TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Planful

    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Planful is a cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) suite. It includes financial applications for modeling, planning, consolidation, reporting and analytics.N/A

    Tableau Prep

    Score6.5 out of 10
    N/ATableau Prep enables users to get to the analysis phase faster by helping them quickly combine, shape, and clean their data. According to the vendor, a direct and visual experience helps provide users with a deeper understanding of their data, smart features make data preparation simple, and integration with the Tableau analytical workflow allows for faster speed to insight. Tableau Prep allows users to connect to data on-premises or in the cloud, whether it’s a database or a…

    $15

    per month billed annually per user

    Pricing
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Viewer
    $15
    per month billed annually per user
    Explorer
    $42
    per month billed annually per user
    Creator
    $70
    per month billed annually per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPricing is highly dependent on the complexity and scope of the implementation.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Considered Both Products
    Planful
    No answer on this topic
    Tableau
    Chose Tableau Prep
    Before Prep, we had to do all the data joining and connecting in a Tableau Workbook. Not only did this cause workbooks connected with live data to run frustratingly slowly, a new connection and set-up had to be established every time a new workbook as created, even if you were …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    101 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    90 Answers
    83%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    102 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    60 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    67 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    6.1
    64 Ratings
    21% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports6.933 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards5.057 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates6.555 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    7.5
    104 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.4103 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.0104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration7.197 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    7.4
    86 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web8.433 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF6.477 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning6.555 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.566 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    6.1
    51 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)5.040 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization6.42 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics6.044 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    8.9
    103 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.496 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.894 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.595 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.855 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.778 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    2.3
    42 Ratings
    105% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access2.540 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile2.230 Ratings00 Ratings
    Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
    Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    8.7
    156 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Long-term financial planning8.7139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial budgeting9.0155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Forecasting9.0146 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scenario modeling7.8131 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management reporting9.0149 Ratings00 Ratings
    Consolidation and Close
    Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    8.0
    118 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Financial data consolidation9.3107 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journal entries and reports7.886 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency management7.470 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Eliminations7.673 Ratings00 Ratings
    Minority Ownership6.939 Ratings00 Ratings
    Local and consolidated reporting7.789 Ratings00 Ratings
    Detailed Audit Trails9.187 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial Reporting and Compliance
    Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    7.6
    152 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Financial Statement Reporting8.8133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management Reporting8.8143 Ratings00 Ratings
    Excel-based Reporting7.0141 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated board and financial reporting6.5114 Ratings00 Ratings
    XBRL support for regulatory filing7.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    Analytics and Reporting
    Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    5.9
    104 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Personalized dashboards5.191 Ratings00 Ratings
    Color-coded scorecards2.555 Ratings00 Ratings
    KPIs7.476 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost and profitability analysis6.975 Ratings00 Ratings
    Key Performance Indicator setting6.963 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benchmarking with external data6.410 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration
    Comparison of Integration features of Planful and Tableau Prep
    Feature
    Planful
    8.9
    140 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Tableau Prep
    -
    Ratings
    Flat file integration9.5105 Ratings00 Ratings
    Excel data integration7.8130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct links to 3rd-party data sources9.596 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM Planning Analytics
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Toad Data Point
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Datameer
    Score8.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (164 ratings)
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.7
    (23 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (21 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (22 ratings)
    5.3
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (9 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.3
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.4
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    PlanfulTableau Prep
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Planful
    Planful is initially easy to setup and if a company is already using a mid layer to transform and standardise GL data, management reports can be set up in days, not weeks or months. Budgeting template setup does get some getting used to but the training provided by Planful is sufficient to get going and learn along the way. Building custom reports is straightforward and the interface is user-friendly, therefore the accounting team can get going without the need for technical specialists getting involved. Budget and forecasting is flexible and drivers of revenue and cost can be created in Planful and customised by Unit or Geography.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    If your data sets are coming in without much stewardship then Tableau Prep can help to clean the data before you start trying to create visualizations for your end users. You will save a lot of time this way - rather than seeing problems once you are creating dashboards. If you don't have large data sets or your data is relatively simple, then Tableau Prep may not be needed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Planful
