BCG’s 2025 report, Navigating the Future with Strategic Foresight, highlights that scenario planning, combined with advanced analytics, enables more risk-informed, resilient, forward-looking strategies. The report states that organizations embracing these scenario planning tools can anticipate and plan for the future more effectively than competitors, turning uncertainty into a source of competitive advantage.
Laura Juliano, a managing director and senior partner at BCG, emphasizes how scenario planning could help businesses prepare for today’s three major uncertainties: geopolitical conflicts and tariffs, generational shifts in the workforce, and emerging technologies like AI and automation. With the right tools, companies can map potential impacts and proactively plan for the most effective responses.
BCG’s Most Innovative Companies 2023 report also found that top performers rely on agile teaming. Scenario planning fuels this agility by integrating cross-functional insights—from supply chain to sales—into a unified view of risks and opportunities.
In this article, we review the top nine scenario planning software to consider in 2025. You’ll get a breakdown of key features, pros and cons, and the critical factors to evaluate when choosing the right solution for your business.
Selecting scenario planning software is a pivotal decision that enhances your organization’s agility and foresight. To ensure you're investing in the right tool, here are five essential considerations:
Look for multi-scenario modeling that enables side-by-side comparisons of base, best, and worst cases. This helps you plan for volatility without losing control. Real-time data sync is critical, ensuring decisions are based on current financial and operational data, not outdated snapshots. Platforms like Limelight also offer seamless integrations with ERP, CRM, and business intelligence systems, streamlining workflows and eliminating manual entry to reduce errors and delays.
Great scenario planning is collaborative. The scenario planning software must be intuitive enough for operations leaders to contribute without a steep learning curve, while still offering the depth and rigor financial analysis needs. Tools like Limelight offer customizable dashboards, collaboration features, and role-based access to support cross-functional engagement.
Your needs will evolve. Choose a solution that can handle increased data volume, users, and complexity as your business grows. Tools like Limelight’s scalable architecture and flexible pricing make it easy to expand functionality as your business grows.
Avoid one-size-fits-all pricing models. Look for tiered or usage-based pricing that aligns with your current size and future plans. Transparent pricing helps eliminate surprises at renewal time and ensures long-term value.
Here's a comparison of top 9 scenario planning software in terms of their core features, integrations offered, forecasting capabilities, and pricing.
|
Scenario planning software |
Key features |
Integrations |
Forecasting |
Pricing tiers |
|
Limelight |
Multi-dimensional modeling, driver-based planning, real-time data sync, variance analysis, workforce planning, AI-generated analysis, pre-built templates |
Seamless ERP, CRM, HR integrations |
Predictive forecasting, rolling forecasts |
Starts from $1,400 per month |
|
Workday Adaptive Planning |
Unlimited what-ifs, driver-based planning, integrated headcount scenarios |
ERP, CRM, HR integrations |
Predictive, real-time re-forecasting |
Custom pricing |
|
Anaplan |
Multi-dimensional scenarios, Hyperblock engine, AI insights |
Finance, marketing, sales, and HR integrations |
Predictive optimization |
Custom pricing |
|
Vena |
What-ifs, driver-based modeling, scenario comparisons, pre-built templates |
Microsoft ecosystem integrations |
Rolling forecasts |
Custom pricing |
|
Planful |
Dynamic what-ifs, driver-based scenarios |
ERP and CRM integrations |
Rolling, predictive forecasts |
Custom pricing |
|
Pigment |
Multi-dimensional scenario modeling, real-time updates to models and data |
Native connectors, including for Snowflake, and supports integration with various business applications and ERPs via APIs |
Rolling forecasts |
Custom pricing |
|
Datarails |
Excel-native FP&A solution, what-if analysis, scenario comparisons, variance analysis |
200+ ERP & CRM integrations (source) |
Rolling, scenario-adjusted forecasts |
Custom pricing |
|
Cube |
What-if analysis, Excel & Google Sheets-based modeling, scenario planning with unlimited dimensions |
ERP, CRM, Power BI integrations |
Rolling forecasts |
Custom pricing |
|
Board International |
What-if analysis, scenario assessment and visualization |
Multiple ERP integrations |
Predictive simulations |
Custom pricing |
Limelight scenario planning software overview
Limelight’s scenario planning capabilities enable finance teams to model complex what-if scenarios with real-time data integration. Its cloud-native analytical engine lets users build custom models tailored to specific business needs, supporting rapid scenario iteration without relying on Excel.
