# Microsoft Excel 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 Microsoft Excel first on the direct prompt; zero named Planful. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/planning/financial-modeling-and-scenario-planning/microsoft-excel-vs-planful/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | 11% | #4 of 8 | 21% | 14 | 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 Microsoft Excel

- "Microsoft Excel | General‑purpose financial modeling | Dominant in finance, powerful formulas, Python in Excel, AI Copilot, wide ecosystem" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets remain the practical sweet spot, offering functionality, familiarity, and affordability." (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "For many small businesses, the absolute best tool is the one you likely already own." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, 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.