    • It aggregates data from different sources well, allowing me to report on a wide variety of metrics that interrelate.
    • I can build detailed reports so that my monthly and weekly reporting is done more efficiently
    • I like the tools that I am using to create dedicated models for forecasting and budgeting purposes
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Display the raw data coming in from the data warehouse
    • Point out situations that might be erroneous
    • Show the distribution of raw data figures
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Planful
    • Dashboarding could be more flexible and easier to use.
    • Dynamic Reporting has room for flexibility with nesting, dimension names showing up instead of “All,” and overall flexibility.
    • Make Analyze view in Spotlight more intuitive.
    • A high-level onboarding guide to understanding the different components of Planful, data flows, and tips & tricks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Use of Macros within Workflow (and more types of automation)
    • Join Editor also giving a SQL Update Query
    • More types of visuals
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Planful
    Our new Comptroller understands the value of Planful, and we plan to utilize it further in the organization to enhance external reporting. Strangely enough, Planful had not previously been embraced by the former CFO, who argued that we were running two sets of books (of course, we were not). Fortunately, the before mentioned reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Income demonstrated that to the banks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    It is a valuable tool for generating and cleaning files for multiple purposes.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Planful
    The tool is extremely adaptable, and it enables very quick querying to give us opportunity to gain live insights into the business. Given its adaptability, we are also able to create scenario analyses very quickly in rapidly changing environments. The formatting also enables us to provide this information in a very consumable manner.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    It works well and is user friendly for the basics but needs more options for bring in data (using SQL queries for example) and export format options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Planful
    I only give a 9 rating rather than a 10 rating because it seems that every day around 2pm we see a slowdown in the use of Planful. I have requested our internal IT department verify that it is not an internal issue and have been assured it is the tool. We have not yet reached out to Planful to do extensive research to solve this issue.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Planful
    Again, the system is very reliable and, for the most part, runs very quick and smooth. When running larger queries, it does take some time, and during budgeting season our users experienced slower loading times, but nothing that raises concerns outside of normal network issues. Occasionally, as with any software we use, it will crash and you have to restart, but that does not happen very often.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Planful
    Sometimes we get great help when using Planful's support team and other times we don't. In particular, there is one person that often responds to our support tickets who is less than helpful, hence the reason for the 5 out of 10 rating. As a result, most of the time we reach out to our Planful consulting group as they provide faster and better support
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have not really had to reach out for any kind of customer support for Tableau Prep, so I can't really say. However, the support that Tableau has given for their other products has been great, so I would assume it would be the same here. They are also constantly adding new features and providing software updates, and that is always a plus.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Planful
    My team has attended training offered several times before/during the Planful Perform conference. This training has been extremely useful and we always learn something we didn't know prior to the training. The trainers are always very knowledgeable and more than willing to help each and every user after the training with specific questions regarding their environment. Planful also offers training and certifications on their training hub. I have completed a couple of the certifications. The courses are easy to follow along with and very informative. Additionally, Planful schedules webinars pretty regularly. They'll email their customers and allow you to register to participate live. They also record these sessions so you can refer back to them at a later date or if you are unable to attend at the time the webinar is offered, you can register anyway and get access to the recording. Their training has improved year over year!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Planful
    Planful provides a lot of online training support. There's so many options for training. Admin Learning Courses, User Learning Courses. Plus they have several webinars devoted to the tool and the new features they release. New Releases can be practiced in a Sandbox Environment prior to going live in Production
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Planful
    After going through the initial implementation with Host Analytics and a re-implementation with Cervello (due to an ERP change, not due to a poor initial implementation), I've learned that you really must rely on your internal staff to bear most of the implementation burden. Use the vendor or partners for ideas and best-practice suggestions, and some of the easy-but-time-consuming work. Since you will ultimately be using and maintaining the application, you should be able to do most of it yourself.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Live connections to cloud services (Google Sheets for example) and cloud hosted databases (cloud hosted SIS for example) for scheduled flows are not supported
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Planful
    Prior to joining the company, we tried to implement Vena but were unsuccessful. There we're a few reasons it didn't work out, but a lot of it related to the implementation team they provided. In just the first week with Planful, we achieved more progress than we did in several months with Vena.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Before Prep, we had to do all the data joining and connecting in a Tableau Workbook. Not only did this cause workbooks connected with live data to run frustratingly slowly, a new connection and set-up had to be established every time a new workbook as created, even if you were working with the same data. The extracts produced by Prep allow several workbooks to be working from the same data set-up without any additional work, saving time and stress.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Planful
    From our experience, Planful is only used in 2 overhead departments in our organization. We easily added another overhead department, but they decided against using Planful for their workforce and financial planning. Removing them from our environment was extremely easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Planful
    • Has allowed users to view a real-time P&L in a way they weren't able to do with Qlik.
    • Budget to Actual analysis has become much more streamlined and actionable
    • Long-range plan process has been significantly streamlined and a lot of time has been cut out of the process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Quicker data sets for online reports
    • More efficient data cleaning Ad Hoc reports
    • Costly if using data management to schedule data pull and cleaning (priced per viewer accounts not creator accounts)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Planful Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Planful Planform DashboardScreenshot of Planful for FinanceScreenshot of Planful for MarketingScreenshot of ReportsScreenshot of a Capacity Planning TemplateScreenshot of Integrations