Liveplan
Simplify business planning with Liveplan
Pricing: $40/mo
How we analyzed liveplan
This LivePlan review is based on first-hand testing and practical use in active business planning scenarios. We worked through the full planning process and evaluated key features, including business plan creation, financial forecasting, and AI writing support, to understand how the tool performs in practice. We also considered user feedback from trusted platforms like G2 and Capterra to offer a well-rounded perspective.
Top Features
- 4.5 Budgeting & Forecasting
- 4.4 Financial Reporting
- 4.3 AI Assistance
- 4.6 Collaboration Tools
- 4.4 Support
Other Users Choose
- 4.7 Budgeting & forecasting
- 4.6 Financial Reporting
- 4.6 AI Assistance
- 4.5 Collaboration Tools
- 4.4 Support
Overview
Liveplan by Palo Alto Software is business planning and management software designed for entrepreneurs and small business owners to plan, launch, and grow their businesses.
Its step-by-step guidance, industry-specific templates, and built-in advanced forecasting features simplify business planning even for first-time planners.
The tool provides an AI-powered LivePlan assistant to help you overcome writer’s block and draft your business plan with confidence.
LivePlan also supports scenario planning that allows you to test and compare different financial scenarios and evaluate their impact on your business. It supports integrations with the leading accounting systems and offers collaboration features to work with a team.
LivePlan assists you in quickly and efficiently generating lender-worthy investor plans without compromising on the fundamentals. However, it comes with a learning curve and higher pricing for its premium plans.
Top Rated LivePlan Alternative
Pros
- LivePlan offers a structured, beginner-friendly builder that guides users through each section of a business plan.
- The financial forecasting module is easy to use and includes auto-generated P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow reports.
- Integration with QuickBooks and Xero allows live syncing of actuals vs. forecasts.
- The “Help Me Write” feature assists with drafting plan content, making it less intimidating for first-time users.
- Exported plans look polished and lender-ready, suitable for sharing with banks or investors.
Craig C
This software is excellent for both beginners and experienced individuals in business. As someone who advises firms on their structure and format, the design and outputs are user-friendly and easy to assemble. This allowed me to communicate effectively with my clients and give them the knowledge they needed to better understand their business.
Cons
- Real-time collaboration is not supported; only one user can edit at a time.
- Customizing templates or adding new plan sections is limited.
- The AI writing tool is helpful, but lacks depth compared to newer tools like Upmetrics.
- No built-in pitch deck builder; only a one-page summary is provided.
Barny T
Liveplan Rating
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Upmetrics
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Feature analysis
1. Business planning tools
| Features |  |
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|---|---|---|
| Sample business plans | ||
| Step-by-step instructions | ||
| Custom templates | ||
| Strategic planning | ||
| Pitch builder | ||
| Visual strategy tools (Canvas/Board) | ||
| Try Upmetrics |
We used LivePlan to draft a complete business plan from scratch, and the process was smooth, at least at the start. The platform gives you a clear structure, walks you through each section, and provides helpful prompts and sample text along the way.
For traditional business plans, especially ones meant for banks or funding applications, it does a solid job.
But once we tried to customize the structure to our specific business needs, we ran into limitations. You can’t easily rearrange sections, remove ones that don’t apply, or adapt the flow beyond what LivePlan allows. It’s very much a fixed format; great for formal plans, not so great for fast-moving teams or lean models.
Another thing we noticed: There’s no strategic planning layer. No business model canvas, no vision board, no way to map out key activities or value props visually. Everything is text-first and document-heavy, which slowed us down when we were still in brainstorming mode.
2. AI Business Planning
| Features | |
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|---|---|---|
| AI Assistant | ||
| Writing Assistant | ||
| Content Rewriting | ||
| Translation Assistance | ||
| AI Forecasting Guidance | ||
| AI Compliance Analysis | ||
| AI Research Assistance | ||
| Try Upmetrics |
We tried LivePlan’s built-in AI while drafting a plan, and for basic writing help, it did fine. It suggested outlines, reworded clunky sentences, and helped clean up phrasing here and there. If you already know what you want to say, it’s pretty good at making things sound cleaner and more structured.
It definitely made the editing process a bit easier. We didn’t have to stare at awkward paragraphs for too long. It gave quick fixes that worked most of the time. For polishing existing content, it’s useful.
But that’s kind of where it stops. What’s missing is depth. Compared to tools that let you generate entire plan sections, adapt tone, or translate content with one click, LivePlan’s AI feels like it’s stuck at version 1.0. It smooths things out, but it doesn’t push your thinking forward.
We still had to figure out the big stuff ourselves like positioning, customer segments, even the framing of sections. If you’re expecting AI to help shape your business plan, not just tidy it up, that’s not what this is.
In contrast, tools like Upmetrics, VentureKit, and a few others offer more when it comes to generating full sections or guiding the planning process. LivePlan’s AI works well for what it is but right now, it’s more of a writing assistant than a planning partner.
