Your Excel models are getting hard to govern
Excel-based models can get harder to govern as they grow. If that is the problem, a web-first tool such as Pigment or Planful moves logic out of workbooks.
Vena alternatives: Excel-based and web-based options
Vena keeps Excel as the front end and adds a central database, workflow and audit trail. Its closest competitors also work in spreadsheets, while others ask you to move off Excel. Which way you go depends on whether Excel is the thing you want to keep or the thing you want to leave.
Sources we used
We rely on vendor documentation, pricing pages and other primary sources. We do not use G2 or Capterra ratings as ranking inputs.
Primary sources
- Official vendor documentation, pricing pages, help centers, and release notes
- Public analyst reports, market commentary, and relevant public filings
- Practitioner discussions in communities such as Reddit
What we exclude
- G2 and Capterra ratings as ranking inputs
- Vendor-submitted claims that cannot be corroborated publicly
- Anonymous summary statements presented as proof without a primary source behind them
Review standard
Material corrections can be submitted through the contact page. We update pages when a claim can be verified against a stronger source.
Read the full review methodology and sponsored disclosure.
Evidence used on this page
- Vena software profile
- Check what Vena does well before deciding it needs replacing.
- Vena pricing
- Plans and prices checked on the vendor's site.
- Vendor sources
- Each alternative's price and positioning comes from its own site, checked on 25 Sep 2026.
Datarails, Cube, Jedox and Prophix One are the other spreadsheet-friendly tools; Planful, Workday Adaptive Planning and Pigment are web-first planning platforms.
Why teams switch from Vena
A reason to switch has to be structural: the pricing model, the ERP it has to sit inside, a deployment or security constraint, or the admin effort to keep it running. If none of the reasons below describes your setup, the migration will cost more than the problem it solves, and the Vena profile is the better place to spend an hour.
Extras sit outside the Professional plan
Vena's export APIs cost extra, some Professional features are marked as additional cost, and premium 24/7 support and a sandbox need the Complete plan. Price the plan you would really need.
You want more users without per-seat worry
Cube includes unlimited users and dimensions on every tier, which matters if many budget holders need access.
You work in Google Sheets
Vena is built around Excel and Microsoft 365. Cube connects to Google Sheets as well as Excel.
Vena alternatives compared
Read the last column first. Ruling an option out is quicker than ranking what is left, and every tool in this table gives something up. If more than one person has to sign off, record each reason in the software evaluation scorecard as you work down the rows.
Prices as published by each vendor, checked on 25 Sep 2026. Quote-based means the vendor lists no price.
| Alternative | Best for | Pricing model / starting price | Key difference vs Vena | What you give up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datarails | Smaller finance teams that want Excel plus close and cash | Quote-based (Professional, Premium, Expert) source | Consolidation included on every plan, and close and cash products from the same vendor. | Plans are limited by user and integration counts (2 users and 1 integration on Professional). |
| Cube | Teams using Excel and Google Sheets side by side | Quote-based (Bronze, Silver, Gold), unlimited users on every tier source | Works in Google Sheets as well as Excel, with unlimited users on every tier. | No trial and no published prices across its Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers. |
| Jedox | Mid-sized to large companies wanting an Excel add-in plus web and mobile | Quote-based; cloud billed per named user, paid annually source | Users can switch between Excel, web and mobile on the same model. | Quote-based, billed per named user annually, and there is no trial (the trial link goes to a demo). |
| Prophix One | Mid-market teams that want reconciliations and disclosure too | Quote-based source | Covers account reconciliation and lease accounting, which Vena does not list. | No price list or trial. |
| Planful | Teams ready to move planning off Excel | Quote-based source | Web-first, so model logic lives in Planful rather than in workbooks. | Close, consolidation and reporting are separate products, and there is no trial. |
| Workday Adaptive Planning | Companies on Workday HCM | Quote-based ("Pricing varies"); 30-day free trial source | A self-serve trial and native workforce data for Workday HCM customers. | Not Excel-based, and Workday gives an average deployment of 4.5 months. |
| Pigment | Planning shared across finance, sales and HR | Quote-based; 14-day free trial source | Built for non-finance teams to work in the plan directly. | Not Excel-based, so spreadsheet-heavy teams face more change. |
Vena alternatives in detail
Nothing here is ranked, because this site publishes no scores. Each entry names who it suits better than Vena, what the vendor charges and what you give up by taking it, so an entry whose "best for" is not you is one you can drop without reading further.
1. Datarails
Best for: Smaller finance teams that want Excel plus close and cash
Datarails describes itself as working without leaving Excel, with 600+ data sources, consolidation on every plan, and separate Month-End Close, Cash and Spend Control products. Its pricing page promises no consultant fees.
Key difference: Consolidation included on every plan, and close and cash products from the same vendor.
What you give up: Plans are limited by user and integration counts (2 users and 1 integration on Professional).
