--- title: "LivePlan Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is LivePlan the right Business Plan solution for you? Explore 200 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/142049/LivePlan/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- LivePlan 4.5 (200) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated September 17th, 2026 # Reviews of LivePlan Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 4.4 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Tabitha E Owner-FounderFinancial Services, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “I am also the founder of the Financial Literacy Foundation, so I value tools that help make financial planning easier to explain and easier to understand.“ May 1, 2026 Tabitha E Owner-FounderFinancial Services, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “As a bookkeeper, I have clients who could benefit from this tool, but adding each client individually can become costly. Because of that, it may be harder to use with smaller service-based businesses, trade businesses, or brand-new business owners unless the cost is passed through or included in a larger package.“ May 1, 2026 AH Amie H Partner and Principal ConsultantInformation Technology and Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “The software also allows for financial modeling, helping users explore different financial scenarios with ease.“ April 14, 2025 GK George K CEOApparel & Fashion, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “My card was being charged for 10 months, without a SINGLE MAIL WARNING ME that I am about to be charged 40$/month. Nor a confirmation email that I just paid 40$. I ended up paying them $400 and I didn't even use it once.“ May 15, 2025 AH Amie H Partner and Principal ConsultantInformation Technology and Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “LivePlan is an exceptional business planning software that simplifies the process of writing a comprehensive, professional business plan.“ April 14, 2025 Tabitha E Owner-FounderFinancial Services, Self-employedUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “The main drawback I see is the pricing per entity.“ May 1, 2026 EJ Eduardo J Strategy AdvisorFinancial Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The platform feels reliable and secure which is essential when working with sensitive business and financial data.“ January 9, 2026 IM Idan M CEOFinancial Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “here is still no convenient way to import actual data automatically from Excel or Google Sheets (there is CSV which under beta phase)“ June 23, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 200 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Mohammed A. Investment Feasibility Analyst E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powerful & User-Friendly, But Lacks Arabic Support & Advanced Customization" May 15, 2025 4.0 Overall, LivePlan has been an excellent tool—simple, fast, and packed with smart features. The interactive dashboards and AI tools transformed how I approach business planning. However, the lack of multilingual support (especially Arabic) and advanced visualization controls keeps it from being perfect. I’d highly recommend it, but with hope for future updates to bridge these gaps! Pros Intuitive and visually appealing interface that makes working with numbers and charts enjoyable. Exceptional reporting tools for creating business plans, financial reports, and presentations quickly. AI-powered features that speed up plan creation by 10x—a game-changer! Cons No native Arabic support, which remains a persistent hurdle despite two years of use. Limited customization for dashboards/charts (e.g., no PowerPoint-like control for dynamic presentations). Switched from [IdeaBuddy](https://www.capterra.com/p/204342/IdeaBuddy/) ideaBuddy is cheaper but doesn't offer as much customization and features as liveplan. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software July 28, 2025 Mohammed, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us this review! We greatly appreciate you being a loyal LivePlan customer and I've continued to share your product feedback with our team. These reviews and users sharing their feedback is so important in building future versions of LivePlan. Thank you! Tabitha E. Owner-Founder Financial Services Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Small Business Owner's real prespective" May 1, 2026 5.0 My overall experience with LivePlan has been positive. I like that it gives entrepreneurs and small business owners a structured way to organize their business goals, budgets, forecasts, and financial planning in one place. As a bookkeeper and founder of B & D Bookkeeping LLC, budgeting is part of the support I provide to clients who need help understanding their numbers and making better financial decisions. I am also the founder of the Financial Literacy Foundation, so I value tools that help make financial planning easier to explain and easier to understand. LivePlan is helpful because it can guide business owners through the planning process instead of leaving them to guess their way through their numbers. It can support budgeting, projections, business planning, and funding preparation, which are all important for entrepreneurs who want to grow with more confidence. The main drawback I see is the pricing per entity. As a bookkeeper, I have clients who could benefit from this tool, but adding each client individually can become costly. Because of that, it may be harder to use with smaller service-based businesses, trade businesses, or brand-new business owners unless the cost is passed through or included in a larger package. Overall, I think LivePlan is a valuable tool for business planning and budgeting. I would love to see a more affordable firm-level or multi-client subscription option for accountants, analysts, and bookkeepers so we can make this type of planning support more accessible to small business owners Pros I really like this feature because part of my business focuses on helping clients create and understand budgets. Many small business owners and individuals need assistance seeing