Top 5 Business Plan Generator/Tools (Tried and Compared)

You just need something to give some credibility to your idea but instead, you're stuck sorting through endless options, each with different features, complex pricing, and reviews that contradict each other. Do you need financial projections? A competitor analysis? An AI business plan generator or a non-AI one? It’s hard to know what actually matters.

By the end of this article, you’ll have complete clarity on which business plan tool fits your needs.

Here’s what we’ll cover for each tool:

• Key features, pros, and cons
• Pricing comparisons, user reviews, and real founder feedback
• Who it’s best for (because no tool is one size fits all)

TL;DR - What’s the best business plan tool?

If you want to validate your idea before investing time and money into building, the best option is ValidateMySaaS. It provides instant competitor insights, market positioning, and gaps to capitalize on so that you can make data-driven decisions instead of guessing.

Want to learn more about the other options? Keep reading.

What is a business plan tool supposed to do?

A business plan tool helps entrepreneurs and small business owners create a structured, professional plan without starting from scratch.

These tools come with pre-built templates, competitor analysis, and guided prompts to make planning easier. Whether you’re looking for funding, validating an idea, or mapping out your strategy, a business plan tool ensures you cover key areas like market research, revenue projections, and operations. The best ones simplify complex tasks, so you can focus on building a product based on real data instead of shooting in the dark.

What to look for in a business plan tool?

When deciding on a business plan generator, there are a few key features and considerations to keep in mind to make sure you’re choosing the best tool for your needs.

• Business Model Templates: Pre-built frameworks that help structure your plan based on proven formats.
• Market & Competitor Analysis: Insights into industry trends, target audience, and direct competitors.
• AI or Guided Assistance: Step-by-step guidance or AI-powered suggestions to refine your plan.
• Collaboration & Sharing: Options for team collaboration, exporting, and investor-friendly presentation formats.
• Customizable Sections: Flexibility to add, remove, or adjust sections to fit your specific business needs.
• Validation & Feasibility Tools: Features like competitor benchmarking and market demand analysis.

• Pricing & Monetization Modeling: Built-in tools to test different pricing strategies and revenue streams.

  1. ## ValidateMySaaS

Best for: small startups, SaaS owners, Indiehackers, marketers/agencies, students, solopreneurs

Founded in 2024 by Scott Arnold in the USA, ValidateMySaaS helps founders validate their startup ideas before investing time and money into building. By scanning the web in real-time, it identifies similar products, analyzes their success, and uncovers market gaps. This provides founders, marketers, agencies, and more a marketing edge.

With real-time web searching, SEO data, and a detailed competitor list, ValidateMySaaS eliminates guesswork and ensures you build with confidence, not blind faith. Instead of spending days researching competitors manually, you get a comprehensive analysis with a fully automated report.

In the next section, we’ll break down ValidateMySaaS’ features, pricing, user reviews, and how it compares to other business plan tools which will help you decide if it’s the right fit for your startup journey.

Key Features

• Live Market Search: Unlike traditional business plan tools that rely on static templates and outdated market reports, ValidateMySaaS pulls real-time data on competitors. This ensures your business plan reflects the most current industry trends, competitor moves, and emerging gaps, not just AI-generated assumptions.

• Comprehensive Competitor Analysis: Instead of a basic competitor list, VMS breaks down features, pricing, traction, and weak spots which gives you a data-backed strategy for positioning your business. A good business plan includes a clear picture of how you are going to position your product.

  

• SEO and Traffic Insights: Knowing how competitors attract customers is crucial. VMS provides web traffic estimates, search engine rankings, and keyword insights to help you plan your marketing and positioning strategies right from the start.

  

• Competitor Launches: Beyond market research, VMS analyzes how similar startups launched tracking platforms like Product Hunt to show what worked, what didn’t, and how you can optimize your own launch strategy for maximum traction.

• User Sentiment & Reviews: Understanding customer pain points helps refine your product positioning. Instead of manually sifting through reviews, VMS aggregates real user feedback from sites like TrustPilot, ensuring your business plan anticipates and solves real customer frustrations before you even start building.

• Actionable Market Positioning: VMS provides tailored insights on how to position your product for success, ensuring your business plan is strategic, competitive, and market-ready.

