks.

When choosing a financial planning software for your company, it’s important to consider the needs and challenges of the end user, because features can differ significantly from one tool to another. Most users of FP&A software typically look for user-friendliness of the platform, native integrations, data consolidation and automation, and financial modeling capabilities. 

Cube is a good option for many companies and can greatly improve their financial processes. However, it was designed for small businesses and as a result, may not serve the financial planning needs of rapidly scaling SaaS businesses. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the features and the pros and cons of 10 alternatives to Cube software that are designed to support the FP&A requirements of growing SaaS companies. But first, let’s start with Cube itself. 

Cube Software

Cube is an FP&A platform that pairs the flexibility and familiarity of Excel and Google spreadsheets with the control and scale of performance software.

The platform is built on top of Excel, which means all the limitations of Excel are also naturally inherited by Cube. So, while Cube works well for small and relatively simple businesses, it is limited in how far it can scale with a growing business.  

This is perhaps why Cube’s platform focuses exclusively on small businesses and startups in contrast to other FP&A software players, such as Drivetrain,  Workday Adaptive Planning, and Datarails that cater to a broader range companies.

Price: $$ 
Best for: SMBs

Key features 

Cube was developed to address most of the typical FP&A challenges and includes features designed to mitigate them, including:

• Excel and Google sheets integration: Compatible and bidirectional with any spreadsheet.
• Multi-scenario analysis: Users can model multiple scenarios and make changes to key assumptions.
• Automated data consolidation: Data from multiple systems can be automatically centralized into a single source.
• Customizable dashboards: Dashboards and reports can be customized to display different data types from various sources.

Pros

• Has native Excel integration capabilities with all versions of Excel (no coding or formulas needed)
• Integrates with almost all common source systems
• Uses simple formulas for creating reports
• Easy template creation for routine financial reporting

Cons

• Very few integrations with some reported by users as being a bit clunky
• Due to its limited dimensional structure, ETL processes are complex
• Uploading models and fetching reports are very time consuming (large data syncs can take more than an hour)
• Limited drill-down capabilities (summary-level only)
• Lack of daily/weekly reporting to check the movement of bookings and sales, making it difficult to proactively identify and mitigate potential issues
• Multi-dimensional analysis capabilities are limited to only eight dimensions, four of which are pre-defined
• Reports require heavy formatting to be presentable
• Not intuitive for non-finance users

Best Cube alternatives and competitors

While Cube software may be a good choice for small startups and businesses, it will struggle to adequately serve the needs of fast-growing companies with increasing volumes and complexity.

If your company is one of those, you’ll find some great alternatives in our list below. To help you make a more informed choice, we have included some of the best FP&A players in the market that could be considered solid alternatives to Cube. So, let’s dig in!

Drivetrain

Drivetrain tops our list because it is one of the best, and few, FP&A purpose-built for B2B and SaaS companies. 

With over 200+ popular integrations, Drivetrain automates data consolidation and helps finance professionals get real-time visibility into their business in seconds. It also facilitates rapid planning, re-forecasting and reporting, adjusting effortlessly to the growth and complexity of the business.

Teams can collaborate easily within an intuitive UI that provides powerful FP&A capabilities combined with the familiarity of the spreadsheets you’re used to working with (without all the manual work and data quality concerns). 

Drivetrain powers better business outcomes, making it easier to uncover opportunities and identify bottlenecks in your business with its one-click root-cause analysis. There are plenty of customizable model templates built in to help you get started, making it easy to construct and compare multiple scenarios to achieve more accurate forecasting.

Further, with plain-English formulas, a moderate amount of Excel functions, and a shallow learning curve, you can model at the speed and dimensionality at which your business operates.

Price: $$
Best for: Small and Mid-market

Key features and capabilities

• User interface: The highly intuitive UI makes it easy to navigate the tool (ranked #1 on G2 for ease of use).

• Native integrations: Integrations are an important feature of any financial planning software. Drivetrain offers 200+ popular integrations with your ERP, CRM, HRIS, etc. Drivetrain is also the highest rated for data consolidation with a user satisfaction score of 98% in G2's Spring 2024 report.

• Predictive forecasting: Forecasting is a critical part of financial planning and analysis. Drivetrain allows you to access historical data in real time. You can select from a range of predefined forecasting methods, change their assumptions, and make predictions—all on the same unified dashboard. 

• Multi-dimensional modeling and analysis: Drivetrain allows you to create multi-dimensional and customizable financial models, reports, and dashboards—all at the speed and dimensionality of your business operations.

