If you’ve been exploring FP&A software, you’ve likely come across names like Vena, Cube, Datarails, and Planful. They dominate Google ads, appear on Gartner reports, and flood LinkedIn with promotions. At first glance, they look like the obvious choices.
But here’s the secret they don’t want you to know: all of these competitors are still built on top of Excel. That means they inherit every weakness of spreadsheets — broken links, fragile formulas, version chaos — while layering on licensing fees and complexity.
When you’re in an evaluation with them, you’ll hear plenty about “Excel add-ins” and how their solutions make spreadsheets easier to manage. What you won’t hear is a single mention of Limelight.
And there’s a reason for that: unlike the add-in model, Limelight was built as a true FP&A platform. We took what finance teams love about Excel — flexibility, formulas, familiarity — and combined it with the structure, automation, and security of an enterprise-grade financial system.
The result is a solution that doesn’t just patch Excel’s weaknesses but replaces them with something better: modern modeling, one interface, and pricing that scales without surprises.
This blog explores why Vena, Datarails, Cube, and Planful don’t want you to know about Limelight — and why more CFOs, controllers, and Finance teams are making the switch.
It’s important to understand the foundation of most FP&A software on the market. Tools like Vena, Cube, and Datarails advertise themselves as “Excel-native” or “Excel-complete.” What this really means is that their applications sit on top of spreadsheets. Your planning still depends on the same fragile formulas and hard-coded references that have plagued finance teams for decades.
On the surface, this might sound like an advantage because it’s familiar. But in practice, it recreates the very problems finance leaders are trying to escape. Studies show that 88% of spreadsheets contain errors, often buried in a formula or link that goes unnoticed until it blows up in a board presentation. A broken cell reference or copy-paste mistake can derail entire forecasts.
Instead of moving finance forward, competitors essentially give you a shinier version of the same old risks. Limelight, however, chose to build a true FP&A platform. We provide a grid interface that feels as intuitive as Excel, but behind it is a structured financial database. That means your reports, templates, and models stay consistent, accurate, and traceable — no matter how complex they get.
Finance teams often complain that planning software looks outdated and clunky, and unfortunately, that criticism is fair. Vena’s interface is essentially Excel with a wrapper, and Datarails forces you to toggle between spreadsheets and a separate web dashboard. Even Planful, a legacy player, requires training to accomplish what should be simple reporting.
Limelight took a different approach. Our platform was designed with modern user experience standards. It loads in seconds, organizes templates with clean spacing and readable fonts, and offers dashboards that feel natural — more like the apps you use every day than a legacy finance tool.
The impact of this design choice goes beyond aesthetics. When a platform is easy to use, adoption skyrockets. Teams stop fighting the tool and start actually using it.
Another place where competitors fall short is in integrations. Most will proudly list ERP connectors, but in practice, what they import is usually limited to trial balances or aggregated numbers. If you want detailed actuals with dimensions like department, project, cost center, or product line, you end up resorting to CSV exports and manual workarounds.
Limelight does more. Our integrations pull in transaction-level detail and full dimensionality. This means you’re not just forecasting a revenue total, but breaking it down by product, geography, or sales rep. You’re not just budgeting salaries in aggregate, but modeling headcount by employee, with salary, benefits, and taxes built in.
The difference is night and day. With true dimensions flowing directly from your ERP into Limelight, your models are richer, your reporting is sharper, and your scenarios are more realistic. Finance teams that switch often say they never realized how much they were missing until they saw how effortlessly Limelight handled their data.
One of the ironies of so-called “Excel-based” competitors is that their modeling is actually more rigid than Excel itself. If you want to add a new driver, test a new formula, set up an account rollup, or explore a fresh scenario, you often hit limitations. Some require consultant involvement, others lock you into predefined templates that don’t adapt to the realities of your business.
Limelight was built for true financial modeling freedom. At its core is a database designed specifically for FP&A — not a general-purpose data warehouse or a spreadsheet with macros, but a structure engineered to handle the needs of finance. That means:
Models are in the hands of finance, not consultants. Whether you need to slice results by department, project, region, or product line, you can add dimensions without waiting on a technical resource.
Account rollups and hierarchies are flexible. Finance teams can build their own reporting structures, reclassify accounts, or adjust hierarchies as business needs change — without breaking reports or formulas.
Driver-based modeling is natural. You can roll forward into a forecast without copy-paste gymnastics, link workforce plans to payroll assumptions, or tie revenue projections directly to pipeline drivers.
Scenarios are instant. Change a single assumption — like churn rate, merit increase, or capital investment — and the entire model updates automatically across the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow.
In competitors like Vena or Datarails, accounts are often flat lists imported from Excel. To build rollups, you end up manually grouping or hardcoding formulas or having to reach out to their consultants.
In Limelight, account hierarchies are not hidden away in code or locked behind IT requests. They’re managed directly by finance teams through an intuitive interface designed for FP&A.
Think of it like this: instead of wrestling with SUMIFS formulas, broken links, or static Excel groupings, you drag, drop, and organize accounts in a clean, finance-owned database.