Considerations

Not Ideal for Physical Industries: The platform is tailored for SaaS and indie founders, meaning those in other industries might not find as much relevant data.

One-Time Report Model: The tool provides static reports rather than ongoing competitor tracking, which may not be ideal for users needing continuous market updates.

Pricing

Validate My SaaS offers a simple pay-per-use model with a flat rate of $29 per report. Each report includes:

• Comprehensive competitor analysis covering features, pricing, and market positioning.

• Relevant Product Hunt launch data to assess how similar startups performed.

• Trustpilot review summaries highlighting customer sentiment and potential gaps in the market.

• Customized insights on industry challenges related to your specific SaaS idea.

• Access to the Startup Validation Guide to help refine your approach.

This pricing structure is ideal for indie founders and SaaS entrepreneurs who need reliable market research without ongoing subscription fees.

Reviews

“VMS saved me a ton of time validating my startup idea.” - Nolan Makatche, Founder: Shadow Note Mindfulness Journal, “Building without market validation is like building with the lights off. You could be wasting your precious time building a project that has no market, or instead you can quickly use VMS to provide you the insights you need. It's a no-brainer.”

“ ValidateMySaas saves you the time and headache of searching on your own, provides an easy-to-digest breakdown of each competitor, and can even find competitors you didn't know you had. I highly recommend this tool for any founder thinking about building a new product.” - Rich Rudzinski, Founder at Drivey and Oversight, “Building and launching any new SaaS product is challenging. Understanding your full competitor landscape early on is invaluable. “

2. ## UpMetrics

Best for: businesses looking to raise funding, medium to large startups

Founded in 2019 in the USA by Vinay Kevadiya and Paresh Balar, Upmetrics is an all-in-one business planning software designed to help entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses seeking funding or E-2 visas plan, launch, and grow with confidence.

With features like AI-powered business plan generation, real-time financial forecasting, collaborative tools, and pitch deck creation, Upmetrics makes it easy to create a professional, data-backed business plan without the complexity of spreadsheets or generic templates. Upmetrics ensures your plan is investor-ready.

In the next section, we’ll break down Upmetrics’ features, pricing, user reviews, and how it compares to other business plan tools—helping you find the best fit for your needs.

Key Features

• AI-Powered Plan Generation: Automatically generate a structured business plan with AI-assisted writing, ensuring a professional and well-organized document without writer’s block.

• Financial Forecasting & Reporting: Create data-driven financial projections without dealing with spreadsheets, making it easy to present realistic revenue models and cost estimates.

• Pitch Deck Builder: Convert your business plan into a compelling investor-ready pitch deck with AI-assisted design and one-click presentation features.

• Investor-Ready Reports & Visuals: Generate financial charts, graphs, and insights that make your plan more compelling and easier to digest for potential investors and lenders.

Considerations

• Limited Pitch Deck Design: The pitch deck tool is text-heavy and lacks visually polished templates, making it less appealing to investors who expect sleek presentations.

• Overwhelming Prompts: While thorough, the extensive prompts can feel repetitive and make the business planning process seem more time-consuming than necessary.

• Cash Flow Calculation Issues: Some users found the financial forecasting tool unclear, particularly when interpreting cash flow calculations and billing structures.

Pricing

Upmetrics offers three pricing tiers tailored to different levels of business planning needs. Each plan builds on the previous one, adding more forecasting years, AI-powered tools, and export options. Compared to other business plan generators, Upmetrics provides strong value for those needing financial forecasting and collaborative planning.

Pricing Tiers & Features

• Starter: $9/month
  Ideal for solopreneurs or early-stage founders looking for a structured starting point.
  
  • 400+ business plan templates
  • Up to 3-year financial forecast
  • Pitch deck creator
  • 1 workspace, up to 5 team members
  • PDF export only
• Premium: $19/month
  Best for entrepreneurs refining their strategy with AI assistance and advanced financial tools.
  
  • Everything in Starter, plus:
  • AI-powered plan writing
  • Up to 7-year financial forecast
  • Strategic planning tools & multi-versioning
  • Export to PDF, DOC, PPT, and Excel
  • QuickBooks & XERO integrations
• Professional: $49/month
  Designed for consultants, incubators, and businesses managing multiple ventures.
  
