Workforce planning · September 2026 Edition
Planful vs Abacum
Two of twelve models named Planful first on the direct prompt; zero named Abacum. Planful was named by ten of the twelve models and Abacum by eight and Planful carries 23 labels and Abacum 11, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share8%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#7A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels2311A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Planful reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Workday Adaptive Planning was named alongside these two in eight of the twelve direct answers. ChartHop vs Planful · ChartHop vs Abacum · Homebase vs Planful
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the workforce planning page.
By framing
How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
PlanfulFirst choices, of twelve modelsAbacum
Direct20
Paraphrase22
Comparative00
Budget-constrained001 against Planful
Scale-constrained00
Negative00
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.
Every model, every framing
The seventy-two answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Planful and Abacum stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | ||||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | |||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | ||||
| Mistral Small | | |||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | |||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | |
Planful Abacum first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Planful on the left and Abacum on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Planful and Abacum stood in it.
Planful first, Abacum an alternative
2 of 12 modelsAbacum was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.DeepSeek V4 FlashPlanful, Workday Adaptive Planning alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, ChartHop, Paylocity, Pigment, Visier
Qwen 3.7 FlashPlanful alternatives: Abacum, Orgvue, Paylocity, Visier, Workday Adaptive Planning
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashChartHop alternatives: Abacum, Mosaic, Pigment, Rippling, TeamOhana
Perplexity SonarWorkday Adaptive Planning alternatives: Abacum, HiBob, Paylocity, Visier
Grok 4.1 FastRippling alternatives: ChartHop, Paylocity, Planful, Workday Adaptive Planning
Mistral SmallWorkday Adaptive Planning alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, HiBob, Paylocity, Planful, Visier
Llama 4 MaverickWorkday Adaptive Planning alternatives: Abacum, HiBob, Paylocity, Planful, Visier
GLM 4.7 FlashXHiBob alternatives: Planful, Visier
Neither was named
4 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5ChartHop alternatives: Deel, HiBob, Paylocity, Pigment
GPT-5.4 miniHiBob alternatives: Anaplan, Rippling, Workday Adaptive Planning
Kimi K2Rippling alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, HiBob, Paylocity, Pigment, Workday Adaptive Planning
MiniMax M2.5Dayforce, Visier alternatives: Workday
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Abacum is not named for this buyer.
Planful0%#– of 12Abacum—not namedMid-marketThe figures above
Enterprise
What the models said about Planful
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Planful/PlanGuru — but these are usually more expensive” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · soft negative
“Planful often being the better fit if you want a more approachable mid-market FP&A tool that includes workforce planning” GPT-5.4 mini · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend starting with Planful if you have 200+ employees and want strong finance integration” MiniMax M2.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Best Overall for Finance & HR Collaboration: Planful” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Abacum
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Abacum — Best for scaling mid-market businesses that need HR and Finance to plan from a single source of truth with integrated financial modeling.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“I'd suggest ChartHop if your Head of People/HR wants to drive the process, or Abacum if your CFO/Finance team wants to lead.” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“mid-market teams may benefit from lighter tools like Abacum or Planful before investing in a dedicated workforce planning suite” Llama 4 Maverick · scale prompt · alternative
Also compared
ChartHop vs PlanfulChartHop vs AbacumHomebase vs PlanfulHomebase vs AbacumRippling vs PlanfulRippling vs AbacumWorkday Adaptive Planning vs PlanfulWorkday Adaptive Planning vs AbacumPlanful vs HiBobPlanful vs VisierHiBob vs AbacumAbacum vs VisierAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full workforce planning standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.