The platform’s collaborative features facilitate simultaneous multi-user scenario modeling, ensuring alignment across teams. Its strength lies in enterprise-wide collaboration, linking finance, HR, and sales data for holistic scenario planning. This makes it a top choice for large enterprises seeking scalable, agile planning to navigate complex market conditions. It also stands out for its seamless ERP integration and intuitive interface.
Limelight scenario planning software overview
Limelight allows users to create and manage multiple what-if scenarios side-by-side, each with its assumptions, drivers, and outcomes. This helps finance leaders compare the impact of different market conditions, such as a drop in sales, supply chain disruptions, or changes in hiring plans.
Limelight driver-based planning tool overview
The platform supports customizable driver-based models, letting users define operational or financial levers (like headcount, unit cost, or price per SKU) that automatically ripple through the forecast. This transforms scenario building from manual spreadsheet work into intelligent modeling that updates in real-time with minimal input.
Limelight real-time integration overview
Limelight pulls actuals and source data from ERPs, CRMs, and HRIS systems directly into scenario models. This ensures your team always has current and consistent data across departments to model accurate scenarios.
Finance teams can save, lock, and compare different versions of a plan to assess how assumptions evolve. This offers transparency and accountability in planning discussions and supports auditability in regulated industries.
Limelight AI-generated analysis overview
Identify opportunities as they emerge and detect anomalies across your data with AI-generated analysis. Extract actionable insights from reports to model more precise scenarios. Reduce time spent on manual analysis and focus more on strategic tasks.
Limelight workforce planning tools overview
Limelight allows detailed workforce planning by role, department, location, or cost center. You can model headcount changes, hiring delays, compensation adjustments, or attrition rates within your broader financial scenarios. Understand how labor decisions affect P&L, cash flow, and productivity for smooth staffing through market fluctuations or growth phases.
Limelight pre-built templates overview
Limelight provides pre-built templates tailored to various scenarios, such as revenue shortfall, budget reallocation, and workforce reduction, with built-in workflows for cross-functional input. This enables company-wide involvement in planning without compromising on structure or accuracy.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
The workforce planning tool could be challenging to set up initially (source) |
|
|
Excellent customer support (source) |
|
|
Improved efficiency due to streamlined planning and forecasting (source) |
Limelight is best suited for mid-market to large-sized organizations across industries like technology, healthcare, non-profits, and manufacturing, where financial agility and collaborative, real-time scenario planning across functions is important.
Triple Crown Sports, an event services company, was struggling with a lack of timely insights and slow, manual reporting. The finance team spent excessive time pulling financial data from ERPs, entering it into spreadsheets, and fixing broken formulas. This tedious workflow left little capacity for accurate analysis or strategic support. Reports were often inconsistent, and collaboration between management and event directors was limited, making it difficult to deliver reliable, detailed financial information to the board.
After implementing Limelight, Triple Crown Sports transformed its financial planning and analysis process:
Workday Adaptive Planning scenario planning software overview
Workday Adaptive Planning offers unlimited what-if scenarios and driver-based modeling. Users can create, share, and compare multiple scenarios instantly. It also allows the incorporation of real-time actuals to recalibrate forecasts dynamically.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Flexible multiple scenario modeling with unified reporting (source, source) |
Performance gets slow while handling complex data (source) |
|
Real-time scenario modeling and analysis make planning responsive to changing conditions (source) |
The lack of file structure in the menu bar makes navigating models a bit difficult. (source) |
|
Setting up, customizations and handling large datasets are challenging (source) |
It’s ideal for mid to large-sized organizations with high-volume data, who need integrated, cross-functional planning with real-time collaboration.
Anaplan scenario planning software overview
Anaplan’s scenario planning leverages its Hyperblock engine to handle complex, multi-dimensional what-if analysis across large datasets, enabling real-time calculations. It supports dynamic scenario modeling and comparison using internal and external drivers, with instant updates when variables change. The platform’s conversational AI allows users to generate scenarios through context-aware, chat-style queries, improving accessibility.
