A recent Forrester Consulting study among US finance teams highlighted several interesting findings. A staggering 77% of respondents believe that business transformation relies on finance automation, and 59% say they need integrated software to align their finance teams with the rest of the organization.
This data shows that FP&A platforms are no longer optional for organizations that want to achieve rapid, sustainable growth; they’re a must.
Datarails is a familiar name in financial planning circles, especially for finance leaders who swear by Excel. But let’s be real – if you’re a fast-moving small business looking for modern tools to cut through the chaos, Datarails might leave you wanting more.
Its reliance on old-school spreadsheets and a complex setup doesn’t make it the best fit for businesses chasing agility and quick decision-making. So, if you’re tired of manually patching together reports and dreaming of a finance solution that moves as fast as your business, keep reading. In this article, we’ll discuss our top picks for the best Datarails competitors in the market today.
Fuelfinance is a Datarails competitor that's a powerful FP&A cloud platform built specifically for startups and small businesses ready to scale. Backed by a team of financial experts (who can serve as your fractional CFO!), it simplifies small business financial management with an intuitive interface, a comprehensive all-in-one dashboard and advanced automation. Our financial management solution’s pricing plans are tailored to your specific needs, ensuring you only pay for what truly supports your growth.
Expert support – Every Fuelfinance client gets a dedicated financial advisor who helps with problems and issues to positively contribute to their strategy.
Fuelfinance and Datarails each offer strong features, but they serve different types of businesses – and how they approach finance is where the real difference lies.
Datarails is built for enterprises and finance teams who live and breathe Excel. It automates reporting and consolidates data, but staying tied to spreadsheets can feel limiting – especially for startups or small businesses looking to simplify financial management.
Fuelfinance, on the other hand, is one of Datarails competitors built with the specific needs of SMBs in mind. Beyond the software, Fuelfinance gives you a dedicated financial expert who acts as your fractional CFO, helping you manage cash flow, forecast growth and make confident decisions without the guesswork. Datarails offers support too, but it leans more toward technical setup than ongoing strategic advice.
The user experience also sets these platforms apart. Fuelfinance’s modern dashboard provides real-time updates and lets you focus on what matters most, while Datarails, as an Excel add-on, is better suited for spreadsheet enthusiasts.
At its core, Fuelfinance is for startups and SMBs ready to ditch spreadsheets and embrace a smarter, more agile way to manage their finances. Meanwhile, Datarails is a solid choice for larger businesses tied to Excel workflows. Fuelfinance’s automation takes care of forecasting and reporting, freeing up time for teams that don’t have hours to spend on manual updates. Plus, we do let you connect our dashboard with spreadsheets if that’s the way you prefer to work, while still benefiting from the other Fuelfinance advantages.
If Fuelfinance sounds like the better choice for your needs, book a demo. Our team will guide you through the options and help you find the perfect solution to manage your company's growth activities.
G2: 4.9 (33 reviews)
Capterra: 5.0 (39 reviews)
Anaplan is a comprehensive cloud platform for corporate performance management, financial planning and analysis. This cloud-based solution was designed for organizations and businesses of various sizes (though it’s tailored to enterprises) and can be used for many purposes, including revenue planning, headcount planning, OpEx planning etc.
While both Anaplan and Datarails are designed to support financial planning, their approaches and target audiences differ significantly.
Anaplan is a cloud-based platform for connected financial management and planning across all business functions. It offers modeling and enterprise-wide scalability, making it suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
The Datarails platform improves reports and automates workflows within Excel, making it a better fit for finance teams that want simplicity and familiarity without making many changes to their existing software.
See also: Anaplan competitors
G2: 4.6 (391 reviews)
Capterra: 4.3 (27 reviews)
Another option among Datarails competitors is Vena, a cloud-based financial planning tool and a financial management solution designed to simplify critical processes, automate repetitive tasks and optimize business performance. Its native Microsoft 365 integration and AI capabilities streamline financial management.
Datarails and Vena both use Excel as a foundation, but their focuses differ.
Datarails enhances Excel workflows with automation, detailed dashboards and AI tools like FP&A Genius, making it suitable for mid-to-large organizations needing advanced visualizations and real-time insights.