  • Everything in Premium, plus:
  • 3 workspaces
  • Up to 10-year financial forecast
  • Custom templates & client management
  • Workspace transfers

Additional Costs & Value Comparison

Upmetrics is competitively priced among business plan generators, offering AI-powered assistance and financial forecasting at a lower cost than some alternatives. Add-ons include extra workspaces ($7/mo), additional team members ($5/mo), and a white-label option ($249/mo) for consultants.

With a 15-day money-back guarantee and up to 25% savings on annual plans, Upmetrics is a flexible, scalable tool for startups and established businesses alike.

Reviews

“If you struggle with finances, look no further!” - Matthew Muto, “I had the pleasure of working with Kaylee and Jay on the financial analysis portion of my business plan, and their expertise was crucial! From the beginning, their focus on detail significantly enhanced my plan's quality. They took the time to understand my business model and provided valuable insights on financial projections that aligned with my vision.

The support and resources from Kaylee and Jay were essential, ensuring accuracy in every figure and solid data backing every assumption. Their professionalism made the process smoother than expected. I highly recommend Kaylee for anyone needing help with business planning.

“This business plan template was a game changer!” - Hk Choco - “It covered all the essential aspects I needed to consider, making the planning process much smoother. But the real star was the built-in AI feature. I simply described my concept in plain language, and the AI reformulated it into a much more persuasive pitch. The difference was night and day! Overall, I highly recommend this tool for anyone creating a business plan.”

3. ## IdeaBuddy

Best for: Startups, incubators, accelerators, business schools, students

Founded in 2019 in the USA by Iva Zunic and Nemanja Zunic, IdeaBuddy is an all-in-one business planning platform designed to help entrepreneurs, startups, incubators, and accelerators turn ideas into reality. IdeaBuddy gives you a roadmap for execution.

With tools like business planning, financial forecasting, AI-powered assistance, and validation frameworks, IdeaBuddy makes structuring a business effortless. Its collaborative features allow teams and mentors to co-build, refine, and strategize in real time. Whether you’re developing a pitch for investors or mapping out long-term growth, IdeaBuddy simplifies the process with intuitive, structured planning tools.

In the next section, we’ll explore IdeaBuddy’s features, pricing, user reviews, and how it compares to other business plan tools.

Key Features

• Step-by-Step Business Guide: Follow structured guidance tailored to your industry, helping you move from idea to execution with clear, actionable steps
  .

• Idea Validation Tools: Test your business idea’s feasibility by analyzing market potential, costs, and risks before investing time and resources.

• Financial Forecasting & Planning: Generate financial projections, calculate startup costs, and estimate cash flow to ensure long-term sustainability.

• Mobile-Friendly Platform: Work on your business idea from anywhere with a responsive interface optimized for mobile use.

Considerations

• AI Suggestions Need Refinement: Some AI-generated content is out of context or lacks depth, making it less useful for refining business ideas.

• Limited Idea Slots: Only one idea slot is available in lower plans, making it difficult to compare different scenarios or versions of a business concept.

• Lack of Advanced Business Projections: Users want more market-driven financial forecasting, sales projections, and integration with marketing strategies.

• Steep Learning Curve: The UI can be unintuitive at first, making it unclear how sections contribute to the final business plan.

• Trial Version Limitations: The free trial has many restricted sections, preventing full exploration of the platform.

Pricing

IdeaBuddy offers four pricing tiers, catering to different levels of business planning. Each plan scales with additional AI requests, collaborators, and export capabilities.

• Free Trial: Test the platform for 15 days with one idea, one collaborator, and limited AI assistance.

• Dreamer ($15/mo): Best for early-stage ideas, offering 25 AI requests, templates, and financial planning but lacks full business plan creation and validation tools.

• Founder ($25/mo): Ideal for startups, including business plan exports and validation tools, along with 100 AI requests and support for three ideas.

• Team Pro ($35/mo): Designed for teams, allowing 10 ideas, 300 AI requests, and access to all features.

