What is the best financial forecasting and business plan software in 2026?
A startup plan and a cash forecast are two different jobs. Pick the tool for yours.
Search for financial forecasting software and you get two kinds of tools in the same list. One kind helps you write a business plan for a business that does not exist yet: you build assumptions and turn them into projections a lender will read. The other kind forecasts the cash flow of a business that already trades, from your bank feeds. Buying the wrong kind means paying for features you cannot use.
We compared five tools across both jobs, and we tell you which is which.
The short answer: LivePlan for a complete guided plan, from $15 a month billed yearly. Upmetrics for the cheapest first plan, from $14. ProjectionHub for SBA loan projections with no subscription. Brixx for long-range scenario modeling. Agicap once your business is running and cash is the question.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored placement is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best pick for what you are doing
5 forecasting tools compared on what matters
Price is the official entry price. Rank follows the weighted score on our five criteria. Agicap sits mid-table but does a different job: read the section on plans versus cash forecasts before you pick it.
| Best for | What it does best | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ProjectionHub | Best for SBA loans | Lender-ready projections | 4.1/5 | $499 one time | — | US loan applicants | Visit → |
| 2 | Upmetrics | Best budget pick | Fast guided first plan | 4.0/5 | From $14/month billed yearly | — | First-time founders | Visit → |
| 3 | Agicap | Best for cash flow | Forecasts from real bank data | 3.8/5 | Quote only | — | Operating SMBs | Visit → |
| 4 | Brixx | Best for scenarios | Unlimited users, up to 10 years | 3.7/5 | $20/month billed yearly | — | Owners comparing versions | Visit → |
| 5 | LivePlan | Most complete guided plan | Plan, forecasts and tracking | 3.6/5 | $15/month billed yearly | — | Startups and small businesses | Visit → |
Prices read on official pricing pages in 2026, in US dollars where the vendor shows them. Brixx prices exclude tax.
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How we compared and scored
A business plan has one real reader: whoever is lending or investing. So our first criterion is the quality of the financial statements a tool produces and whether they hold up for that reader: a balanced balance sheet, monthly cash flow for year one, a clear funding plan.
We read each vendor's official pricing and feature pages and hundreds of user reviews, with extra weight on the negative ones, plus accountants' advice on why loan files get turned down. LivePlan and Brixx keep the scores they carry in our FP&A ranking, because a tool has one score across our pages, and we show no sub-scores for those two. For the others, the overall score is the weighted average of the five criteria below.
Not ranked, and why. PlanGuru, Enloop and BizPlan: we could not read their pricing on an official page, and a tool whose price we cannot confirm does not get ranked. Float and Fathom focus on cash flow and reporting for businesses already on accounting software, not on writing a plan.
- Forecasts and financial statementsIncome statement, cash flow, balance sheet, horizon, scenarios.30%
- Ease of useUsable without finance training, guidance, error checks.20%
- Real priceCost for one plan, commitment, plan limits.20%
- Lender-ready outputExport formats and what lenders expect.20%
- FlexibilityScenarios, unusual business models, editable logic.10%
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored placement is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
ProjectionHub
ProjectionHub does one thing: financial projections a lender will read. It ships industry templates for more than 100 business types, with five years of projections, and exports the finished model to Excel.
The pricing model is its main difference. No subscription: ProjectionHub+ is $499 once, with lifetime access. If you would rather not build it yourself, an expert builds your projections for $750, or the full business plan plus projections for $2,500.
It is clearly built around US lending, SBA loans in particular. That focus is a plus for an American founder and a minus for anyone else.
Its limit: no guided narrative in the self-serve plan, and few independent reviews to lean on.
Tip: if you will update your projections only once or twice, a one-time $499 can beat a year of a subscription tool. Do the math on how long you actually need it.
- Templates for 100+ industries
- Five years of projections
- Excel export of the finished model
- ✓No subscription
- ✓Built for what US lenders ask for
- ✓Done-for-you option
- ✗No business plan narrative in the self-serve plan
- ✗US lending focus
- ✗Few independent reviews
The pick if your lender cares about numbers more than prose and you hate subscriptions.
Upmetrics
Upmetrics competes head-on with LivePlan for the founder writing a first plan. You get templates, guided sections and financial forecasts in one workspace, starting at $14 a month billed yearly.
Its pitch is price and speed: a usable draft quickly, with the forecast built alongside the text. That suits a small business loan application, a grant or an internal plan.
Where it is weaker than LivePlan: the post-launch side. LivePlan tracks actuals through accounting sync; if that matters to you a year from now, compare both before committing.
Its limit: the entry price is a yearly bill, not a monthly one. If you need the tool for three weeks, you still pay for the year, minus the 15-day refund window.
