# Google Sheets vs Planful: which do AI models recommend for financial modeling, September 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Financial modeling and scenario planning. Zero of twelve models named Google Sheets first on the direct prompt; zero named Planful. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/planning/financial-modeling-and-scenario-planning/google-sheets-vs-planful/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | 13% | #2 of 8 | 0% | 10 | 8 of 12 |
| Planful | 4% | #6 of 8 | 11% | 18 | 11 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Mosaic, Pigment) (alternatives: Centage Planning Maestro, Cube, Datarails, Planful, Vena)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Datarails, Drivetrain) (alternatives: Anaplan, Planful, Vena)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: Datarails, Limelight) (alternatives: Cube, Planful, Vena)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Limelight) (alternatives: Abacum, Cube, Datarails, Pigment, Planful)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Cube) (alternatives: Fathom, Float, Jedox, Jirav, Planful, Vena)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Datarails) (alternatives: Cube, Drivetrain, Mosaic, Planful)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Datarails) (alternatives: Cube, Planful)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Datarails) (alternatives: Abacum, Anaplan)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Cube, Datarails) (alternatives: Drivetrain, Limelight, Pigment, Vena)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Datarails) (alternatives: Abacum, Cube, Lucanet xP&A, Mosaic, Vena)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Datarails) (alternatives: Aleph, Centage Planning Maestro, Cube)

## What the models said about Google Sheets

- "Start with Google Sheets or Excel, and optionally use EasyFinancialModels for templates." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets remain the practical sweet spot" (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "includes options like Google Sheets or Excel, which are free or low-cost" (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.