• Scenario planning and what-if analysis: Drivetrain comes with built-in what-if analysis and scenario planning capabilities, allowing you to easily run advanced business models with as many scenarios as you want with as many values as you want. 

• Role-based access control: Drivetrain ensures best-in-class, granular role-based access control (RBAC) to maintain the high privacy standards and provide a single source of truth.

• Automated reporting and dynamic dashboards: On Drivetrain’s platform, you get access to board-ready report templates as well as best-in-class visualizations and dashboards to generate accurate and consistent reports whenever you need them..

Datarails

Datarails is a financial planning and analysis platform for Excel users. It automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models. While not purpose-built for SaaS, Datarails supports several FP&A use cases, including budgeting.

Price: $$ 
Best for: Small and Mid-market

Key features and capabilities:

• Financial data analysis: Examines financial and operational data to find important trends, and helps predict future finances for planning.
• Monthly reports: Makes monthly data and financial statements easy to create and export.
• Drill-down capabilities: Allows you to drill down into any metric from any source of data.
• Modeling flexibility: Supports unlimited dimensions and allows you to keep any existing models or choose predefined ones.
• AI feature: Its “FP&A Genius” offers quick answers and visuals for many questions

‍Anaplan

Anaplan is a tool that helps organizations make decisions using real-time data. While it isn’t purpose-built for SaaS, it is designed specifically for connected business budgeting and planning and can accommodate most of the FP&A use cases SaaS businesses have. Anaplan is particularly well-suited to enterprise-level SaaS businesses. 

Price: $$$ 
Best for: Enterprise

Key features and capabilities:

• Forecasting: Uses machine learning and algorithms to analyze your data and create multiple data models.
• Scenario modeling: Helps you understand how changes affect your strategy.
• Integration: Integrates with other CRM and financial systems.
• Anaplan workflow: Digitizes processes and facilitates communication.
• Anaplan data hub: Stores information needed for planning scenarios.

‍Mosaic

Mosaic is primarily a financial BI tool rather than a comprehensive FP&A solution. The tool has a simple user interface, making it easier for users to collaborate, report, and make data-driven decisions. But, users find its modeling capabilities quite rigid and its customization capabilities limited. 

Price: $$ 
‍Best for: Small and Mid-market

Key features and capabilities:

• Data import: Enables users to import data, eliminating the need for manual data entry and improving data accuracy.
• Data visualization: Offers different methods of visualizing data through dashboards, statistical graphs, and charts.
• Formulas: Budgeting formulas help estimate direct and indirect costs, operating and non-operating revenues, and more. 
• Custom reports: Users can edit and combine multiple department reports, create custom report templates and generate various report types.
• Forecasting: With historical data, re-forecasting capabilities, and multiple forecast types, Mosaic assists in creating accurate and realistic financial forecasts.

Vena

Vena Solutions is budgeting and forecasting software that streamlines financial planning and management. It is a Microsoft Excel add-in that caters to users who prefer to use spreadsheets but whose FP&A needs are more complex than what can be achieved with only spreadsheets. 

Price: $$ 

Best for: Mid-market

Key features and capabilities:

• Flexible planning and reporting: Helps plan and report for different scenarios, including growth or changes in your business.
• Financial planning and analysis: Vena Foundation for FP&A is a pre-configured solution that includes integrations, a data model, and data analysis tools to support FP&A needs.
• Automated financial reporting: Automated financial reporting tasks to save time.
• Regulatory compliance and reporting: Streamlines regulatory reporting and reduces the risk of manual errors.

Abacum

Abacum is an FP&A tool that helps finance teams at mid-market companies create faster revenue forecasts and OPEX breakdowns. As a cloud-based tool, it provides seamless integration with Excel and Google Sheets and ensures users can collaborate effectively from anywhere, anytime. From automated data consolidation to customizable dashboards, Abacum streamlines the financial planning process, enabling business leaders to make informed decisions. 

Price: $$
Best for: Mid-market 

Key features and capabilities:

• Granular modeling capabilities: Provides granular modeling capabilities and in-depth analysis at the most detailed level of financial structures.
• Complex scenario planning: Facilitates complex scenario planning, accommodating a range of assumptions and variables for a comprehensive understanding of financial outcomes.
• Automated data consolidation: Automates the consolidation process, merging data from diverse sources to ensure accuracy and efficiency in analysis.
• Customizable dashboards: Helps users customize dashboards to their specific needs, enabling visualization of complex financial insights.
• Centralized formulas: Provides a centralized repository for formulas and KPIs, streamlining calculations and reporting processes.