Tip: the code WELCOME-10 takes 10% off the yearly plan. Use the 15-day money-back window to check the forecast output against what your lender wants before it closes.
- Templates and guided sections
- Forecasts built next to the narrative
- WELCOME-10 code for 10% off yearly
- ✓Lowest entry price in the ranking
- ✓Quick to a first draft
- ✓15-day refund window
- ✗Entry price is billed yearly
- ✗Lighter on post-launch tracking
- ✗Only 15 days to ask for a refund
The cheapest way to a complete first plan. Check the refund window before the 15 days run out.
Agicap
Agicap is here because "financial forecasting software" often means cash flow forecasting, and that is a different job from a business plan. Agicap connects to your banks and accounting, sorts transactions and projects your cash balance week by week and month by month, by scenario.
It does not build a startup funding plan from assumptions. If you have not opened your business bank account yet, it has nothing to work with.
No price is published: pricing is custom, on a yearly subscription with a 12-month minimum. A free trial is offered. User reviews rate the product well and the value for money lower.
Its limit: the one-year commitment and the opaque price. Ask for a quote with your number of bank accounts and entities written down, so you compare like with like.
- Bank and accounting aggregation
- Scenario-based cash forecasts
- Built for operating businesses
- ✓Strong cash visibility
- ✓Scenarios on real data
- ✓Free trial
- ✗No public price
- ✗12-month minimum
- ✗Not a business plan tool
The right tool for the second stage of a business. Do not buy it to write a startup plan.
Brixx
Brixx is a UK modeling tool. You build the forecast from blocks (sales, staff, funding, assets) and keep several versions to compare. Every plan includes unlimited users, which is rare in this category.
Foundations costs $25 a month, or $20 billed yearly, for one plan over one year. Professional, at $50 or $40, covers three plans over three years. Enterprise, at $75 or $60, covers five plans over ten years, with extra plans at $5 a month.
The trap: one year of forecast on the entry plan. Most lenders want three. For a loan file, Professional is the real starting price.
Its limit: accounting connections are its weakest point in our FP&A ranking, where it carries the same 3.7, and no free trial is mentioned on the pricing page.
Tip: let your lender's horizon pick your plan, not your team size. Users are unlimited anyway.
- Unlimited users
- Several plans side by side
- Up to 10 years of forecast
- ✓Flexible block-based modeling
- ✓No per-seat pricing
- ✓Long horizon on Enterprise
- ✗Foundations forecasts only 1 year
- ✗No trial mentioned
- ✗Support rated low
Strong for scenario modeling. Budget for Professional if a lender is reading.
LivePlan
LivePlan is the name that comes up first in almost every business plan software list, and for a good reason: it covers the whole job. A guided writing flow for the narrative, forecasts that turn into the statements a lender expects, and up to ten what-if scenarios on Premium so you can show what happens if sales come in 20% lower or a hire slips by six months.
Pricing is simple. Standard is $20 a month, or $15 billed yearly. Premium is $40, or $30 billed yearly, which is a 25% saving. You get one active business, five contributors and unlimited guests. You can keep as many plans as you like, but only one is open at a time. Once you launch, it connects to QuickBooks Online and Xero, so the same tool tracks actuals against your plan. An optional LivePlan Expert add-on, at $30 a month, gives you 30-minute video sessions and priority support.
Its 3.6 is the score it carries in our FP&A software ranking, where accounting connections are its weak point; we do not show sub-scores here so the same tool never gets two different grids. It ranks last on score, but if you want one guided tool for the narrative and the numbers, it is still the most complete.
What users say: the structure works even without a finance background. The complaints are about AI-generated numbers that need checking, a lot of data entry for the forecast, and several reports of hard cancellations or charges after unsubscribing.
Tip: there is no free trial, only a 35-day refund window. Write down your start date and screenshot the cancellation confirmation.
- Up to 10 what-if scenarios
- QuickBooks Online and Xero sync after launch
- Optional expert video sessions
- ✓Complete: narrative, forecasts and tracking
- ✓Accessible without finance training
- ✓Recognized by lenders and investors
- ✗No free trial
- ✗Cancellation needs watching
- ✗AI-suggested figures must be checked
The safest default for a full business plan. Pay yearly and keep proof of every cancellation.
Startup business plan or cash flow forecast: which one you need
Many lists put LivePlan next to Agicap as if they did the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides which one you should pay for.
The startup business plan: before the first dollar
No bank history, no invoices, only assumptions. The tool must turn them into a funding plan (what you need and where it comes from), a projected income statement, monthly cash flow and a projected balance sheet, and check that they agree. LivePlan, Upmetrics, ProjectionHub and Brixx do this.