3. Financial Forecasting and Reporting
| Features | |
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|---|---|---|
| Automated Forecast Builder | ||
| Full Financial Forecast | ||
| What-if Scenario Planning | ||
| Currency Formatting | ||
| Extended financial forecasting (10 yrs) | ||
| Try Upmetrics |
LivePlan’s forecasting tools are one of its strongest features. When we built out revenue streams, expenses, and payroll, the interface made it simple to plug in numbers and see automatic profit & loss, cash flow, and balance sheet projections.
The “What-if Scenario” tool also worked well for comparing different versions of our forecast. We could test out growth assumptions and spending changes without rebuilding everything from scratch.
That said, it’s built with a fixed scope in mind. Forecasts cap out around 3–5 years, depending on your setup, and the assumptions rely heavily on manual input.
Upmetrics, for example, lets you build forecasts for up to 10 years and suggests input values for revenue, costs, and salaries, which can save time and reduce guesswork. LivePlan still handles the basics well, but it could be a lot smarter with how it supports long-term planning.
4. Collaboration and Workflow
| Features | |
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|---|---|---|
| Transfer Workspaces | ||
| Client Management | ||
| Team Collaboration | ||
| Workspace versioning & plan versions | ||
| Try Upmetrics |
Collaboration in LivePlan works but it’s clearly designed for asynchronous input, not real-time teamwork.
You can invite teammates as contributors or guests, assign limited permissions, and leave comments directly on sections. That made it easy to collect feedback, especially from advisors or investors. The ability to leave notes on forecast items was also useful for keeping track of assumptions.
But once we tried working together in real time, it got clunky. Only one person can edit a section at a time so there’s no live co-editing or presence indicators. If two people need to work on the same plan, they still have to coordinate edits manually.
Version tracking isn’t there, and while you can set some permission levels (e.g., contributor vs. guest), there’s no way to lock down specific sections or track who made what changes. So managing multiple inputs can still feel risky, especially in a fast-moving team.
Another thing we noticed: While you can create multiple plans, there’s no real workspace structure or way to organize them. For consultants or founders juggling different projects, switching between plans isn’t as smooth as it could be.
It’s solid if you’re working solo or passing drafts back and forth. But for teams that need structure, speed, or simultaneous input, it starts to feel limiting.
5. Pitch and Export
| Features | |
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|---|---|---|
| Transfer Workplaces | ||
| Client Management | ||
| Easy Pitch/Plan Export | ||
| Export Plan Formats | ||
| Try Upmetrics |
LivePlan covers the essentials for exporting and pitching. We could easily generate a one-page summary and download the full business plan as a PDF or Word file. It’s quick and clean, and works fine if you’re sending your plan to a bank or printing it out for a meeting.
That said, we ran into limits when we wanted to customize the design or adapt the pitch for different audiences. There aren’t many layout or styling options, and we couldn’t export the pitch into a presentation format like slides.
The one-pager is useful for high-level sharing, but if you’re building a pitch deck to show investors or need multiple versions of your plan, LivePlan doesn’t offer much flexibility there. It’s best suited for simple plans with basic export needs.
Liveplan Pricing
| Features | Standard | Consultant plan |
|---|---|---|
| Price (monthly / annual) | $15/mo | $30/mo |
| Active companies at once | 1 | 1 |
| Total companies you can create | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Contributors | Up to 5 | Up to 5 |
| Guests | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Account integration | — | QuickBooks & Xero sync |
| Real‑time profit & cash forecast | — | |
| “What‑if” forecast scenarios | — | Up to 10 full scenarios |
| Performance dashboards | — | |
| Industry benchmark data | — | |
| Milestone planner | — |
LivePlan’s pricing is simple and fixed, with no free tier. It offers two plans: Standard at $15/month and Premium at $30/month, both billed annually. The Standard plan covers the basics: A step-by-step business plan builder, lender-ready financial statements, over 550 sample plans, and onboarding support. It also includes limited AI writing help and forecasting.
The Premium plan provides the full feature set. You get “What if” scenario planning, detailed financial analysis, performance dashboards, real-time profit and cash forecasting, plus integrations with Excel and QuickBooks or Xero. These tools are built for teams that need dynamic forecasting and deeper financial control.
LivePlan does not use a per-feature pricing model, so there’s no room to scale down. If you want the advanced tools, you’ll need to pay the full $30/month. There’s no free trial, but they do offer a 35-day money-back guarantee, which gives some cushion if the tool doesn’t meet your expectations.
Price Comparison
LivePlan’s pricing starts at $15/month (billed annually), but most of its advanced features like accounting software integration, performance dashboards, and what-if scenarios are only available in the Premium plan at $30/month.
