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Anaplan vs IBM Planning Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.1
Anaplan delivers ROI through personnel and cost savings, efficiency, and improved decision-making, contingent on proper implementation and strategy.
Sentiment score
6.8
IBM Planning Analytics boosts budgeting productivity but faces challenges from rising costs, prompting some companies to explore alternatives.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Anaplan's customer service is praised for its responsiveness, efficient support, and high satisfaction ratings, with helpful resources available.
Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Planning Analytics support is positive, yet response times vary; documentation, training, and multi-level support are valued.
The technical support from Anaplan is amazing, with a dedicated team to assist in case of any issues.
Lead Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
We have a multi-level support system, with the initial level handled by the company we bought the license from and subsequent support from IBM.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Instead, we rely on third-party partners recognized by IBM, who provide cost-effective support.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Anaplan is praised for ease of scalability and performance, accommodating large user bases despite cost considerations.
Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Planning Analytics excels in scalability and real-time data, though complexity and pricing pose challenges for some users.
Anaplan had issues before, but the new Polaris engine solves them.
Lead Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Scalability is straightforward but it is pricey since it's a SaaS model priced per user.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Anaplan is praised for stability and efficiency, with minimal downtime and reduced manual work despite occasional model complexity issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Planning Analytics is stable and reliable, praised for robustness, supporting budgeting in various industries with few issues.
A stable platform prevents loss of time during this process.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Anaplan needs better model sizing, flexible reporting, user-friendly interfaces, enhanced integrations, and automation to improve user satisfaction.
IBM Planning Analytics needs improved integration, pricing, visualization, user interface, functionality, automation, design, speed, and predictive analytics support.
One improvement that could be added to Anaplan is to stabilize the models when data complexity increases, allowing us to manage our time and space well.
Anaplan Model Builder at Xenlytics
Anaplan cannot perform some tasks handled by Planning Analytics due to their different foundations, Anaplan on Hyperblock technology and TM1 on OLAP.
IBM Planning Analytics SME and Developer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Advanced planning with AI, machine learning, and related plugins would be great to see in the future.
Lead Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
IBM's visualization needs significant improvement.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Anaplan offers premium pricing with tiered licenses based on user count and features, appreciated for its robust capabilities.
Enterprise IBM Planning Analytics has setup costs from consulting fees and varied licensing, offering market-standard ROI and compatibility.
Currently, Anaplan is more expensive compared to other tools.
Product Support Engineer at JSW
The pricing is slightly on the premium side, but I do not have detailed knowledge about the exact licensing structure.
Lead Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Given the product's old architecture and interface, they need to make it more affordable.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Anaplan offers user-friendly, no-code tools with real-time integration, flexibility, collaboration, and machine learning for diverse planning needs.
IBM Planning Analytics enhances planning with flexible design, Excel integration, sandbox testing, machine learning, and user-friendly interface.
The integration is very seamless compared to any other tools in the market, making Anaplan quite easy to integrate with different tools.
Anaplan Model Builder at Xenlytics
Anaplan's connected planning feature is its most valuable aspect, allowing for seamless financial planning, HR planning, and updates.
Lead Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
IBM Planning Analytics offers stronger capabilities in base-level data and detailed calculations.
IBM Planning Analytics SME and Developer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
It also integrates machine learning and AI engines, enabling us to use algorithms for inventory forecasting which optimizes our inventory and replenishment rates.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Anaplan
Ranking in Business Performance Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Production Planning (3rd), Predictive Analytics (4th)
IBM Planning Analytics
Ranking in Business Performance Management
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Business Performance Management category, the mindshare of Anaplan is 7.4%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Planning Analytics is 4.9%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Performance Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Anaplan7.4%
IBM Planning Analytics4.9%
Other87.7%
Business Performance Management
 

Featured Reviews

Segun Oladele - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Manager, Accounting at BIC
Reporting and forecasting have become more automated through intuitive data organization and flexible number calendarization
I do not have any improvements from my own end at this time.There are some specific features or functionality that I would like to see included in Anaplan in the future. From what we have been using, I do not think there is any specific one because we import and export numbers. Importing and exporting with CSV files is already available in Anaplan. I do not have any special requests from Anaplan. I still decided to give Anaplan an eight because I have not seen a specific dashboard on Anaplan. Anaplan could have a dashboard where you can see the flow of your numbers displayed on pictorials rather than just saying this is the number. Simple dashboards should be implemented.
reviewer1517922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Ensured functionality meets user needs, yet complexity remains a challenge
Since I'm using TM1 as an old version of Planning Analytics, it wouldn't be fair to specify what needs improvement because it's possible these issues have already been addressed in newer versions. If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks. The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to. This complexity makes it hard to maintain and evolve developments.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
9%
Educational Organization
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What are your main use cases for Anaplan?
Anaplan is an industry-leading cloud-based corporate performance management (CPM) platform that combines business planning and analytics in a single solution. It is designed to assist organizations...
Is Board better than Anaplan as a Business Intelligence (BI) solution?
We've had several FP&A departments include Anaplan in their analytics discussions, and while BI information IS generated, the focus is generally on compiling input from various sources and simu...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about IBM Planning Analytics?
The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database where all data are centralized.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Planning Analytics?
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly. Comparatively, IBM rates may be better than those of competitors, such as Hyperion ( /pro...
What needs improvement with IBM Planning Analytics?
IBM is behind competitors like Tableau ( /products/tableau-reviews ) and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties. IBM's visualizatio...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HP, ForeScout, DocuSign, EAT, Pandora, Aviva, Intel Security, Zalora
ManpowerGroup, Convergys, AIG, Orchard Brands, Citibank, InterGen, Northwestern University, EF Education First, Ironside, Bazan Group, CSOB Insurance, Macquarie Group, Charles Stanley, SATO, Government of Sint Maarten, BMW Financial Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan vs. IBM Planning Analytics and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,443 professionals have used our research since 2012.