# Planful vs Vena: which do AI models recommend for FP&A platforms, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, FP&A platforms. Two of fourteen models named Planful first on the direct prompt; four named Vena. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/planning/fpa-platforms/planful-vs-vena/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planful | 20% | #1 of 18 | 18% | 60 | 14 of 14 |
| Vena | 13% | #3 of 18 | 20% | 60 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GPT-5.4 mini: planful first (first choices: Planful) (alternatives: Pigment, Vena)
- Perplexity Sonar: planful first (first choices: Abacum, Planful) (alternatives: Vena, Workday Adaptive Planning)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: vena first (first choices: Vena) (alternatives: Aleph, Bob Finance, Cube, Pigment, Planful)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: vena first (first choices: Vena) (alternatives: Centage, Cube, Datarails, Planful)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: vena first (first choices: Vena) (alternatives: Aleph, Cube, Planful)
- MiniMax M2.5: vena first (first choices: Vena) (alternatives: Drivetrain, Parse)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: Centage) (alternatives: Abacum, Drivetrain, Planful, Prophix, Vena)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Datarails, Drivetrain) (alternatives: Cube, Jirav, Planful, Prophix, Workday Adaptive Planning)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Cube) (alternatives: Aleph, Datarails, Drivetrain, Jirav, Vena)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Abacum, Drivetrain) (alternatives: Cube, Vena)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Abacum) (alternatives: Planful, Vena)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Pigment) (alternatives: Abacum, Aleph, Centage, Cube, Datarails, Planful, Vena)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Aleph, Cube) (alternatives: Pigment, Prophix, Workday Adaptive Planning)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named

## What the models said about Planful

- "Another enterprise-grade solution that may be unnecessarily complex and expensive for smaller teams." (Mistral Small, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Planful, Pigment, and Oracle Essbase generated the most negative feedback overall" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "should be avoided or approached with caution... 3. Planful" (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt, hard negative)

## What the models said about Vena

- "Strong negative quotes (e.g., "would rather eat a bullet than use it again"); 16-58% negative labels" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Options to Avoid on a Limited Budget ... Vena — Median contract ~$34,000/year" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "#1 in G2 Mid-Market Grid for Budgeting/Forecasting & Financial Analysis (Summer 2024)... For comprehensive planning: Vena or Planful (top G2 mid-market leaders)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Best For: Mid-market companies ($50M–$500M+ revenue) that are deeply committed to Excel and need enterprise-grade security and workflows." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.