Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Anaplan vs SAP S/4HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.0
SAP S/4HANA provides strong long-term ROI by streamlining operations and reducing costs, particularly benefiting larger companies.
It's not a matter of the solution; it's a matter of the clients and the approach that we follow.
If we can maximize that, we can get the full price benefit of the solution.
We have observed a good return on investment, with calculations based on a five-year ROI plan.
 

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
6.5
SAP S/4HANA support receives mixed reviews, with satisfaction influenced by service contracts and partner involvement, highlighting response variability.
The technical support from Anaplan is amazing, with a dedicated team to assist in case of any issues.
A traditional challenge with SAP support is that SAP teams only support the standard functions, which are part of the product.
Establishing the right channels was a challenge, as BTP was new to everyone, including our SAP contacts.
I would rate the support a ten because there are a lot of knowledge-based articles published, and most of them are available online.
 

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 S/4HANA is scalable for medium to large enterprises, offering cloud flexibility but potentially overwhelming for smaller companies.
Anaplan had issues before, but the new Polaris engine solves them.
SAP S/4HANA scales exceptionally well.
It is very easy to scale within businesses, especially when a new business falls within the range.
Scalability is a key strength of SAP, especially for HANA, compared to all the other ERPs.
 

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
7.7
SAP S/4HANA is generally stable with high ratings, dependent on implementation, infrastructure, skilled teams, and hardware setup.
The SAP HANA system is not very easy to unlock, and it's something strange as, compared to other databases, when transaction logs are full, you stop the system, run the transaction log backups, and then restart.
Not very often, but it can happen, especially with user load; if many people use the system at the same time, there might be issues depending on various factors.
I rate the stability of SAP S_4HANA as fairly stable because we have never experienced any downtime from SAP, and the performance is good.
 

Room For Improvement

Anaplan faces challenges in model efficiency, integration, pricing, and user support while needing AI enhancements and improved usability.
SAP S/4HANA needs interface improvements, simplified customization, better integration, and enhanced usability to address cost, complexity, and migration challenges.
Advanced planning with AI, machine learning, and related plugins would be great to see in the future.
Organizations face challenges like adapting to new technologies rapidly, and whether customers are early or late adopters influences their experience.
I can perform a lot of data manipulation directly on SAP using S-One, without having to resort to Excel, unlike with View ID.
The performance of the SAP interface could be improved.
 

Setup Cost

Anaplan's pricing is premium yet justified, with costs escalating by features and complexity, transparency in pricing is needed.
SAP S/4HANA is costly for SMBs, with variable licensing and setup fees, often requiring negotiation, plus annual maintenance costs.
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.
It's higher compared to similar peer solutions.
Most users or IT professionals typically criticize the high price of SAP license costs.
It's not easy to have a clear understanding of the price and the value, especially if I talk about the business transaction platform.
 

Valuable Features

Anaplan offers user-friendly, real-time planning with dashboards, flexibility, and integration, enhancing collaboration and reducing manual data tasks.
SAP S/4HANA offers a user-friendly interface, real-time analytics, seamless integration, and industry-specific functionalities, improving efficiency and scalability.
Anaplan's connected planning feature is its most valuable aspect, allowing for seamless financial planning, HR planning, and updates.
It enables the posting of transactions and allows us to see the impact across various application scenarios, providing significant benefits for business.
The way SAP has helped our customers is by establishing a discipline where industry-specific operations and SAP's standard processes work hand in hand, improving resource utilization, material movement control, and cost control.
The insights given help us make strategic decisions.
 

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 S/4HANA
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
ERP (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Anaplan and SAP S/4HANA 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 S/4HANA, on the other hand, focuses on ERP, holds 9.6% mindshare, down 16.6% 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 S/4HANA9.6%
SAP ERP17.2%
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central6.5%
Other66.7%
ERP
 

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…
Deepak Madhavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Implementation simplifies ERP management with comprehensive data integration and visibility
A lot of people would say the pricing. SAP is seen as quite expensive even now. It doesn't work for smaller or medium optimizations. The licensing and pricing could be looked at. In Brownfield migration, the trade-off between greenfield and brownfield means you either keep it clean or match the business requirements. Sometimes, it's not possible to do both. While ValixAPI provides significant support in making those decisions and the SAP consultant is very useful, we are still dependent on past history and how it was originally set up. I wouldn't call that a real disadvantage, yet more accessible consulting would be beneficial. Incorporating all other cloud products, like APO or IPP, into the S/4 house might also help.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Performance Management solutions are best for your needs.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Retailer
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 Business50
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise53
 

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...
Are there any advantages of SAP S4 HANA over SAP Business One (SAP B1) apart from the cost?
SaP Business One is a complete solution for business management. The software applications are broad, ranging from accounting to project management and human resources. It is very versatile and com...
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
SAP S/4HANA has room for improvement because we are still exploring functionality, and while most modules are implemented or supported by the partner, we are still in the process of exploring. Righ...
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
I use SAP S/4HANA because most of the manufacturers in pharmaceuticals are using it. We migrated from Microsoft Dynamics to SAP S/4HANA. My relationship is with solutions in retail as we are custom...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP S4HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HP, ForeScout, DocuSign, EAT, Pandora, Aviva, Intel Security, Zalora
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle, Anaplan, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.