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Anaplan vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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
6.2
Anaplan delivers varied ROI, enhancing accuracy and efficiency, with results dependent on successful implementation within six months.
Sentiment score
5.6
SAP ERP enhances inventory management and efficiency, offering cost savings and faster ROI through automation and data analysis.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Anaplan's customer support is praised for quick, effective issue resolution, reliable service, and valued resources despite occasional delays.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP ERP customer service is generally praised, but technical support experiences vary, with some noting improvements and valuable features.
The technical support from Anaplan is amazing, with a dedicated team to assist in case of any issues.
It was very quick, and we didn't have many tickets, but every time any issues arose, they were very quickly resolved.
SAP technical support is very good.
The technical support is good, but you do not get it from the beginning as you must go up the ladder.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Anaplan offers scalable solutions for large projects, integrating various systems, but costs can rise with increased usage.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP ERP is praised for its scalability, flexibility, and ability to handle large user bases and significant data loads.
Anaplan had issues before, but the new Polaris engine solves them.
It is scalable when moving from one version to another or adding additional components like warehouse management.
The scalability of SAP ERP is excellent.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Anaplan offers high stability and reliability with in-memory computing, despite minor downtimes and performance issues from model design.
Sentiment score
8.2
SAP ERP is praised for reliability and efficiency, with stability ratings often between 8 to 10 out of 10.
Production processes would be on hold without stability, so it is quite important that the software is very stable.
Stability-wise, SAP ERP is the best product among others.
 

Room For Improvement

Anaplan faces challenges in model efficiency, integration, pricing, and user support while needing AI enhancements and improved usability.
SAP ERP faces criticism for high costs, outdated interface, limited flexibility, and struggles with integration and real-time needs.
Advanced planning with AI, machine learning, and related plugins would be great to see in the future.
SAP ERP has been left behind as they moved to S/4HANA with the HANA database.
Features that allow transactions based on barcoding should be part of the ERP component.
We are using version 6.0 and it meets our needs.
 

Setup Cost

Anaplan's pricing is premium yet justified, with costs escalating by features and complexity, transparency in pricing is needed.
SAP ERP is costly, with implementation exceeding $1.5 million, but valuable for large enterprises due to extensive features.
Currently, Anaplan is more expensive compared to other tools.
The pricing is slightly on the premium side, but I do not have detailed knowledge about the exact licensing structure.
Small and medium companies can struggle with the pricing.
The pricing for SAP ERP is medium but slightly on the higher side.
 

Valuable Features

Anaplan offers user-friendly, real-time planning with dashboards, flexibility, and integration, enhancing collaboration and reducing manual data tasks.
SAP ERP offers integration, customization, and efficiency with industry-specific modules, a centralized database, and robust architecture for seamless operations.
Anaplan's connected planning feature is its most valuable aspect, allowing for seamless financial planning, HR planning, and updates.
The consistent integrations and real-time data analytics in SAP ERP significantly enhance the decision-making process by facilitating follow-ups and action points.
SAP ERP is particularly strong in manufacturing, from production planning to plant maintenance, then Material Management itself, and managing warehouse management and inventory control.
SAP ERP has impacted our organization positively because it is highly customizable to build any process we have in our companies and to write programs.
 

Categories and Ranking

Anaplan
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (2nd), Production Planning (4th), Predictive Analytics (4th)
SAP ERP
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
ERP (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Anaplan and SAP ERP aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Anaplan is designed for Business Performance Management and holds a mindshare of 10.3%, down 14.6% compared to last year.
SAP ERP, on the other hand, focuses on ERP, holds 17.2% mindshare, down 22.2% since last year.
Business Performance Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Anaplan10.3%
Oracle Hyperion8.1%
CCH Tagetik6.6%
Other75.0%
Business Performance Management
ERP Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP ERP17.2%
SAP S/4HANA9.6%
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central6.5%
Other66.7%
ERP
 

