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Anaplan vs SAP Analytics Cloud 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Anaplan
Ranking in Predictive Analytics
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (1st), Production Planning (5th)
SAP Analytics Cloud
Ranking in Predictive Analytics
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Predictive Analytics category, the mindshare of Anaplan is 18.8%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Analytics Cloud is 15.3%, up from 12.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Predictive Analytics
 

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…
RamasamyTelungupalayam - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration, collaborative features, and enhances data exploration
There are several areas for improvement in SAP Analytics Cloud. Firstly, features available in SAP Lumira are missing in SAP Analytics Cloud. Secondly, the predictive analytics functions, although promising, are currently only suitable for Proof of Concepts (POCs) and not for industrial-scale use. Lastly, the pricing model for the planning functionality is quite high and presents an entry barrier.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Anaplan's strongest feature is that its GUI is very modern and user-friendly."
"I believe Anaplan is a new cloud tool, and from time to time, there's a lot of improvement that the Anaplan company deploys with the system. So, with that improvement, we need to really adapt and know the new system trends."
"Anaplan provides 130 GB of cloud storage for organizations to use as part of their license."
"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is web-based and easy to use."
"The solution scales well."
"This product has a very good modeling feature, and its graphical representation of visualizations has also been valuable."
"I am impressed with the tool’s real-time calculations and intuitive interface. The tool’s user interface is the best compared to other software that I have worked with. I also find the tool’s management reporting feature valuable."
"Where we're seeing the opportunity in the market is at the Fortune 100 companies that have far more complex modeling type scenarios where you need to be able to have a lot of people collaborating together, and you need a lot of information all at everyone's fingertips. This is where you see the big advantage of a solution like Anaplan."
"I would recommend this solution for companies that are SAP dependent with users working in this environment."
"SAP Analytics Cloud is superior to other tools in terms of planning and forecasting."
"SAP is very scalable."
"It integrates with third-party applications such as Google Drive and Excel,"
"The product is flexible and has features like AI, link analysis, and insights. It has many features. I can search, and it creates automatic charts without selecting anything. For example, I can ask, "What is the gross margin?" the tool builds a chart based on my question."
"It offers good backup capabilities."
"One feature I've found most valuable is discovery."
"There is a seamless integration with SAP S4HANA which is really valuable to our organization and its functions. Since the data is stored in the same ecosystem, it creates a simple process of building dashboards, without making the process cumbersome The Analytics Cloud provides standardized templates and storage options, making it easy to plug into existing structures. We're utilizing custom stories that have already been developed, streamlining the development process. It serves as a convenient starting point and contributes to the overall ease of development. Another advantage is that it doesn't provide the same level of calculation power as Power BI and Tableau. SAP Analytics Cloud emphasizes pushing analytics back into the database, recommending data manipulation and preparation outside of the platform. This approach is seen as an advantage, as it allows for more robust data handling."
 

Cons

"Space and integration are a problem."
"When there is a lot of data, it sometimes takes long to load."
"There are so many business rules to set up in the system that as a business user it's hard to gauge what they're doing and it's possible to get lost."
"The tool needs to work on its integration with MS Excel and MS Word. The tool does not allow data analysis in spreadsheets which is possible on other platforms. I want the solution to be more collaborative to facilitate decision-making in organizations."
"One area of improvement is conditional formatting. It's not very practical, and you need to specify additional formatting."
"Automation needs to be built into this solution."
"It would be nice if the solution offered better extensions."
"Anaplan's workflow component is probably the biggest area for improvement. I'd also like to see Anaplan add an ad hoc reporting tool that allows users to query things. It's going to factor into how you design your data set and your models, but I'd like the ability to create ad hoc queries against the data that's in there."
"Technical support could be more helpful and responsive."
"Custom visuals is another area of improvement. There are also some mobile features that are missing. There are features that aren't available on the mobile."
"An area for improvement in SAP Analytics Cloud is its planning feature because it's not that efficient when compared to BPC. Another area for improvement in the solution is the difficulty in building reports or dashboards, particularly if you don't have proper knowledge of the BI system. SAP Analytics Cloud technical support also needs improvement."
"It still lacks a lot of functionalities as compared to other tools such as Power BI or Tableau. Sorting is not working as well as it works in Tableau. A lot of other things are also not at the same level. Their technical support is not perfect and could be better. It takes a lot of time to have lacking functionalities implemented. Its integration with the BW backend should be better. Both solutions are from the same vendor. They position SAP Analytics Cloud as a reporting tool on top of the BW environment, but the integration between both is not yet 100%. For example, user management is still not synchronized."
"There should be more features for the time series charts."
"SAP has always had one problem with its products, they make them very closed systems that are difficult to integrate."
"The price, integration, and modeling capabilities could be better. I have to use an integration engine to integrate our products and databases. SAP Analytics Cloud is made specifically for KPIs and business intelligence. The modeling capabilities are kind of poor. You always have to model the data and then present it visually in SAP Analytics Cloud. In the next release, I would like to have a lite version for planning to create scenarios quickly. For me personally, planning is the most complicated feature of SAP Analytics Cloud."
"When it comes to planning there is a concern about the ability to match the exact requirements of the customer with what the product offers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Anaplan is a bit pricier compared to its competitors - the license costs about $4,000 per user annually."
"The tool’s pricing is reasonable and competitive with other solutions."
"A value-for-money product and a very reasonable price compared to competitors like SAP or IBM."
"The license is a yearly subscription. There are three licensing tiers: the model builder, planner, and the reporting."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"This is a yearly subscription. So a customer initially buys a workspace and specifies how much GB they want. The minimum starts at around 30 GB. You can buy multiple workspaces."
"The cost of Anaplan is a challenge for clients, especially if they don't have an ongoing long-term use case for it. It's a $50,000 licensing fee just to get started. Clients need a strong business case to switch from Excel to Anaplan. But if clients have used something similar in the past, such as Hyperion or other solutions, that's not a factor because they know what to expect."
"We are currently using a free workspace license for 90 days. We are satisfied with the price of the solution. There are additional costs if you want more storage, the default limit is 250 GB."
"It Wasn't directly involved in the pricing discussions, but when I joined the organization, they had already purchased the SAP Analytics Cloud solution. The organization faced challenges due to its perceived expense, leading to restrictions on granting access to many users."
"This solution is pricey."
"SAP Analytics Cloud can be quite expensive."
"SAP Analytics Cloud is a bit higher [in price]. Because, if Microsoft can afford a better product and lower cost, SAP can afford at least the same, or even lower."
"The platform is about 50% more expensive than Power BI."
"Its price is slightly on the higher side."
"The tool's pricing is medium, and licensing costs are yearly."
"Its licensing is on a monthly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
21%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?
Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...
What do you like most about SAP Analytics Cloud?
In the data warehouse, you're free to make changes. You can make everything text, meaning it's always a string. Even numbers appear as text, giving you the flexibility to work with all columns.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Analytics Cloud?
The pricing model for SAP Analytics Cloud is quite competitive, but the cost for the planning functionality is high and can be a barrier to entry. The overall cost can be managed with better billin...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP BusinessObjects Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HP, ForeScout, DocuSign, EAT, Pandora, Aviva, Intel Security, Zalora
Live Oak Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan vs. SAP Analytics Cloud and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.