Planful

Planful is a financial planning and modeling solution that enables businesses to make more data-driven decisions. This software distinguishes itself from other financial reporting platforms with Planful Predict, which combines the data manipulation capabilities of FP&A tools with AI (more so than Datarails). 

Price: $$ 
Best for: Small and Mid-market 

Key features and capabilities:

• Planning and forecasting: Streamlines the FP&A process by automating data collection and analysis and reducing manual processes.
• Financial close management: Speeds up the process of closing financial accounts, eliminating manual errors in data entry.
• Financial consolidation: Accelerates the process of collating financial information and generating insights regarding your business’ financial health.
• Scenario planning: Allows users to engage in detailed scenario planning and assess the potential impact of business performance metrics and market conditions on long-term outcomes.
• Native integrations: Integrates with various other systems like ERPs or CRMs.

Workday Adaptive Planning

Workday Adaptive Planning (formerly Adaptive Insights) is not purpose-built for SaaS but includes forecasting, budgeting and modeling features suitable for SaaS businesses. This tool appeals to users looking for greater functionality around workforce planning and is a feasible alternative to Cube.

Price:  $$-$$$
Best for: Mid-market

Key features and capabilities:

• Automated data collection: Automates the process of collecting data from different sources, analyzes insights, and adapts plans. 
• Forecasting: Uses predictive algorithms to improve the accuracy of financial forecasts and identify relevant trends.
• Scenario planning: Allows users to build, share, and report on a range of planning scenarios to guide decision-making.
• Data integration: Integrates with various ERP, CRM, and HR systems, ensuring finance leaders have a comprehensive financial picture.
• Security: Provides two-factor authentication and role-based access control measures. 

‍Pigment

Pigment is an enterprise-grade business planning platform. It helps finance teams with forecasting, data modeling, and report generation. Pigment is well-suited for workforce and financial planning and is ideal for businesses in rapidly changing industries. 

Price: $$-$$$
Best for: Mid-Market to Enterprise

Key features and capabilities:

• GSuite connector: Shares data and integrates with Google’s suite of tools such as Google Sheets for modeling and reporting.
• Scenario planning: Supports detailed scenario planning and forecasting to guide strategic decisions.
• User interface: Offers a visually appealing and intuitive interface for easy navigation and use.
• Customized reporting and dashboards: Provides dynamic reporting capabilities, allowing for customizable and insightful financial reports. Users can create and share dashboards with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Granular access rights: Has user-based security controls for admins to manage user access rights and data privacy.

Oracle EPBCS

Oracle EPBCS (Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service) includes budgeting tools, forecasting tools, and the data management and analysis capabilities of Oracle Hyperion Planning, but in a SaaS deployment model. EPBCS also has a rolling forecast wizard that makes it simple to implement a driver-based rolling forecast process.

Price: $$$ 
Best for: Large Enterprise

Key features and capabilities:

• Strategic planning: Enables organizations to develop and manage their strategic plans, which include goals, objectives, initiatives, and KPIs.
• Financial planning: Offers complete financial planning capabilities, including cash flow planning, income statements, and balance sheets.
• What-if analysis: Enables users to conduct what-if analysis to assess how different situations affect their financial performance.
• Workforce planning & analytics: Uses workforce planning tools on the platform to prepare for headcount, salary, and compensation costs, and acquire insights into employee demographics, turnover rates, and retention rates.

Choosing the best Cube alternative

A comprehensive FP&A software can help simplify numerous budgeting and planning processes across an organization. These tools ensure that SaaS CFOs and finance teams have access to accurate and up-to-date data and insights to aid strategic decision-making. 

As an FP&A solution, Cube is best suited for:

• Startups and small businesses
• Companies looking for a cheap and basic plan to gain better insights into FP&A.
• Finance teams that rely heavily on Mac or Google Sheets

However, fast-growing businesses trust Drivetrain for its robust integrations, multi-dimensional modeling, and dynamic reporting capabilities in a platform that can scale seamlessly.

‍Drivetrain offers the best of both worlds—a powerful, yet simple FP&A software that empowers SaaS finance teams to conduct more high-value analyses for faster, data-driven decision-making and deliver real business impacts.

Learn more about Drivetrain here or click on the banner to request a free demo.