Here’s a simplified example:
Revenue
► Product Revenue
► Services Revenue
► Subscription Revenue
– SaaS Licensings
– Services
Expenses
► Operating Expenses
– Sales & Marketing
– R&D
– G&A
► Cost of Goods Sold
– Hosting & Infrastructure
– Customer Support
The hierarchy you build becomes the single source of truth, automatically applied everywhere — across reports, dashboards, templates, and scenarios.
For example, a controller can:
Create a rollup like Operating Expenses → Sales & Marketing → Paid Media in seconds.
Reclassify accounts when the chart of accounts evolves, without breaking downstream reports.
Expand or collapse groups when presenting to executives or drilling into detail.
Model alternative hierarchies (e.g., GAAP vs. internal management view) without duplicating data.
The result is a self-service modeling environment where finance owns the structure. CFOs get consistency. Analysts get flexibility. And the team moves faster — no more waiting on IT or consultants to adjust hierarchies.
Visually, imagine this flow:
Database → Hierarchy Builder → Instantly flows into P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and Dashboards
Book a demo to compare and see the difference.
Another frustration we often hear from teams using Vena or Datarails is that the workflow requires multiple tools. You build in Excel, view reports in a separate dashboard, and manage integrations in another admin console. That means three systems, three logins, and three opportunities for something to go wrong.
The recurring theme? Complexity, hidden costs, and tools that still lean too heavily on Consultants.
Vena’s Complexity and Consultant Dependency
“Vena took around 8 months for implementation to finish … any core changes you want performed … you will most certainly be required to have a Vena specialist do this … I consistently require Vena support each month end.”
Datarails “Brick-by-Brick” Onboarding
Excel Chaos vs. Unified Experience
Another Reddit user revealed how fragmented budgeting workflows remain a burden:
“We are a medium sized company … Communicating budget to everyone is inviting them into a Google sheet. Department budgets … building a formula to pull in actuals from Excel … very hectic with 20 different departments…”
This paints a vivid picture of teams bouncing between spreadsheets, Google docs, and manual formulas — reinforcing how FP&A users crave one process, one system, not three or more.
Limelight solves this with a single unified interface. Input, reporting, dashboards, and integrations all live in the same place. There’s no interface switching, no extra licenses, and no confusion about where work gets done. Everything just works — together.
For finance teams under pressure to close faster, forecast accurately, and deliver insights on demand, that simplicity is invaluable.
Here’s the heart of the matter: every competitor promises “Excel plus automation.” Limelight delivers Excel without the risks.
You still get the Excel formulas, grid, and flexibility finance loves, but underneath is a financial database that guarantees consistency. No broken links, no circular references, no version chaos. Changes update everywhere in real time, audit trails track who did what, and role-based permissions protect sensitive data.
This is the experience finance leaders actually want: familiar, flexible, but trustworthy.
Pricing is the elephant in the room for most FP&A software.
Competitors rely on per-user licenses that balloon as your team grows. They charge for add-ons, integrations, additional support, and advanced features. Before long, the cost is multiples of what you budgeted.
Limelight chose a better way. We offer starter packs that let small teams get started quickly, and unlimited packages that allow larger organizations to scale without unpredictable cost. Our pricing is transparent, competitive, and aligned with your success.
That’s why more and more finance leaders are searching not just for Vena alternatives or Datarails alternatives, but for FP&A software with pricing that makes sense.
When you compare side by side, the story is clear. Competitors don’t want you to know about Limelight because once you see it, the weaknesses of their platforms become obvious.
Limelight offers a modern UI, not an Excel wrapper.
Our integrations pull in true dimensions.
Our modeling is flexible and driver-based, not rigid and consultant-dependent.
We give you one interface, not a patchwork of tools.
We’re Excel without the risks, not Excel with more add-ons.
And our pricing scales with you, not against you.
That’s why finance leaders who evaluate us often say the same thing: “Why didn’t we hear about Limelight sooner?”
Q: What’s the best alternative to Vena, Datarails, Cube, or Planful?
A: Limelight. Unlike competitors that depend on Excel, Limelight offers a modern FP&A platform with better UI, stronger integrations, and pricing that scales affordably.
Q: Why is Limelight different from Excel-based FP&A tools?
A: Competitors still inherit Excel’s risks — broken links, errors, and version control issues. Limelight delivers a modern, easier-to-use interface with a secure financial database.
Q: How does Limelight pricing compare to competitors?
A: Limelight offers starter packs and unlimited packages, making it more affordable and predictable than per-user pricing models used by Vena, Cube, and Datarails. And, we don't charge extra for support!
Q: Why don’t competitors want you to know about Limelight?
A: Because once you compare side by side, it’s clear Limelight provides a better UI, modeling power, integrations, and cost structure.
FP&A teams deserve software that feels modern, works seamlessly, and scales without breaking budgets. For too long, the market has been dominated by Excel-wrapped tools that patch old problems instead of solving them.
Limelight represents a better way: intuitive like Excel, powerful like enterprise software, and priced to support growth.
That’s why competitors don’t want you to know about us — because once you see the difference, the choice becomes obvious.
Ready to see it yourself? Book a demo with Limelight.