Still in the process of writing a business plan? Need a little help getting your thoughts in order and presentable? Business planning software can be a massively helpful tool for getting organized and articulating your big ideas.
Our team has researched all the major providers in the industry, and naturally, we’ve arrived at a few favorites. Even so, in this StatPad vs. LivePlan comparison, we’ll aim to give you an unbiased perspective on these providers’ differences and similarities, pricing, features, and customer feedback. Let’s dig in!
Recommended Business Plan Software: LivePlan
StratPad & LivePlan Commonalities
- Both are cloud-based, so you can access them from any device, anywhere you’ve got internet access. No need to download anything onto your computer.
- Both can function on any operating system (OS).
- Both provide step-by-step guidance and tons of extra educational resources to help you get accustomed to every nook and cranny of the software.
- Both offer month-to-month and annual payment options.
- Both are capable of syncing with other popular accounting software to make importing and managing your financials a piece of cake.
- Both offer risk-free ways to try out their software.
What Sets Them Apart
StratPad
- StratPad offers a free version of their services, LivePlan doesn’t.
- They only have email support - no live chat or phone customer service.
- Their paid plans are more expensive, starting at $29.99/mo for month-to-month access.
- Has sharing capabilities, but no collaboration features.
- Can sync with Quickbooks but not Xero.
LivePlan
- LivePlan doesn’t have a free version, but they include a 60-day money back guarantee.
- They offer live chat, phone and email support, all of which are super-streamlined.
- User-base of over 400,000+ businesses.
- Unlimited sharing and easy collaboration - allows one other user at no extra cost.
- Capable of syncing with both Quickbooks and Xero.
Customer Reviews
StratPad
StratPad has a decent number of customer testimonials promoted on their own website, all of which are 5-stars. However, in the way of third-party review platforms - which is where we like to focus our attention - the only place you can find StratPad reviews is on the Apple App Store.
They’ve definitely got a handful or so of negative ratings, most of which are complaints about the free version of the app. Many folks expressed that to get any real value, you have to upgrade to a paid plan.
However, the iOS app also has some great testimonials, too:
“This is a great find for any entrepreneur or business. Helped me organize my ideas and polish up my business plan – lives up to the description, great resource to have – worth every penny.”
“I love this app! It does exactly what it says it will – makes strategic planning painless and, most importantly, makes it easy to operationalize the company’s plan. Great value for a great app!”
LivePlan
LivePlan has accumulated the largest quantity of consistently positive reviews of any business plan software in the industry. Take a look at their Shopper Approved rating breakdown below:
4.8/5-stars is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to average customer satisfaction. As you can see, the vast majority of their ratings are 5-stars, and only 4 out of their 367 reviews are 3-stars or less. Here are a couple of their testimonials:
“I loved LivePlan. It was a great software that helped me realize I needed to do some more research to make my company successful. It ended up saving me a lot of money!”
“Been using LivePlan for several years for various projects. Easy to use and provides attractive and comprehensive Business Plans. Highly recommend this software to anyone considering starting a business or an existing business looking to raise capital or expand.”
When it comes to customer feedback, LivePlan is tough to beat.
Pricing & Feature Differences
StratPad
In addition to their free version, StratPad offers two paid plans, Business and Unlimited:
The month-to-month cost of the Business and Unlimited packages are $29.99 and $49.99 respectively, while the annual rates come to $10 less per month for each ($19.99/mo and $39.99/mo).
If you’re starting a small business, odds are the Business package will be totally sufficient for your needs. Both include their step-by-step video course, tracking capabilities, financial reports, and many other helpful features.
The only difference between the two packages is that Business enables you to create up to 5 plans and Unlimited allows you an unlimited amount.
Now let’s take a look inside their platform. Below is an example of a strategy map:
Compared to some other providers out there, StratPad’s data-presentation aesthetic is pretty clean and modern - it doesn’t just look like an Excel spreadsheet.
For a closer look at their streamlined features, read our StratPad Review!
LivePlan
LivePlan keeps it even simpler than StratPad - they only have one package that can be billed monthly or annually:
Their month-to-month rate is $19.95, while their annual rate comes to $11.66/mo. As you can see, they’re currently offering half-off your first monthly package, an offer you can still get by using our partner link whenever their promotion ends!
Regardless of the payment option you choose, you’ll get all their nifty features, including their business plan templates, industry benchmarks, 500+ sample plans, one collaborator, and more. We used LivePlan to plan Startup Savant, and we can attest to the quality (and quantity) of their features.
To get a sense of LivePlan and StratPad’s aesthetic differences, here’s a peek inside LivePlan:
Bold color-coded graphics, legible fonts, intuitive dashboard… we’ve got no complaints about LivePlan’s design. As we mentioned, StratPad’s is fairly contemporary too, but we think LivePlan really takes it to the next level.
For an in-depth discussion of their features, check out our LivePlan Review!
Which Should You Choose?
StratPad and LivePlan are both reliable business planning services that are well-worth your consideration.
That said, according to our research, LivePlan one-ups StratPad in pretty much every area we’ve covered: cost, customer service, package features, and customer satisfaction.
The big selling point for StratPad is that they offer a free version, which many people enjoy. However based on this side-by-side comparison, we'd have to say LivePlan is the winner.
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