where their money is going, planning ahead, and making better financial decisions. As the founder of B & D Bookkeeping LLC and the Financial Literacy Foundation, I believe budgeting is one of the most important steps toward financial confidence. Tools like LivePlan can help entrepreneurs organize their numbers, think through their goals, and build a clearer plan for the future. This feature is valuable because it supports not only business planning, but also financial education, which is a major part of the work I do with clients and the community. Cons Cons would be the price for each entity. I have clients that could use this. However, as a bookkeeper it can be costly to add all my clients. I think this is something that as an accountant, annalist or bookkeeper should have one package subscription to include with the bookkeeping needs of all of our clients instead of the firm paying or passing on to the clients. The way it is now I can only pass this through to my clients that are larger in size. It is not feasible for the small service, trade, or small business owner just starting out. Alternatives considered [Syft Analytics](https://www.capterra.com/p/161231/Syft-Analytics/) Reason for choosing LivePlan It is actually coming down to cost and functionality. Review Source MN Majid N. CEO Information Technology and Services Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Terrible Cancelation system and customer service" March 4, 2025 1.0 Pros Part of the business model is making money from unauthorized transactions. Cons I canceled my account a month ago, but my credit card was charged again. I requested a refund, which was denied. Relying on unauthorized charges is a poor business practice. If you cannot handle cancellations online and promptly, then avoid issuing credit cards and stop auto-renewals. When you see there is tons of negative review here and there, you should fix your system. I expect a full refund, as my account shows that I haven’t accessed it in the past 30 days; I'm not using your service. I only tried it for a few days before canceling my account. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software March 17, 2025 Majid, we're sorry to hear you're frustrated. While we do not ever change cards without authorization, we do hear that after signing up for our subscription service which autorenews on a monthly or annual basis, you were frustrated to see these recurring charges come through. We've spoken with our support team who seems to have worked with you on this issue and hope that an amicable solution was reached. AF Andres F. CEO Founder Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Greatest Business Plan Software Ever" June 9, 2025 5.0 Overall, I've been using it for over five years. I use it most of the time. It keeps me organized and it's easy to present to others. Pros What I like the most is the ability to see everything in one place. It's like looking at a table of contents. I look for what I'm looking for, see it, then I click on it, and tada, it's there. Exactly what I'm looking for. Cons What I like the least is setting up the outline. Sometimes the drag and drop doesn't work as good as I would like. Sometimes it drops in the wrong place, or it moves slightly, making it hard to manage. Alternatives considered [monday CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/245800/Monday-CRM/) Reason for choosing LivePlan I chose this plan because it offered what I wanted, and it was affordable. However, it was so long ago that I don't remember what I compared it to. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software June 10, 2025 Andres, thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We so appreciate you being a loyal LivePlan customer and value all the feedback you share. TR Tony R. Owner Automotive Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "LivePlan changed my game" May 6, 2025 5.0 I was running with it in five minutes. Go, go, go. I typed so much in the first couple of hours. I felt my plan was more cohesive than when it was in my head. The tool helped me uncover some inadequacies in my ideas. Next, I found the LLM-aided text "helper." nice! Then I found the multiple forecasts tool. Pros The financial forecasting tools are top notch. They understand the types of expenses that new businesses like mine need. As an example, they auto-calculated payroll taxes for me. They helped me with multiple forecasts for several situations in which I might find my business - up years, additional customers, and so on. Cons I'd like to be able to swap out the forecasts into the plan and to have key numbers change by forecast, perhaps with a macro like %5YRNIAT. A search and replace feature would be handy. The ability to add sections into the plan would be useful (example: a page to handle trademarks notices etc) Switched from [BizPlanBuilder](https://www.capterra.com/p/145818/BizPlanBuilder/) I want to get VC funding; was told LivePlan is the tool these stakeholders prefer. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software May 8, 2025 Wow Tony! This! So appreciate you sharing your experience and we're thrilled to hear how LivePlan has helped you forecast and understand your business better - this is what we strive for! Thanks for sharing and we wish you continued luck in your business journey. LV Lazelle V. Lead Strategist Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Positive Experience" March 26, 2025 5.0 Very good. That's the only description for now Pros the prompts and guides for each section is assisting much in formulating my ideas to concrete plans Also the 'rewrite' assistance from AI is much appreciated Cons So far nothing comes to mind. Not necessary to put more words. It means this review boxes are not functional Alternatives considered [PandaDoc](https://www.capterra.com/p/131735/PandaDoc/) Reason for choosing LivePlan Its more user friendly and has more options i.t.o business plan, projections, forecasting, etc. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software March 27, 2025 Lazelle, We really appreciate you taking the time to leave us a review and are happy to hear you're enjoying LivePlan. Best of luck to you as you continue your business journey! EJ Eduardo J. Strategy Advisor Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best business plan software available" January 9, 2026 5.0 My overall experience with LivePlan has been very positive across security value for money customer support financial planning and user interface. The platform feels reliable and secure while offering strong value through structured planning and forecasting. Financial planning supports clear decision making and customer support is helpful when needed. The user interface is intuitive and makes ongoing business management efficient. Pros LivePlan delivers strong value across security value for money customer support financial planning and user interface. The platform feels reliable and secure which is essential when working with sensitive business and financial data. From a value perspective it offers far more than basic planning tools by combining strategy forecasting and performance tracking in one place. Customer support is responsive and helpful especially when guidance is needed during setup or deeper use. Financial planning is one of its strongest areas allowing clear projections realistic scenarios and informed decision making. The user interface is clean intuitive and well structured making complex planning accessible and efficient. Cons Some advanced features require a short learning period at the beginning. This is due to the depth of the platform rather than difficulty and it becomes intuitive very quickly. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software January 9, 2026 Eduardo, thank you for taking the time to leave us such a detailed, thoughtful review. We are overjoyed to hear you're enjoying LivePlan and all of its available features - including our incredible support team! We wish you continued success in your business journey and appreciate you being a customer! Retro C. Creator Entertainment Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Live Plan Taught me new skills on how to build a successful business plan" July 29, 2025 5.0 Overall, my experience with LivePlan was positive. The platform is user-friendly, well-organized, and helped me create a professional business plan with confidence. I especially appreciated the guided steps and built-in financial tools, which made the process much easier. However, I would have liked the option to import data directly from spreadsheets to streamline financial inputs. Despite that, LivePlan gave me a solid foundation to communicate my business vision and goals clearly. Pros I liked how LivePlan made business planning easy with guided steps, clean templates, and clear tools Cons What I liked least was not being able to easily import financial data directly from spreadsheets, which made inputting numbers more time-consuming than necessary. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software November 25, 2025 Retro, Thank you so much for taking the time to provide us this great feedback, we've passed these details along to our product team and we appreciate you being a LivePlan customer. Best of luck to you in your business adventure! VR Verified Reviewer General Partner Retail Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Smarter Planning with AI-Powered Insights" August 17, 2025 5.0 LivePlan didn’t just organize my ideas; it transformed them into strategy with its automation and AI-assisted insights. The forecasts and industry comparisons helped me spot things I would have missed, and the way updates ripple through the plan automatically saved me weeks of manual work. It felt less like a template and more like having an advisor at my side. For the price, it’s remarkable value—approachable, secure, and genuinely useful for making smarter decisions. Pros \- Automation that connects the dots across your plan. - AI-assisted benchmarks to give context and confidence. - Easy updates: change one number and the whole plan syncs. - Clean, approachable interface. - Secure data handling. - Helpful, responsive customer support. Cons The first setup took some patience, but once my numbers were in, the automation made updates effortless. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software November 25, 2025 Wow, "it transformed \[my ideas\] into strategy" - THIS is what we aim for. We're beyond happy to hear you gleaned so much value from our insights (and saved time). We wish you continued success in your business journey and thank you for taking the time to leave us such a kind review! OR Orlando R. President Accounting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent business planning software" February 12, 2026 5.0 Pros Is an excellent software and user friendly.Is an excellent software and user friendly.Is an excellent software and user friendly.Is an excellent software and user friendly. Cons You should have rate for CPAs that generate five or less Financial Projections or business plan per year. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software February 19, 2026 Thank you for your feedback Orlando! We appreciate you being a loyal LivePlan customer and will pass along your feedback to our team! LB Larry B. Founder and Executive Director Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I love Liveplan" October 14, 2024 5.0 I can't say much more It is an excellent program and if I could show some of the work that I have done for my clients, and you could see their expressions when I present their plan to them, you would be impressed too. Pros I love the fact that it helps me think out my process and directs me in the right direction. It makes me want to learn more and perfect my writing. I have tried a lot of different plans and none compare to live plan. I have been using it for about a year now and it seems to be improving me and itself every time I use it. I highly recommend it to anyone starting or upgrading their business. Cons At this point, I have no complaints. I literally had to study the first time I tried to do the financials because I really didn't know what I was doing. But I kept trying, and then it began to make sense. I think it's important to know what you are doing instead of a program that does it all for you. Liveplan doesn't do everything for you but guides you and in my mind, teaches you. To me it's like a college course in business management. I love it. Switched from [QuickBooks Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/174984/QuickBooks-Enterprise/) The ease of use with Liveplan. The AI component was a game changer. