5 Best Business Plan Software Platforms (2025)

A professional business plan sets the stage for your new business. It acts as an internal and external roadmap for your brand identity, financial planning, project management, and more.

Writing a business plan is an important—but often difficult—task for any entrepreneur or business owner. If drafting a business plan from scratch sounds too daunting to tackle on your own, don’t worry: Business plan software offers everything you need to get started.

Read on for a list of the best business plan software platforms currently on the market, plus get advice on how to choose the right business plan software for your needs.

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What is business plan software?

Business plan software is a digital tool that helps users create detailed plans for launching, managing, and growing a business. It provides templates, financial forecasting, and guidance to simplify the business planning process. It also often includes tools for budgeting, market research, and visualizing your business goals.

Why use business plan software?

Entrepreneurs use business plan software to guide them through the process of turning a business idea into a complete business model, whether that’s selling wholesale, dropshipping, or going the traditional route. Business plan software can offer the exact support you need to get the wording, structure, and presentation just right.

Business plan software can also help with financial forecasting by making sense of your cash flow and other financial data. Some software will even automatically generate financial statements for you, making it easier for you and your stakeholders to understand the numbers.

Many business plan tools also offer a range of business plan templates. It’s almost always easier to follow a template or business plan example than to start with a blank page.

5 best business plan software platforms for 2025

Upmetrics
LivePlan
Bizplan
PlanGuru
GoSmallBiz

1. Upmetrics

🏅 Highest rated business plan software overall

Upmetrics is an affordable, top-rated AI-powered business plan tool. Features include AI assistants, an AI business plan generator, financial forecasting, strategic planning assistance, and more.

Money-back guarantee: 15 days
Integrations: QuickBooks and Xero
Capterra rating:4.8/5 ⭐
G2 rating:5/5 ⭐

💰 Pricing: $9/month with Starter, $19/month with Premium, and $49/month with Professional. Save up to 25% with a yearly plan.

2. LivePlan

🏅 Best software with a large library of business plan samples and templates

LivePlan allows users to create unlimited business plans. The software offers more than 550 sample business plans and pages to help you begin. Get step-by-step guidance on how to write your plan and use templates for different types of business plans. It’s easy to tailor your business plan to your needs with templates and AI-powered tools like Help Me Write.

This software also includes LivePlan’s robust set of financial forecasting tools, which can help you convert financial data like cash flow statements into easy-to-read charts and graphs.

Money-back guarantee: 35 days
Integrations: QuickBooks, Xero
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.1/5

💰 Pricing: The Standard plan is $20/month, Premium is $40/month, and annual discounts are available.

3. Bizplan by Startups.com

🏅 Best business plan software for startups seeking investment

Bizplan is a business plan software that caters to small businesses and startups seeking external investment. The platform makes connecting with potential investors easy, and it allows users to easily publish a business plan on Fundable, a popular crowdfunding platform.

Other standout features include drag-and-drop tools for creating business plan templates, access to self-guided business courses from Startups.com, and financial tools to help set salaries, forecast revenue, and track expenses.

Money-back guarantee: Bizplan will refund the initial signup payment if users cancel within three days and haven’t yet used Startup Benefits from third-party partners.
Integrations: Xero
Capterra: 4.3/5
G2 rating: 3.7/5

💰 Pricing: $29/month or $349 for lifetime access with annual discounts available.

4. PlanGuru

🏅 Best business plan software for planning, forecasting, and scenario analysis

If the focus of your business plan is your business’s financial picture and potential, PlanGuru is an excellent option. In addition to offering most of the basic business plan software features you’d expect, PlanGuru offers tools for budgeting, financial forecasts and reports, strategic planning, and scenario analysis.

Money-back guarantee: 30 days
Integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel
Capterra: 4.2/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5

💰 Pricing: 14-day free trial available. There are different plans for single entities and what they call multi-department consolidations. The single entity cloud-based version costs $83/month with discounts, and also is available on annual billing. Each additional user costs $25/month.

5. GoSmallBiz

🏅 Best contract-free business plan software for new businesses

GoSmallBiz’s solution is part of a larger business continuity planning software platform that includes tools for human resource management and corporate minute keeping. GoSmallBiz also offers industry-specific business plan templates to kickstart your business plan creation. This is especially helpful if your business idea is destined for a specific vertical market.

GoSmallBiz users can create financial statements and projections for multiple years, including income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets. GoSmallBiz also offers step-by-step guidance, prompts, and tutorials to help users get the most out of the platform.

Money-back guarantee: None, but no contracts are required if you choose a per-month plan.
Integrations: MailChimp
Capterra: n/a
G2: n/a

💰 Pricing: Plans start at $15/month. Users can upgrade to the Essentials plan for $49/month or the Assurance plan for $69/month. There are additional one-time services and recurring subscriptions available.

Benefits of business plan software

Business plan software can be a critical tool to ensure success, especially if you’re just at the beginning of opening an online store.