The cash flow forecast: once you trade
Your bank accounts are live and customers owe you money. Now the right tool reads your bank and accounting data, sorts it and projects your balance ahead. It tells you whether you clear payroll in a slow month. It does not build a startup funding plan. Agicap does this, and so does LivePlan after launch through its QuickBooks and Xero sync, in a lighter way.
When you need both
An operating business applying for a new loan (premises, equipment, an acquisition) needs projections for that project, built on real numbers. A business plan tool does this well. A cash forecasting tool then checks, month after month, that reality follows the plan.
- No revenue yet: pick a business plan tool.
- Live bank accounts and invoices: pick a cash forecasting tool.
- New loan for an operating business: a plan tool, fed with your real figures.
- Your lender wants three years: check the tool's horizon before paying.
- You use QuickBooks or Xero: check which tools sync before you choose.
Projections a lender takes seriously
Accountants who review rejected loan files see the same mistakes again and again. No software fixes them for you: they are choices about assumptions.
Pay yourself in the plan
PriorityAn owner who takes nothing for three years is not credible: the lender wonders how you will live, and whether you will last. Put in a modest, real salary as soon as the business can carry it, with the payroll taxes that come with it.
- Common mistake
- Owner paid $0 for 3 years
Leave no cost out
CostsThe usual gaps: owner taxes, local business taxes and licenses, insurance, bank fees and accounting fees. Small one by one, together they can sink year-one cash.
- Check
- Taxes, insurance, fees
Back every assumption
CredibilityLenders read where your numbers come from before the numbers themselves. Build revenue from customers per month times average sale, with a realistic ramp-up. Keep a short appendix with the source of each assumption: quotes, market research, competitor prices.
- Method
- Customers × average sale
Show three scenarios
PrudenceOne scenario, always optimistic, worries a lender. Show a cautious, a realistic and an upside case. The cautious one is the one they read: if it works, your file works. LivePlan and Brixx handle scenarios natively.
- Read first
- The cautious case
Model payment delays and sales tax
CashCustomers do not pay on the invoice date, and sales tax you collect is not yours to spend. A model that ignores timing shows more cash than you will have. Build year one by month, not by quarter.
- Trap
- Cash that looks too good
Have an accountant review it
TrustProjections reviewed by an accountant carry more weight. You do not need to outsource the work: build it in a tool, then pay for a review. It costs a fraction of a done-for-you plan, and you will understand your own numbers when the lender asks.
- Saving
- Review, not outsourcing
Where to go from here
These pages pick up once your plan is done.
Budgets, variances and reports.
You want financial dashboardsFinancial reporting softwareTrack actuals against plan.
You are launching a startupAccounting software for startupsThe books behind your plan.
You run a small businessAccounting software for SMBsWhat your accountant expects.
You need a business accountBest online business bankFees and real cost.
Your forecast lives in ExcelExcel alternativesWhen the spreadsheet is not enough.
Financial forecasting software · FAQ
What is the best software for financial projections?
For a startup plan, LivePlan if you want a guided plan plus forecasts, ProjectionHub if you only need lender-ready projections without a subscription. For an operating business, a cash flow forecasting tool such as Agicap is the better fit, because it works from your real bank data.Can I write a business plan myself?
Yes. Most small business owners do, with a template or software. The narrative is the easy part; the projections are where plans fail. A practical route is to build it yourself, then pay an accountant to review the numbers, which costs far less than having the whole plan written.Do lenders require financial projections?
For most business loans, yes. SBA lenders and banks usually ask for projected income statements, cash flow and a balance sheet, often for three years, with the first year by month. Check the exact horizon with your lender before you choose a tool, since Brixx Foundations stops at one year.Is Excel good enough for financial forecasting?
It can be, if you are comfortable with formulas. The risk is silent errors: a balance sheet that does not balance, or cash flow that ignores payment delays. Business plan software checks those links for you. ProjectionHub exports to Excel, so you can start in a tool and finish in a spreadsheet.How long does it take to write a business plan?
Expect a few weeks of part-time work for a loan-ready plan. The projections take the longest, because each assumption needs a reason. Guided tools like LivePlan or Upmetrics shorten the writing; the time you save on formatting is better spent checking your numbers.How much does business plan software cost?
From about $14 to $40 a month for subscription tools: Upmetrics starts at $14 billed yearly, LivePlan at $15 billed yearly. ProjectionHub+ is a one-time $499. Cash flow forecasting tools for operating companies, like Agicap, are quote-based and usually cost more.What is the difference between a business plan and a cash flow forecast?
A business plan explains a business that does not exist yet, or a new project, and backs it with projections built on assumptions. A cash flow forecast projects the bank balance of a business that is already trading, from real transactions. They need different tools.