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 21, 2024 Larry, wow what wonderful feedback to receive. The best thing we can hear is that, by using LivePlan, you have invested in yourself and your personal growth (and your businesses of course, as well). We appreciate you taking the time to leave such thoughtful feedback and hope to continue to support you and your clients as best we can. SS Sam S. Mentor Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Software Review" January 16, 2025 5.0 I thought the software was easy to use and very valuable. Pros I thought the sample plans were extremely valuable. Cons I would like the capability to export the sample plans. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software January 17, 2025 Thanks for much for taking the time to leave us a review Sam, we appreciate your feedback! WP William P. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Father's cafe and Bakery" January 13, 2025 5.0 I have used it for several years now for several different adventures and it has always done us right. Pros I like the way that it does all of the forecasting and calculations for you. I like the format of the plan itself. Cons I am currently having an issue with figuring out how to get the payroll taxes included. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software January 16, 2025 William, Thank you so much for being a loyal LivePlan customer and for taking the time to leave us a review. We're glad to hear we've supported your many adventures and wish you continued success, always! JC Jo C. Founder Design Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A great tool, delivering many essential insights to business planning." November 19, 2024 4.0 I found that I had to re-learn some aspects of the platform if I left off using LivePlan for a while. This happens during the early stages of planning, as founders have to focus on so many different elements of their startups. Also, coming from a non tech background, my leaning curve has been very steep, if not vertical. At times, spending significant portions of my day familiarising myself with the various platforms that are out there (that others supporting and working with me want and do use) was frustrating, but unavoidable I guess. Pros I love the way LivePlan has everything covered. Business planning, forecasting etc. It’s so time saving to be able to manipulate figures knowing that the long term effect on your plan is going to be accommodated. Cons Nothing. It’s great and regrettably I didn’t even use all of the functionality! Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software December 2, 2024 Jo, we really appreciate you taking the time to leave us feedback and are happy to hear you're getting value from LivePlan. I'm going to pass your feedback onto our product team as we're always looking for ways to make LivePlan simple, intuitive and helpful for our users and your feedback is key to that! BM Brian M. Project Manager Events Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brian's Review" November 20, 2024 4.0 Very helpful - good questions and suggestions help building up the plan Pros Inutitive and helpful - add's a lot to the appearance of business through Charts Cons I could do with being able to include individual Dept revenue & Expenses Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software December 2, 2024 Brian, thanks for your review. We appreciate you being a LivePlan customer and will pass your feedback onto our product team. MM Mohamed M. CTSO Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Bussiness plan for non experties." October 31, 2024 5.0 very easy to deal with, it started with me from scrach Pros up to date with all trend in finance and tecgnology. Cons I did not find any thing missing, all I needed is there. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software November 7, 2024 Thanks for the wonderful feedback Mohamed. We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review and we value you being a LivePlan customer! AH Awad H. Finance and Accounting Manager Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A Helpful Tool for Business Planning" September 23, 2024 5.0 Overall, LivePlan is a valuable tool for creating and managing business plans. Its user-friendly interface, AI assistance, and flexibility make it a good choice for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Pros Flexibility: LivePlan offers a high degree of flexibility, allowing users to customize their business plans to suit their specific need, Ease of Use ,AI Assistance: Cons Limited Integration: While LivePlan does offer some integrations with other tools, it may not integrate seamlessly with all the software and applications that businesses use. This can make it more difficult to manage their business operations. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 2, 2024 Awad, thank you for taking the time to leave us such solid feedback. I've passed your note on integrations back to our team as we're constantly looking for ways to improve. Thanks again! SW Steven W. Director Management Consulting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "LivePlan - A Great Business Plan Tool" October 21, 2024 5.0 I build many Business Plans for my clients and find LivePlan to be the easiest solution. Pros A really easy to use platform. The platform links the Business Plan with building a Pitch Deck, creating graphs to easily explain the detail of the plan. Cons The fact you have to pay extra for some functionality around finance is an issue. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 28, 2024 Thanks so much for your review Steven! We appreciate your feedback and you using LivePlan! JB Jeff B. Founder Retail Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Honest Review" October 4, 2024 5.0 Loved using it and really help in the beginning stages of start a company. Pros Easy to use, to formulate a plan and pitch. Cons Cost. How often is one changing or updating the business plan. I couldn't justify the cost for something that I use once and revisit seldom for small updates. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 14, 2024 Hi there Jeff, thanks so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We really appreciate your feedback. Being a small business ourselves, we fully believe that business \*planning\* is a continual process - not a one-and-done event. That's why we've built additional features to help business owners better manage their business and cash, by connecting their accounting solutions, doing scenario forecasting, and looking at their cash flow. We'd love to see you back in the future. Thanks again! DM Dan M. President Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Worth the Investment" September 24, 2024 5.0 Solid & very helpful in pushing past areas where I would have otherwise been confused or stuck in plan development. Pros Provided initial "jumpstart" direction in basic areas of business plan development. Financial projection tables were simple to use & provided a foundation to approach a deeper dive into financial planning & realities. Cons The format was different than the traditional business plan templates I had used in other business development pursuits & LivePlans product required some tweaking. Determining a startup cost breakdown seemed to be a bit more difficult in the forecast section then it probably needed to be. Couldn't download & save with the plan coversheet/title page. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 1, 2024 Thanks for your feedback Dan! We appreciate you sharing your thoughts and value your input! VD Victoria D. Principal Management Consulting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Thanks for many years of excellence!" July 31, 2023 5.0 Wonderful! (see above) Pros I started my startup consultancy in 1997. Soon after, I bought my first Palo Alto Business Plan Pro disc and spent quality time chatting with Tim about how helpful the financial section was. Since then, I have recommended this program MANY times and am thrilled to be able to recommend it again to whoever reads this review. Live Plan is wonderful, convenient, and worth every penny! Cons I am so used to working with it that I really can't think of anything I dislike. Reason for choosing LivePlan I have been happily using Business Plan Pro for years. Also, Palo Alto Software is a nice, well-run company. Review Source DH Dolore H. MM for Elevate Scottsboro LLC Entertainment Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Highly Recommend." September 25, 2024 5.0 I have used it now for 2 years and it has been a vital part of my business. Pros LivePlan has been straightforward and informative to do. Using AI has been such a useful tool. Cons I haven't found anything I dislike about LivePlan. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 1, 2024 Thanks for your feedback Dolore and we appreciate you being a loyal LivePlan customer! Jeanette L. CEO E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Too expensive " February 6, 2020 4.0 Ok to use but when done with the plan, there is not really a reason to keep paying. Pros Easy to use and good help for creating a Business plan Cons When you have done the plan it is just there and I have been paying a lot of money for just storing my Business plan for 2 years. Now I have to prioritize what I spend my money on and this is one thing I dont need at the moment. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software February 10, 2020 Thanks for your feedback Jeanette, we appreciate you taking the time to leave it! Many people keep their subscription long term, because they use the Dashboard feature to track their progress, compare their actual results to their plan, and continually update their plan based on what they've learned from experience. LivePlan is a great tool in this regard to manage your business if it is already running, or when you begin operations. LivePlan is also non-contract, so you can use the software for as long as you like, and cancel when you need. So if you need it just to make one plan quickly, you are welcome to cancel when you are finished with no risk. You can also switch a monthly plan to annual billing later to take advantage of the savings offered there if you plan on using it for longer. VR Verified Reviewer Private Practice Mental Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "LivePlan takes the intimidation out of writing a business plan!" October 7, 2018 5.0 LivePlan is helping my business grow because I am able to stay organized with goals and milestones as we are meeting them. I can see firsthand what is allowing my company to grow and where we need to make changes to be successful. Pros I really liked working with LivePlan to build a business plan. LivePlan helped me with having a template available to build my business plan upon. I thought writing a business plan would be something I would have to outsource and get help with. LivePlan allowed me to take control of writing and creating my own business plan. I love that I can change and expand my business plan at any time! I can also share my plan with potential investors and feel confident that it is both organized and professional. Cons I would like if the software would integrate with my accounting software, that way I can see in realtime how my cash flow is cooresponding with my company goals. Review Source KE Kelly E. Mill Owner Farming Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Mostly Great!" September 16, 2024 4.0 I love how easy it makes writing a complicated document. Pros It allows for several different scenerios and is easy to change numbers as you learn and grow. Cons It does not have a Sources and Uses page. This is the most important when asking for money. Review Source Response from Palo Alto Software October 2, 2024 Thanks for your solid feedback Kelly! I've passed your input on to our product team. We appreciate you using LivePlan! ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Talk to a Capterra advisor for free and get results within 15 minutes.