Price: Quote-based (Professional, Premium, Expert) (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
2. Cube
Best for: Teams using Excel and Google Sheets side by side
Cube connects Excel and Google Sheets to a central data hub and also reaches PowerPoint, Slides, Slack, Teams and BI tools. Every tier includes unlimited users and dimensions, and the agentic AI layer is included on all tiers.
Key difference: Works in Google Sheets as well as Excel, with unlimited users on every tier.
What you give up: No trial and no published prices across its Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers.
Price: Quote-based (Bronze, Silver, Gold), unlimited users on every tier (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
3. Jedox
Best for: Mid-sized to large companies wanting an Excel add-in plus web and mobile
Jedox offers an Excel-like interface with an add-in for Excel 365, plus Jedox Web and Mobile. Its cloud runs on Microsoft Azure and covers FP&A, consolidation, workforce planning and ESG reporting.
Key difference: Users can switch between Excel, web and mobile on the same model.
What you give up: Quote-based, billed per named user annually, and there is no trial (the trial link goes to a demo).
Price: Quote-based; cloud billed per named user, paid annually (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
4. Prophix One
Best for: Mid-market teams that want reconciliations and disclosure too
Prophix One spans planning, consolidation and close, account reconciliation, lease accounting and disclosure management, with an MS365 add-in for Excel budgeting.
Key difference: Covers account reconciliation and lease accounting, which Vena does not list.
What you give up: No price list or trial.
Price: Quote-based (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
5. Planful
Best for: Teams ready to move planning off Excel
Planful is a cloud platform for planning, close, consolidation and reporting, with AI Analyst and Planner features. Planful says entities, departments and reports can be added without rebuilding the model.
Key difference: Web-first, so model logic lives in Planful rather than in workbooks.
What you give up: Close, consolidation and reporting are separate products, and there is no trial.
Price: Quote-based (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
6. Workday Adaptive Planning
Best for: Companies on Workday HCM
Adaptive Planning covers financial, workforce and operational planning with unlimited versions and scenarios, connects to any ERP or GL, and offers a 30-day free trial.
Key difference: A self-serve trial and native workforce data for Workday HCM customers.
What you give up: Not Excel-based, and Workday gives an average deployment of 4.5 months.
Price: Quote-based ("Pricing varies"); 30-day free trial (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
7. Pigment
Best for: Planning shared across finance, sales and HR
Pigment models FP&A, revenue, headcount, sales and supply chain plans together and lets teams build custom screens with Frames. You can try it for 14 days.
Key difference: Built for non-finance teams to work in the plan directly.
What you give up: Not Excel-based, so spreadsheet-heavy teams face more change.
Price: Quote-based; 14-day free trial (vendor source, checked 25 Sep 2026).
When to stay with Vena
Staying put is the right answer more often than a shortlist implies. Vena has to be wrong on something you cannot configure or negotiate around before a move pays for itself, and what Vena actually charges usually settles whether cost is that thing.
Stay with Vena if your team's value is in its Excel models and templates and you mainly need control around them. No other tool here keeps Excel as the primary interface as fully while adding a central database and workflow.
- Your templates and reports already run on Vena's CubeFLEX database.
- You use Microsoft 365, Teams and Power BI daily and want planning inside them.
- You qualify for Vena's discounted pricing as a not-for-profit or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central user.
If the decision is still open, the head-to-head pages on OneStream vs Vena and Anaplan vs Vena work through the same trade-offs one pair at a time.
Sources
Facts and prices on this page come from each vendor's own site, checked on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices and packaging without notice, so confirm before you budget.
- Vena: Vena pricing page
- Vena: venasolutions.com
- Datarails: Datarails pricing page
- Cube: Cube pricing page
- Jedox: Jedox pricing page
- Prophix One: Prophix pricing page (no prices)
- Planful: Planful site (no pricing page)
- Workday Adaptive Planning: Workday Adaptive Planning pricing page
- Pigment: Pigment free trial page
Choosing between Vena alternatives
Cut the list to two or three, not five. Put the Vena profile next to them, send every vendor the same scoping questions so the quotes come back comparable, and ask each one what the first ninety days look like.
Do the arithmetic before the demo. The software ROI calculator shows whether the saving covers implementation, and the full list of forecasting software is where to widen the field if none of these fit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest alternative to Vena?
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Datarails is the closest alternative for smaller teams, because it also keeps finance in Excel and adds consolidation. For larger teams Jedox (Excel 365 add-in) and Prophix One (MS365 add-in) are closer matches.
Is there a Vena alternative that works in Google Sheets?
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Yes, Cube. It connects both Excel and Google Sheets to a central data hub and includes unlimited users on every tier.
Do Vena alternatives publish pricing?
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None of the alternatives on this page publishes a price. Datarails, Cube, Jedox, Prophix One, Planful and Pigment are quote-based, and Workday lists "Pricing varies" but offers a 30-day trial.