Upmetrics, on the other hand, offers more flexibility across different plan tiers and includes AI writing tools, pitch deck builder, financial forecasting, and real-time collaboration, even in its mid-tier plans.
In short, if you’re looking for a planning tool that’s powerful yet budget-friendly, Upmetrics is a strong LivePlan alternative.
Starter
$15/ month
Premium
$30/ month
Money-back-guarantee
Yes
*pricing is based on annual billing.
Alternatives to Liveplan
LivePlan does a good job with business planning, but it hasn’t kept up with what modern teams need. If you’re just creating one plan and working solo, it checks the boxes.
But once you add collaborators, manage multiple clients, or want real-time input, things start to feel clunky. You can’t co-edit, switch between projects easily, or assign roles and that slows everyone down.
It also lacks some of the smarter tools others now offer. So if you’ve outgrown the basics or want a more flexible setup, you’ll want to see how these LivePlan alternatives stack up.
LivePlan is Expensive and Lacks the Necessary Features
Upmetrics' Plans Start @ $14/mo
 Upmetrics |
 VentureKit |
 Ideabuddy |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Starts at $14/month | Starts at $19/month | Starts at $15/month |
| Best for | Startups & Consultants | Solo Founders & Teams | First-time Entrepreneurs |
| Collaboration | Real-time editing, roles | Not mentioned | Basic sharing |
| Financial Forecasting | Forecasting, scenarios, integrations | Basic projections | Budget planner |
| AI Business Planning | AI writer, pitch builder | Basic outline assistant | Idea prompts only |
| Pitching Tools | Full pitch builder + export | Pre-filled pitch themes | Included |
| Export Options | PDF, DOCX, Excel | PDF only | PDF, Word, Excel |
| Sample Templates | 400+ ready plans | Industry-specific templates | Guided plan wizard |
| Ease of Use | 4.8/5 | 3.8/5 | 4.8/5 |
| Support | Email+knowledge base | Email, chat, and phone only | Email (no other publicly listed info available) |
| Try it now | Learn more | Learn more |
Upmetrics
Upmetrics stands out as a practical alternative to LivePlan, especially for entrepreneurs, consultants, and growing teams who want more control, flexibility, and collaboration built into their business planning process.
While LivePlan offers a simplified experience for solo founders, Upmetrics fills several noticeable gaps, especially in real-time editing, role-based access, and seamless collaboration across teams.
It’s designed to support users managing multiple plans, clients, or business units simultaneously. You get full control over who can edit, comment, or view documents, which is essential when multiple stakeholders are involved.
The platform also goes beyond the basics of planning. Upmetrics includes AI-powered writing help, financial forecasting tools, pitch deck builders, and presentation export options that rival or exceed what LivePlan offers in its premium tier.
Features like “What-if” scenario modeling, Excel export, and integrations with QuickBooks and Xero make it especially useful for teams that need deeper financial visibility.
In a nutshell, Upmetrics has all the features LivePlan has if not more, and that too at a much lower cost. Upmetrics provides a more versatile and modern planning setup, giving users the freedom to work faster, plan smarter, and collaborate better.
Seeking LivePlan Alternatives?
Try Upmetrics for Business Planning
Plans starting from $14/month
Conclusion
We’ve worked with both LivePlan and its top alternatives while building real business plans for teams and clients and here’s what we’ve seen:
With competition rising in almost every industry, having a clear, detailed business plan isn’t optional anymore. It’s the starting point for staying relevant and making smart decisions.
LivePlan and Upmetrics both help take the stress out of writing your plan. They handle the structure, the financials, and the formatting, so you can focus on the work that actually grows your business.
Now that you’ve seen how LivePlan stacks up, it’s easier to decide if it fits your process or if another tool would suit you better. Pick the one that matches your workflow and planning needs, and skip the ones that slow you down.
Say No to Expensive Business Planning Software!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Liveplan used for?
Liveplan is a tool used for business and financial planning. With Liveplan, you can create a business plan, organize & pitch your ideas, and create accurate financial reports. It’s a one-stop business plan solution for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Is it worth paying for Liveplan?
Although Liveplan offers many comprehensive business and financial planning features, its cost is relatively high compared to other tools in the market. You can easily get similar or better functionalities at much lower costs.
What is better than Liveplan?
Upmetrics is a strong alternative to LivePlan. It offers a similar set of business planning features at a lower price. Its Premium plan starts at $19/month, while comparable features in LivePlan cost around $40/month. For a detailed breakdown of features and offerings, refer to their respective pricing pages.
Does Liveplan have a free version?
No. Liveplan doesn’t have any free plan or trial. However, they offer a 35-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the tool and ask for a refund if you don’t find it suitable for your requirements.
How much is Liveplan monthly cost?
Liveplan has two pricing plans as a part of their subscription model: Standard plan and Premium plan. The Standard plan costs $20 a month, whereas the Premium plan costs $40 per month.