One of the leading scenario planning software in the market, Anaplan facilitates collaborative scenario planning with real-time multi-user editing and commenting. While it offers robust integrations with ERP, CRM, and HRIS systems through prebuilt connectors, these may require configuration effort.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Collaborative and dynamic scenario planning |
Pricing is confusing and non-transparent (source) |
|
Allows real-time simulations of various complex scenarios (source) |
Lack of drill-down functionality limits users from gaining insights for accurate scenario modeling (source) |
|
Learning to build models is easy (source) |
Working with a calculation engine is challenging (source) |
Anaplan is best suited for large enterprises, especially those with complex planning needs and who require connected scenario modeling across vast datasets and departments.
Vena scenario planning tool overview
Vena Solutions’s scenario planning software supports multidimensional what-if analysis. It automates driver-based models, allowing users to assess revenue, expense, and cash flow impacts with minimal manual effort. Vena Solutions’s native Excel integration offers a familiar interface. Its centralized database pulls live data from CRM, HRIS, and ERP systems to support accurate, real-time scenario planning.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Allows customization of models as per the company's needs |
Inaccurate models with occasional formula differences and discrepancies |
|
Excel integration makes data gathering easy and pulls error-free data for planning |
Complex user interface |
|
Pre-built templates reduce the effort on setup and planning |
It is expensive than other tools offering the same range of features |
Vena Solutions is best suited for mid-market to enterprise companies, particularly those using Microsoft ecosystems and seeking scalable, Excel-based FP&A solutions.
Planful scenario planning software overview
Planful’s scenario planning capabilities focus on enabling multiple financial scenarios using pre-built templates and built-in financial intelligence. Its platform supports what-if modeling for cash flow, budgeting, and strategic planning. It has tools to compare scenarios and assess decision impacts across departments.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Works well with a large amount of data (source) |
Creating templates for modeling is time-consuming (source) |
|
Capable of planning complex dimensions and scenarios (source) |
Working with planning modules is complicated, and implementation is hard (source, source, source) |
|
Good customer support (source) |
Workforce planning lacks support for custom formulas, limiting users to predefined logic. This makes it difficult to handle complex calculations. (source) |
Planful is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises that require complex, multi-scenario planning with the ability to zoom into the deeper data.
Pigment scenario planning software overview
Pigment’s scenario planning software features what-if modeling and visualizations such as tornado and waterfall charts. Its prompted modeling capabilities suggest new scenarios for users to explore. The platform’s real-time data integration from ERP and CRM systems enhances cross-team collaboration.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Making changes to the dimensional structure is easy (source) |
The user interface can be complex and rigid to use (source, source) |
|
Supports collaborative planning (source) |
The system gets slow while processing large datasets (source) |
|
Offers flexibility by allowing various data input types and building formulas (source, source) |
Understanding formulas and implementing them during modeling is hard (source) |
Pigment is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises needing agile, collaborative, and data-driven scenario planning.
Datarails scenario planning tool overview
Datarails enhances scenario planning with predictive analytics within an Excel-native environment. It automates what-if analyses for budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow, pulling live data from ERP, CRM, and HRIS systems into centralized models. Users can iterate scenarios without leaving familiar spreadsheets.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Integration helps sync data from multiple sources without hassles (source) |
Incapable of handling large datasets and complex calculations (source) |
|
Enhances visibility and automation with Excel models (source) |
|
|
The ability to drill down into data saves time during analysis (source) |
Collaboration isn't seamless, making it difficult to share insights or stay updated across teams (source) |
Datarails is best suited for small to mid-sized businesses that rely heavily on Excel, seeking automation and enhanced scenario modeling for strategic financial planning.
Cube scenario planning tool overview
Cube excels in scenario planning by integrating spreadsheet-native functionality with automated forecasting. The platform supports multi-scenario modeling, enabling finance teams to analyze hiring, budgeting, and cash flow scenarios within Excel or Google Sheets. Cube’s real-time data mapping from ERP, CRM, and HRIS systems allows unified scenario inputs.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Dimensions are easy to use and customize (source) |
Building models within Excel is challenging due to limited functionality (source) |
|
Responsive customer support (source) |
Unable to handle complex calculations and a large number of dimensions (source) |
Data import is complex and takes longer time (source, source, source) |
Cube is best suited for small to mid-sized companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but don’t need the complexity of enterprise-grade tools. It’s ideal for lean FP&A teams seeking quick deployment, Excel-native workflows.