Q&A Highlights

NC
Nov 09, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Antonio Flor - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time data integration enhances operational efficiency and flexibility
As a client developer and solutions architect, I use Anaplan for building modules and deploying logic end-to-end. I work closely with the business in an agile manner to ensure the model aligns with business needs Anaplan offers flexibility in building different options within the platform. The…
Achmad Dimyati - PeerSpot reviewer
Long-term adaptation and evolution meets changing technology trends
SAP ERP is not really real-time. We use the HANA database which is supposed to be memory data in memory, but we are still not very happy. It is supposed to be real-time and come very quickly, but in reality, it still takes time to run. That is why we use BW of SAP, Business Objects, and now we have moved to the Analytic Cloud where we start using predictive AI. SAP recently implemented Databricks, and they started investing significantly in the analytic environment. SAP ERP has been left behind as they moved to S/4HANA with the HANA database. They restructured the whole table structure of SAP ERP, introduced simple finance, simple logistics, and moved HR to SuccessFactors. They have the BTP layer where they manage everything from integration to master data management. The challenge with SAP is that they move very fast to different products and buy different products. It requires significant investment and many skills to catch up because all of these have different sets of technology. The fundamental has changed differently. It is not monolithic anymore but different products under one name, SAP. You have to buy it model by model for additional models. Products such as SuccessFactors, Ariba for procure to pay, Concur for travel, and Facility Management use totally different technology. They try to integrate with each other, but it remains a challenge for SAP to make them have the same management, technology, and operational approach.
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Answers from the Community

NC
Nov 9, 2021
Nov 9, 2021
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 consolidating numbers into one space, employees can reshift their focus to deep-diving into the numbers, which is a huge advantage because it frees them up to do more value-added work instead. I also li...
See 2 answers
JM
Oct 13, 2021
SAP ERP and Anaplan serve different purposes and actually work well together.   Think of SAP ERP focused on the Actuals, while Anaplan models the future. The reason why I’ve seen clients use Anaplan for planning vs. SAP BPC is Anaplan is more flexible and can easily keep up with constant changes in business planning.  While BPC is more of a consolidation tool, with Anaplan you can also have your driver-based models in a system vs. running them offline and only putting the answer into a system.   Therefore, my recommendation is to use both.
Janet Staver - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 9, 2021
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 consolidating numbers into one space, employees can reshift their focus to deep-diving into the numbers, which is a huge advantage because it frees them up to do more value-added work instead. I also like that Analplan is a collaborative solution - it makes building out forecasts and modeling data much easier than just using Excel because it is in the cloud and is more structured. Anaplan is also very well connected. For example, data from one use case can be used in other models. Moreso, if a change is made to one model, it will be changed in all other models as well. Although Anaplan requires a slight learning curve and some training, initial setup is fairly easy. And for the times where you have technical questions, I have found that support is adequate. However, Anaplan is quite expensive. Nevertheless, I am very impressed with the stability of the solution and its performance. Not only that, but I am impressed by its ability to scale phenomenally. SAP ERP has been recognized as the best solution in the class of ERP products. In addition, it provides excellent visibility into the details of enterprise resource planning. Like Anaplan, it is very scalable. I think one of the best features SAP ERP has to offer is the claim management. One disadvantage is that you cannot easily create customizations. Also, outside of the SAP for RPA it is required for you to use an additional solution on a platform as a service if you want to extend the solutions. Another downside is that the initial setup is not straightforward and can be quite complex, so you have to be prepared to handle that. Conclusion: Overall, I would give Anaplan a 9 out of 10 rating. Anaplan has many more advantages for me than SAP ERP and since both options are very pricey, Anaplan takes the win because I like that it has so much more to offer.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise76
 

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 SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
SAP ERP is fine as it is at the moment. It is difficult to comment on improvements for this version. I know HANA has improved regarding user interface and other functions, but we don't use that par...
What is your primary use case for SAP ERP?
We are using SAP ERP for the whole company for sales, finance, HR, and production planning. These are our only use cases. We use it for Human Capital Management.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HP, ForeScout, DocuSign, EAT, Pandora, Aviva, Intel Security, Zalora
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle, Anaplan, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: September 2025.
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