# Microsoft Excel alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 223 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Microsoft Excel holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/vendors/microsoft-excel/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Anaplan: 31
- Cube: 12
- Workday Adaptive Planning: 12
- Datarails: 9
- Fathom: 8
- Vena: 8

## Financial modeling and scenario planning

**Small business**: 68 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Excel is #2 of 10 at 14%).

- Fathom: first choice in 8 of those 68
- Causal: first choice in 4 of those 68
- Float: first choice in 4 of those 68
- Jirav: first choice in 4 of those 68
- BILL: first choice in 2 of those 68
- Cube: first choice in 2 of those 68
- Datarails: first choice in 2 of those 68
- DbSchema: first choice in 2 of those 68

**Mid-market**: 72 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Excel is #1 of 14 at 14%).

- Cube: first choice in 8 of those 72
- Vena: first choice in 8 of those 72
- Datarails: first choice in 7 of those 72
- Drivetrain: first choice in 4 of those 72
- Prophix: first choice in 4 of those 72
- Workday Adaptive Planning: first choice in 4 of those 72
- Abacum: first choice in 2 of those 72
- Centage Planning Maestro: first choice in 2 of those 72

**Enterprise**: 83 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Excel.

- Anaplan: first choice in 31 of those 83
- Workday Adaptive Planning: first choice in 8 of those 83
- Erwin Data Modeler: first choice in 6 of those 83
- Pigment: first choice in 5 of those 83
- Limelight: first choice in 3 of those 83
- Cube: first choice in 2 of those 83
- ER/Studio: first choice in 2 of those 83
- Oracle Fusion Cloud EPM: first choice in 2 of those 83

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.