Compared to other business plan tools, IdeaBuddy provides structured guidance with AI assistance, making it a solid mid-range option for entrepreneurs needing detailed financial and business planning.

Reviews

“I loved that it didn't bother me with unnecessary details.” - Ulku K. “I'm working on my budget plan and I have a lot to think about. In IdeaBuddy I only enter the necessary data and save time. Working with percentage in budget planning+++”

“I have previously used another BP that was full of business jargon and complicated to navigate... hence I scoured the internet to find the right business plan that is user-friendly and offers a "roadmap" and guidance on how to complete each chapter which is where the AI feature comes in handy. IdeaBuddy is exactly that.” - Merle M. “I will definitely recommend this to new, inexperienced entrepreneurs.”

4. ## LivePlan

Best for: consultants, business advisors, business owners, startups

Founded in 2011 and owned by Palo Alto Software, LivePlan is a leading business planning platform designed to help entrepreneurs, business owners, and consultants turn ideas into reality. With an intuitive interface and AI-powered assistance, LivePlan simplifies the process of building fundable business plans, crafting financial forecasts, and tracking growth.

Trusted by over 800,000 users, LivePlan offers step-by-step guidance, 550+ sample plans, and seamless financial integrations. Whether you’re launching a startup or scaling an existing business, its structured approach ensures clarity, efficiency, and investor-ready documents—making it a top choice for entrepreneurs serious about success.

Key Features

• One-Page Pitch Builder – Quickly create a structured, investor-ready pitch to communicate your business opportunity.

• Financial Forecasting Tools – Build detailed projections without spreadsheets, with automated cash flow, P&L, and balance sheets.

• Live Tracking & Performance Metrics – Compare actual business performance against forecasts for better decision-making.

• Xero & QuickBooks Integration – Sync financial data seamlessly to maintain real-time business planning.

Considerations

• Billing Transparency & Cancellation Issues – Some users reported unexpected charges, difficulty canceling, and unclear subscription terms, especially regarding annual vs. monthly plans.

• Limited Financial Forecasting Flexibility – The tool’s financial projections are seen as restrictive, lacking customization for complex revenue models, taxes, and commission-based earnings.

• AI Writing Limitations – The AI assistant is perceived as basic, generating generic content rather than providing deep strategic insights.

Pricing

LivePlan offers two pricing tiers, Standard ($20/month) and Premium ($40/month). The Standard plan is ideal for startups and solo entrepreneurs who need step-by-step guidance and lender-ready financials. The Premium plan includes advanced forecasting and analytics, making it better suited for growing businesses that require ongoing financial tracking and decision-making tools.

• Standard ($20/month) – Best for startups and small businesses needing a structured planning tool. Includes:

  • AI-powered writing assistance
  • Lender-ready business plans
  • Full financial forecasting
  • 550+ sample plans
  • Industry research
  • One-page pitch builder
  • Connects with QuickBooks & Xero

• Premium ($40/month) – Ideal for established businesses needing in-depth financial tracking. Includes everything in Standard, plus:

  • Real-time profit & cash flow forecasting
  • Trend spotting & financial analysis
  • "What-if" scenario planning
  • Automatic forecast builder

Both plans support five contributors and offer unlimited guest access, ensuring collaboration for teams. LivePlan also provides a 35-day money-back guarantee, making it a low-risk option for business planning.

Reviews

“This software is excellent for both beginners and experienced individuals in business.” - Craig C. “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.”

“One page pitch deck is eye-catching.” - Rajeev B. “While preparing a business plan, there are relevant existing templates related to one's niche that makes the process seamless. Now when it comes to forecasting, far better than Excel as there is no need to write formulas.”

5. ### 15minuteplan.ai

Best for: entrepreneurs looking for investor funding and/or bank loans

Founded in 2023 in Thailand by Sirachach Mothina, 15MinutePlanAI claims to be the world’s fastest AI business plan generator. Designed for entrepreneurs seeking investor funding and business owners applying for bank loans, it creates fully structured, SBA-approved business plans in under 15 minutes.