Board International scenario planning software overview
Board International’s scenario planning software combines tech-powered planning and forecasting to model complex what-if scenarios. It supports driver-based planning across finance, supply chain, and sales, with real-time data integration and multidimensional analysis.
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Ability to handle multiple dimensions (source) |
Setup is complex, and some features are hard to learn (source) |
|
Cross-functional collaboration (source) |
Limited third-party integrations (source) |
|
Offers great flexibility and customizations (source, source) |
The tool gets slow while working with large datasets and multiple categories (source, source) |
Board International is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises, particularly those needing integrated, complex planning solutions to unify finance and operations for data-informed decision-making.
Scenario planning brings clarity to uncertainty across departments. It empowers every team to plan smarter, act faster, and stay aligned.
Here's how different teams use these scenario planning software in practice:
FP&A teams use scenario planning to model financial outcomes under different market conditions. These could be revenue drops, cost inflation, or shifts in capital structure. Building best-case, base-case, and worst-case scenarios helps finance leaders stress-test budgets, manage liquidity, and back decisions with data.
Sales leaders use scenario planning software to forecast revenue based on pipeline changes, win rates, pricing strategies, or regional disruptions. For example, if a key product launch is delayed or a competitor enters the market, teams can instantly see how that affects revenue, margins, and quotas. This helps align go-to-market teams with realistic and agile plans.
HR and operations teams use scenario planning to align headcount needs with business goals. For instance, if sales accelerates or a new region opens, what’s the staffing impact? Conversely, if demand softens, how can labor costs be optimized without risking service levels? Scenario planning helps teams proactively manage hiring, retention, and productivity.
Strategy teams rely on scenario planning tools to model the impact of major initiatives like M&A, new product lines, or geographic expansion. They can explore investment returns, funding needs, and operational requirements under multiple trajectories. This helps finance leaders make bold moves with confidence.
Selecting the ideal scenario planning software is pivotal for robust financial planning and analysis. Here are three key factors to consider:
Choose a tool that matches your organization’s size and complexity. Small businesses benefit from user-friendly, lightweight solutions, while large enterprises need advanced platforms with sophisticated modeling capabilities. Also, ensure compatibility with your existing tech stack, such as ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Netsuite) or BI tools, to streamline data flows and minimize integration challenges.
Good vendor support is important for successful implementation and ongoing use. Look for providers offering comprehensive onboarding, responsive customer service, and continuous training resources to help your team maximize adoption and gain long-term value.
Opt for software that offers demos or trial periods to test functionality, usability, and performance in real-world scenarios. Involve key stakeholders across finance, operations, and leadership early in the evaluation process to align the tool with cross-functional needs and secure buy-in. Trial sessions are also a good way to evaluate the ease-of-use of a particular tool.
For FP&A leaders, the message is clear: scenario planning isn’t optional. It’s existential. Invest in scenario planning software that supports real-time modeling. Build a culture of agility, where assumptions are challenged, and cross-functional collaboration drives smarter decisions.
Book your free personalized demo to see Limelight’s scenario modeling capabilities in action. The future is uncertain, but it’s not unknowable. Scenario planning is your compass. Use powerful tools to chart the uncharted, and turn uncertainty into a competitive edge.
Scenario planning is the process of modeling different financial outcomes based on variables like revenue, costs, or market changes. It helps businesses prepare for best-case, worst-case, and most-likely situations.
Manual scenario planning is time-consuming and error-prone. Scenario planning software allows teams to model outcomes quickly, adjust assumptions in real-time, and make data-driven decisions with more confidence.
By simulating multiple possible futures, finance leaders can understand risks, test decisions before acting, and stay agile when conditions change — whether it's market shifts, pricing changes, or operational disruptions.
Key features include:
Easy model building and versioning
Integration with existing financial data
Real-time collaboration
Built-in reporting and dashboards
Tools like Limelight offer all these, helping finance teams plan faster and smarter.
CFOs, FP&A teams, and business leaders across departments. It’s especially valuable in high-growth, high-volatility industries where quick pivots and forward-looking insights are crucial.