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Financial modeling and scenario planning · September 2026 Edition

Microsoft Excel vs Workday Adaptive Planning

Zero of twelve models named Microsoft Excel first on the direct prompt; zero named Workday Adaptive Planning. Microsoft Excel was named by eight of the twelve models and Workday Adaptive Planning by eleven and Microsoft Excel carries 14 labels and Workday Adaptive Planning 17, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Microsoft Excel

accepted challenger

Named in eleven categories this edition.

Workday Adaptive Planning

criticized challenger

Named in seven categories this edition.

First-choice share11%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate21%35%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#7A position in a field of 8; printed, not drawn.
Labels1417A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Excel reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Datarails was named alongside these two in ten of the twelve direct answers. Datarails vs Microsoft Excel · Datarails vs Workday Adaptive Planning · Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel

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; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the financial modeling and scenario planning page.

By framing

How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Microsoft ExcelFirst choices, of twelve modelsWorkday Adaptive Planning
Direct00
Paraphrase021 against Microsoft Excel · 1 against Workday Adaptive Planning
Comparative10
Budget-constrained503 against Workday Adaptive Planning
Scale-constrained002 against Workday Adaptive Planning
Negative002 against Microsoft Excel
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.

Every model, every framing

The seventy-two answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Excel and Workday Adaptive Planning stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.1 Fast
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
Microsoft Excel Workday Adaptive Planning first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Excel on the left and Workday Adaptive Planning on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Excel and Workday Adaptive Planning stood in it.

Neither was named

12 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
GPT-5.4 miniDatarails alternatives: Abacum, Anaplan
Gemini 3.5 FlashMosaic, Pigment alternatives: Centage Planning Maestro, Cube, Datarails, Planful, Vena
Perplexity SonarDatarails, Drivetrain alternatives: Anaplan, Planful, Vena
Grok 4.1 FastCube, Datarails alternatives: Drivetrain, Limelight, Pigment, Vena
Mistral SmallDatarails, Limelight alternatives: Cube, Planful, Vena
DeepSeek V4 FlashLimelight alternatives: Abacum, Cube, Datarails, Pigment, Planful
Llama 4 MaverickDatarails alternatives: Abacum, Cube, Lucanet xP&A, Mosaic, Vena
Qwen 3.7 FlashCube alternatives: Fathom, Float, Jedox, Jirav, Planful, Vena
Kimi K2Datarails alternatives: Aleph, Centage Planning Maestro, Cube
GLM 4.7 FlashXDatarails alternatives: Cube, Drivetrain, Mosaic, Planful
MiniMax M2.5Datarails alternatives: Cube, Planful

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Microsoft Excel leads by six points.
Microsoft Excel6%#9 of 13
Workday Adaptive Planning0%#– of 13
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Excel leads by six points.
Microsoft Excel11%#4 of 8
Workday Adaptive Planning4%#7 of 8
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
The order flips: Workday Adaptive Planning leads at enterprise.
Workday Adaptive Planning3%#4 of 7
Microsoft Excel0%#– of 7
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Microsoft Excel

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.

“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

What the models said about Workday Adaptive Planning

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.

“You generally want to avoid enterprise-grade tools (like Anaplan or Workday) which cost thousands per month.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“I'd recommend Workday Adaptive Planning if you want the best balance of usability, guided finance workflows, and solid scenario modeling” Perplexity Sonar · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Datarails vs Microsoft ExcelDatarails vs Workday Adaptive PlanningGoogle Sheets vs Microsoft ExcelGoogle Sheets vs Workday Adaptive PlanningCube vs Microsoft ExcelCube vs Workday Adaptive PlanningMicrosoft Excel vs VenaMicrosoft Excel vs PlanfulVena vs Workday Adaptive PlanningPlanful vs Workday Adaptive PlanningAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full financial modeling standing

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.