Using ChatGPT, the platform simplifies business planning with customizable AI-generated templates, an intuitive "Talk to Plan" editing tool, and support for 15+ languages. 15minuteplanai’s mission is to make business plans accessible to everyone

In the following sections, we’ll analyze its features, pricing, pros & cons, and how it compares to other business plan generators to help you determine if it's the right choice.

Key Features

• AI-Powered Business Plan Generation: Instantly generate a structured business plan by answering simple questions.

• Investor-Ready & Bank-Approved: Plans are formatted to meet investor expectations and SBA-approved for loan applications.

• Multilingual Business Plan Creation: Supports multiple languages, including English, German, Spanish, French, and more for global accessibility.

• "Talk To Plan" AI Editing: Simply input changes in natural language, and AI will refine your business plan accordingly.

• Fast & Efficient Planning: Generate a full-length business plan in under 15 minutes, eliminating traditional time-consuming processes.

Considerations

• Lack of Industry-Specific Customization: Plans often feel generic and fail to address industry-specific challenges, requiring users to manually refine details. This is due to 15minuteplan.ai relying on ChatGPT to provide its promised output.

• Oversimplified Financial Forecasting: Some financial projections appear unrealistic or disconnected from industry standards, making them less useful for serious investors.

• Limited Depth in Business Insights: AI-generated recommendations lack nuance, making the tool more of a starting point rather than a comprehensive planning solution.

• Customer Support & Refund Issues
  Several users report difficulty reaching support and claim the refund process is restrictive or unclear.

• Inconsistent AI Accuracy
  Some users encountered AI-generated errors, including incorrect details being added to their business plans.

Pricing

15MinutePlan.AI offers two lifetime-access pricing tiers designed for users who need a quick, AI-generated business plan. The Starter Package ($69) allows users to create three business plans using ChatGPT 3.5, generating a 10-page document with key sections like executive summary, marketing, and finance. This plan is ideal for those exploring initial business ideas.

The Professional Package ($99) enables users to create ten business plans with ChatGPT 4, producing a 20-page document that includes additional strategic sections like digital strategy and key performance indicators making it better suited for securing funding.

Plan Breakdown:

• Starter Package ($69) – 3 business plans, 10 pages, basic sections. Good for early-stage planning.
• Professional Package ($99) – 10 business plans, 20 pages, advanced strategic insights. Best for investor-ready plans.

Unlike subscription-based competitors, 15MinutePlan.AI provides one-time pricing, but limits the number of business plans users can create.

Reviews

“I recently used the service for a kids' play area business plan, and while it had some helpful features for financial forecasting, the insights overall were overly generic. The lack of depth was evident, especially since the customization options weren't up to par for catering to my specific business needs.” - Rita Díaz Jovel. “It left me needing to fill in gaps manually, and there also seemed to be questionable information sources, which made me skeptical about the reliability. In the end, although a decent starting point, it needed more refinement and specificity to be truly useful.”

“Surprisingly amazing” - Lina. “Almost annoying how great the wording turned out. Feels very human, where a human touch is needed, and strict where it needs to be strict.”

What is the Best Business Plan Tool? (Our Top 3)

Choosing the right business plan tool depends on your needs—whether you’re looking to validate your idea, secure funding, or create a structured roadmap for growth. We’ve compared seven of the top business plan generators, and here are our top three picks based on features, pricing, and overall effectiveness:

• ValidateMySaaS (Best Overall): Unlike static business plan generators, ValidateMySaaS provides real-time market validation, competitor insights, and SEO data to help you position your business effectively. It’s the best choice for startups and SaaS founders who want to build with confidence rather than relying on generic AI-generated assumptions.

• Upmetrics (Best for Fundraising): Upmetrics is ideal for startups seeking investor funding, offering AI-powered plan writing, financial forecasting, and a pitch deck builder. Its structured approach ensures your business plan is lender-ready with clear financials and projections.

• LivePlan (Best for Established Businesses): With financial tracking, real-time performance dashboards, and seamless QuickBooks/Xero integration, LivePlan is a great choice for existing businesses looking to manage their finances while refining their business strategy.

If you’re serious about launching a startup and want data-backed market validation before building, ValidateMySaaS is the most effective tool to ensure you’re making the right move.

Try generating a Turbo Report for your idea now to see how profitable your business idea can be.