Some of the major benefits of using business plan software include:

Streamlined planning process
Improved clarity and focus
Enhanced financial planning
Easier collaboration with stakeholders

Streamlined planning process

Startup planning tools do exactly what you’d expect: help you plan out what’s next. It sounds simple, but actually determining where to begin once you’ve decided to start a business is often the most daunting part. Rather than jumping between tutorials, supplier research, and an ever-growing to-do list, these tools create a more efficient step-by-step plan for you to follow.

Improved clarity and focus

Business planning tools can help guide entrepreneurs through the chaotic and often stressful early days of starting a business online. They provide structure with a clear path and process to getting started. Some platforms can even perform scenario analysis to predict different probable outcomes. These tools often lend the necessary directional clarity founders need to progress to the next steps and actually launch their store.

Enhanced financial planning

Business plan software can double asfinancial forecasting software, helping business owners forecast costs like the price of materials, shipping and packaging, and ecommerce fees. They also provide insights into budgeting and revenue potential. For entrepreneurs who are starting a business with low funds and need to create a lean business plan, this type of software can be especially helpful.

Easier collaboration with stakeholders

Business plan software enhances collaboration with stakeholders by providing a centralized place where team members and external partners can access, edit, and review the plan in real time. Many of these tools include communication features, templates, and customizable dashboards that make it easier to track progress and maintain clear communication with each stakeholder who’s involved.

📚 Recommended resources:

How to choose your business plan software

While most business planning software can accomplish the same end goal, each has its own pros and cons depending on your needs. The best business plan software for you may be different than the best option for your fellow business owners.

When shopping for business plan software, follow these steps to determine which features you’ll need most. This exercise will help you figure out which business plan software is right for your business.

1. Establish your budget

This is perhaps the most obvious point, but it’s worth emphasizing: The business plan software you choose needs to fit within your budget. Basic business plan tools may not have all the functionality you’re looking for, but more advanced features typically mean a higher price tag. Take a good look at your budget to see if you need to (and are able to) move anything around so you can afford the planning software that’ll be most beneficial to your unique needs.

2. Determine your must-have features

Business planning software products share many of the same features, but it’s the feature differences between each that make them stand out. Figuring out what you absolutely need in a business planning tool can help you narrow down your options to find the best one for you.

Some features to consider include:

Financial reporting

If having a tool for business financials and reporting is important to you, choose business plan software that excels in this area. Look for business planning tools that offer financial forecasting features beyond basic data reporting, including marketing and performance reports and data visualization through charts and graphs. If you need more extensive financial tools, consider investing in accounting software.

AI capabilities

Many pieces of business plan software now include AI tools that can help you write, strategize, and even create an entire business plan for you. If you need help with writing, for example, look out for tools that natively include AI writing features.

Easy-to-navigate interface

Choosing business planning software with a steep learning curve or difficult-to-navigate interface may make the process of creating a business plan more frustrating than it needs to be. Especially if you’re not particularly tech savvy, you might want to prioritize picking a user-friendly platform.

Collaboration

If you’re collaborating on your business plan with a fellow founder, accountant, or legal counsel, you’ll want a business plan tool that supports collaboration between multiple team members. Some software also allows you to add users as viewers, which can be helpful for distributing the plan to shareholders, lenders, or potential investors.

Templates

One of the greatest advantages of using business plan software is access to business plan templates and examples. The best business plan software options offer a range of templates, enabling you to create business plans for multiple audiences and different contexts.

Software integrations

If you have a tightly connected tech stack, it would behoove you to find a business plan software that can integrate seamlessly with other popular business tools, including QuickBooks and other popular platforms for marketing and accounting.

Support

If you run into trouble with your business planning software, a great support team or library of business resources can help you get back on track. As a bonus, most business plan software providers also offer online learning tools to help you maximize your results, including video tutorials and built-in advice modules.

3. Conduct research

Reading this post is a great first step. Aside from that, ask other entrepreneurs for their recommendations or opinions, peruse online forums like Reddit, or post on social media sites like LinkedIn to get a full idea of which platforms resonate most with other business owners. Once you narrow it down, try out a free trial if your favorite tool offers one. Getting hands-on experience with the software will give you a clearer sense of its functionality. Plus, you’ll find out whether or not you like the usability quality of its interface.

4. Choose your favorite tool and create your business plan

Now that you’ve narrowed down your favorites—and maybe even started a free trial—it’s time to choose a tool and create your business plan.

Remember: You can always switch business plan tools as long as your subscription contract allows. Many of these tools have money back guarantees if you change your mind or the software isn’t what you were hoping for.

Business plan software FAQ

What is the best software to write a business plan?

The best software to write a business plan depends on your needs. Our favorite business plan software options are Upmetrics, LivePlan, Bizplan, PlanGuru, and GoSmallBiz.

How do you choose your business plan software?

Establish your budget.
Determine your must-have features.
Do your research.
Choose your favorite tool and create your business plan.

What are the 4 types of business plans?

Startup business plan
One-page business plan
Internal business plan
Strategic business plan

Is there a template for a business plan?

Each of the business planning tools on our list includes business plan templates to help entrepreneurs quickly spin up a detailed plan that highlights their venture’s goals and potential.

Do I need a business plan to start a small business?

While it’s possible to launch a successful business without one, a business plan is an invaluable tool to help you solidify your brand, define your goals, and persuade investors that your business is worth the risk.