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IBM Planning Analytics vs OneStream XF 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Planning Analytics
Ranking in Business Performance Management
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OneStream XF
Ranking in Business Performance Management
7th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Financial Close Software (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Business Performance Management category, the mindshare of IBM Planning Analytics is 6.3%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OneStream XF is 4.8%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Performance Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Planning Analytics6.3%
OneStream XF4.8%
Other88.9%
Business Performance Management
 

Featured Reviews

Gnanavel-Chakkarapani - PeerSpot reviewer
Can easily create dashboards and helps businesses improve forecasting accuracy
The product has improved our company's forecasting accuracy since it serves as a very useful tool for our sales and controller teams as they easily get to enter the inputs using views in TM1, which gets loaded into our main database. If there are sales team members in different parts of the world, like in Hong Kong and Singapore, they may prefer to use IBM Planning Analytics, which is easy to use when compared to the Excel tool. Speaking about planning analytics and data analysis, I would say that our company used to use IBM Cognos Analytics for reporting, where we used to use Cognos Dynamic Cubes so that users can easily use its drag and drop features while getting to see the data for which the users had to wait for two to three minutes prior to its use. In our company, tons of data are loaded into the memory, and users can use Cognos Dynamic Cubes to analyze data and understand it. The AI capabilities of IBM have benefited our planning strategy as they are very useful for business. The tool allows the easy creation of dashboard reports using AI capabilities. No technical knowledge is required for business use cases. It is possible to integrate the product in scenarios where some new integrations are available. I remember that my company used Azure Data Factory to connect Azure, Oracle, and IBM WebSphere Application Server. When it comes to IBM Planning Analytics, it is complex to integrate it with LDAP and or any other authentication tool offered by Microsoft. In our company, some users like to integrate IBM Planning Analytics with the common LDAP or Microsoft AD, which we currently use for all our applications. The authentication part is difficult to configure with IBM Planning Analytics. The maintenance of the product is easy. My company has scheduled maintenance on the product every week, especially during forecast times, so that memories automatically lapse and users can freely access their servers. The use of the tool has had an impact on collaboration within our company's planning team since everyone knows how to easily access the data and publish the results. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
Andy Jorgensen - PeerSpot reviewer
Customer satisfaction and data integration shine in multinational consolidations
The best features of OneStream XF are threefold. The first is Extensible Dimensionality, which allows for different levels of detail depending on the task. When budgeting for 2026, Extensible Dimensionality enables detailed breakdowns of supplies into specific items such as printer paper and magic markers. When actuals arrive, that level of detail isn't necessary. This flexibility in collecting and reporting data is a significant advantage. OneStream XF is advantageous because it provides one product that can do everything. Users do not have to purchase separate products for consolidation, planning, and reporting, which saves time and money in training and setup. OneStream XF shows a strong commitment to customer success. While 100% satisfaction is unrealistic, OneStream XF puts in substantial effort to ensure clients are successful, which contrasts sharply with experiences from companies such as SAP. OneStream XF's data integration capabilities with ERP and HCM systems are excellent, thanks to its history. The founders of OneStream XF were the creators of Upstream, which specialized in data integration. When they developed OneStream XF, they implemented that expertise, making it excel at data integration.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Planning Analytics' best features include automatic updates and slicing."
"The tool is flexible."
"IBM Planning Analytics can help us build scenarios through a sandbox environment, allowing us to test multiple variables and assess their impact on our budget and planning."
"IBM Planning Analytics is easy to use and deploy. It is quick to develop. The calculation machine is also very fast."
"Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes."
"The product's stability is good."
"The scenario modeling capabilities are frequently used to create different scenarios, compare them, and see which action leads to which result."
"The ease of use is valuable. The fact that it's plugged into Excel spreadsheets is also valuable. It provides additional functionality where you can slice and dice the information in a way that you can't do with spreadsheets"
"OneStream XF is advantageous because it provides one product that can do everything; users do not have to purchase separate products for consolidation, planning, and reporting, which saves time and money in training and setup."
"We were with Oracle previously. With Oracle, you have to buy a different piece of software for every business process. If you want to do budgeting, that's a product. If you want to do consolidation, that's a product. If you want to do BI type of work, that's yet another product. So, you end up buying a lot of software from Oracle. With OneStream, it is a little different. It is a platform where you can do all those things, and you can do them with just one software purchase and then you just pay for users on it."
"The product's most valuable feature is extensibility."
"It offers great ease of use. This impacts not only the end-user experience but also the administrator's, which affects the total cost of ownership."
"OneStream XF's unified structure makes it easier for our financial consolidation and planning processes, though I would say we have a standardized way of using it and not that much forward-looking."
 

Cons

"IBM is behind competitors like Tableau and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties."
"Adding predefined templates could be beneficial."
"The workspace API should be improved and documented so we know better which objects are used."
"The dashboard is very poor and needs a lot of improvement."
"The local authentication part is difficult to manage in the product, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The new frontend Planning Analytics Workspace is not very good, it could be improved. I like the Planning Analytics functionality but it would be helpful if it could be more customizable. You can create a prediction and receive information but you cannot do feature engineering regarding the predictive models. If this was added it would be helpful."
"Planning Analytics could be improved by adding automation features."
"It is a bit expensive, but it does the job."
"Currently, they only support one browser, and it would be good if you could use it on Chrome, Firefox, etc. It is a little frustrating that you can only use a certain Microsoft browser. They're pretty tightly aligned with Microsoft. So, I can see the reasons for it."
"There are longstanding challenges with OneStream XF, particularly around the technical aspects that require scripting skills, typically managed by finance departments."
"AI is where I see the most innovation and progress, but it's not fully developed yet."
"It's okay for collecting information and setting it up, but for business support, we don't get much from it."
"We should be able to download the data in the same format we upload it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a bit expensive, but you get what you are paying for."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten since it's expensive."
"The license of this solution is paid annually. Most of my customers choose a license that includes support."
"IBM Planning Analytics is not the cheapest solution, but it's priced per the market standard for this type of solution. I rate the price at seven out of ten."
"Our licensing cost is approximately $50,000.00 per year."
"Compared with the other tools in the market, IBM Planning Analytics is a bit expensive."
"IBM Planning Analytics is priced well, and licensing costs are yearly."
"The licensing is expensive."
"They price it by the user. Before discounting, it is 2,500 or something like that."
"The product has a license by the user. They're on par with other competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
I advise you to try OneStream. This is a very good platform focused on reporting, consolidation and budgeting & forecasting.
What do you like most about OneStream XF?
It offers great ease of use. This impacts not only the end-user experience but also the administrator's, which affects the total cost of ownership.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OneStream XF?
The product has a license by the user. They're on par with other competitors. One thing to consider is their relationship with Microsoft. They often push customers towards Azure, and Azure can get ...
 

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Fruit of the loom, Melrose, AAA, Valeo Foods
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Planning Analytics vs. OneStream XF and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.