Vena prioritizes workflow management and collaboration, offering features like version control, audit trails and task tracking, which suit medium-sized businesses seeking structured processes and streamlined teamwork.
While Datarails is better for data-heavy teams looking to automate reporting, Vena is better at organizing financial planning processes with strong oversight and collaboration tools.
See also: Vena competitors
G2: 4.6 (323 reviews)
Capterra: 4.6 (107 reviews)
Planful is a cloud-based corporate performance management solution designed for planning, reporting, financial forecasting and consolidation. This Datarails competitors option supports processes across finance, accounting, sales and HR, offering tools for comprehensive business planning and continuous updates.
Planful and Datarails are about finance and performance management but differ in their focus and features.
Planful offers a more comprehensive platform with advanced forecasting, driver-based modeling and real-time reporting. It’s designed for companies seeking scalability and corporate performance management.
Datarails specializes in automating financial reporting and presenting data within Excel, making it a financial management solution for teams looking to enhance their existing Excel workflows without adopting new software.
See also: Planful competitors
G2: 4.3 (435 reviews)
Capterra: 4.2 (50 reviews)
Cube is an FP&A solution that serves as an alternative to Datarails, designed with small businesses in mind. It offers the familiarity of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, combined with customization and control options typical of specialized planning software.
Cube Software and Datarails focus on enhancing financial analysis and corporate performance management, but they cater to different user needs and workflows.
Cube Software integrates with tools like Excel and Google Sheets, offering a flexible and customizable financial platform with real-time calculations and reporting features. This makes it suitable for teams seeking flexibility and a broader range of options beyond Excel alone.
Datarails specializes in improving financial management within Excel by automating workflows, consolidating data and ensuring accuracy. It’s a more targeted solution for teams that want to enhance their existing Excel-based processes without making major changes to their workflow.
See also: Cube vs Datarails
G2: 4.5 (118 reviews)
Capterra: 4.6 (78 reviews)
Prophix is the last on our list of Datarails competitors, a financial management tool for FP&A, consolidation and closing. It offers customizable dashboards for tracking metrics and tools to quickly transform data into visual graphics, moving beyond traditional Excel-style tables. Known for its strong security features, it’s suitable for organizations needing secure and flexible financial planning.
Prophix and Datarails cater to different user needs and have different approaches.
Prophix focuses on unifying corporate performance management with budgeting, data consolidation, planning and reporting solutions with strong automation features, AI insights and cross-functional business planning.
In contrast, Datarails enhances Excel workflows by automating reporting, consolidating data, and offering features like detailed dashboards and the FP&A Genius AI chatbot.
G2: 4.4 (191 reviews)
Capterra: 4.6 (110 reviews)
There are three main areas you should consider when looking for Datarails competitors and alternatives: features, integrations and whether the solution fits your business needs.
Here are the key features a financial analysis solution should have:
Specialized software streamlines and fits different purposes, but to use it fully, you usually need to connect it to other tools. Here are some integrations you should look for in an FP&A platform that's also one of Datarails competitors:
Financial planning and analysis might seem complicated, but it doesn’t need to be this way. Datarails is one possible tool you can use to simplify things, but there are better options.
A powerful, user-friendly FP&A solution with strong reporting capabilities like Fuelfinance will help you streamline financial operations and overcome various hurdles that inevitably await all founders.
With Fuelfinance, you’ll create financial models and forecasts that help you avoid running out of cash (the ultimate founder nightmare), scale confidently and spot opportunities before your competitors do. Plus, you’ll finally ditch those hours spent updating spreadsheets manually – it’s all automated.
Want to check Fuelfinance out? Contact us to book a demo.
Here are answers to some common questions regarding Datarails.
Yes, it has a 4.6 rating on G2 and a slightly higher 4.7 score on Capterra. Based on the user ratings, software can be considered good, but there are some alternatives to Datarails that can be better for startups and small businesses looking for a modern, user-friendly solution tailored to their unique needs, such as Fuelfinance, Anaplan, Cube, Vena Solutions, Prophix software, and others not mention in the article, like Workday Adaptive Planning.
Datarails doesn’t offer pricing information on its website.
Datarails is an FP&A software platform for Excel users. It allows you to automate processes, such as data consolidation, reporting, planning etc.
Yes, you can use Google Sheets as the source for your reports.
