Comparison

Cash forecasting software, compared

Compare cash forecasting software by the decision you need to make, its inputs and its upkeep. A runway estimate shows how long cash lasts at your current monthly burn. A weekly forecast also tracks when payments arrive and bills fall due, including shortfalls hidden by a monthly average.

Plans, prices and integrations were checked on each vendor's own site on 14 October 2026.

Which tools are best for forecasting cash runway?

The best tool for forecasting cash runway depends on the question. For a runway number, a tool that divides cash by net burn and keeps both current is enough: Plainhub if you would rather type events than connect books, or the free cash runway calculator for a one-off check. For a week-by-week view of when cash dips, Float builds a 13-week cash flow from Xero or QuickBooks Online.

What is the best tool for runway forecasting?

Plainhub suits founders who want a runway estimate from manually recorded income and costs, with draft plans for hires or cuts. The projection holds current monthly rates constant, rather than forecasting growth or invoice timing. For weekly payment timing, compare accounting-connected forecasts such as Float or Cash Flow Frog.

Runway or cash forecast: which one you need

Most pre-seed and seed companies need a runway number every week and a full cash forecast only when cash gets tight or collections get lumpy. Runway is cash divided by net burn, and direct input is enough to keep it current. A cash forecast shows whether a given week has enough in the account, and for that you need invoice and bill dates read from an accounting system.

With €90,000 in the bank and €22,500 a month more going out than coming in, runway is 4 months, and that number moves every time you hire, lose a customer or cut a tool. The forecast asks a narrower question. Say €60,000 of payroll and a €25,000 tax payment leave in week two, and the €45,000 invoice that covers them is paid in week four. The balance drops to €5,000 in between, while runway still reads four months.

Buy for the question you have now.

Need only the runway number? Plainhub recalculates it as you record money in and out.Build your model Try the live demo

What to look for

Four things separate cash forecasting tools: where the numbers come from, the horizon and grain of the forecast, how easily you can test a what-if, and who keeps the data true. Check them in that order, because the first decides setup time, upkeep and what breaks when a connection drops.

Where the numbers come from. Ledger sync, bank feed or direct input. This decides setup time, upkeep and what breaks when a connection drops.
Horizon and grain. A weekly 13-week view catches timing collisions; a monthly 12-month view answers runway. Some tools only do one.
What-ifs without rebuilding. You should be able to add a hire, a price change or a lost customer and see the new line next to the old one.
Who keeps it true. Accounting-connected tools go stale when the bookkeeping lags; direct-input tools go stale when you stop recording. Pick the failure you will notice.

Eight options

Eight cash forecasting options are compared below: Plainhub, Float, Fathom, Agicap, Cash Flow Frog, LivePlan, Jirav and a spreadsheet. Each is listed with what it connects to, who it suits and, where the vendor publishes a price, what it costs. Every card links to the page the vendor facts came from.

Cash forecasting tools: who each is best for and what each connects to
Tool	Best for	Connects to
Plainhub	Founders who need a live runway number, not a treasury tool	Nothing. You type the events yourself
Float	Businesses on Xero or QuickBooks Online that want a 13-week and 12-month view	Xero, QuickBooks Online (Sage Intacct listed as coming soon)
Fathom	Accountants and small businesses that want reporting with the forecast	QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB, FreeAgent, Excel, Google Sheets
Agicap	European SMBs and mid-market firms with cash across several banks and entities	Banks and ERPs
Cash Flow Frog	Small businesses whose books are already in an accounting package	QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, Sage Intacct, Odoo, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, banks
LivePlan	A business plan for a lender or investor, with the forecast inside it	QuickBooks, Xero
Jirav	Companies with a finance lead or an outsourced CFO firm	Accounting, workforce and operational data
A spreadsheet	Total control at zero cost	Whatever you paste into it

1. Plainhub

Connects to: Nothing. You type the events yourself

Best for: Founders who need a live runway number, not a treasury tool

Keeps runway, burn and MRR live from what you record, and shows the cash-out date today and for up to three draft plans. It projects in a straight line from this month, so there is no 13-week view, no invoice timing and no growth curve. Pro is €29.99 a month, Max €59.99.

Seven questions give you a runway estimate before you pay.Build your model Try the live demo

2. Float

Connects to: Xero, QuickBooks Online (Sage Intacct listed as coming soon)

Best for: Businesses on Xero or QuickBooks Online that want a 13-week and 12-month view

Builds the forecast from your accounting data. The Essentials plan, for companies under £2m in revenue, lists a 13-week cash flow, 12-month forecasts and 8 scenarios at €115 a month billed monthly, with a 14-day free trial. It needs bookkeeping that is up to date.

Source: Float pricing page

3. Fathom

Connects to: QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB, FreeAgent, Excel, Google Sheets

Best for: Accountants and small businesses that want reporting with the forecast

Reporting, forecasting and consolidation, priced in company bundles: Pro is $450 a month for 25 companies, about $18 each, before sales tax. Three-way cash flow comes with Pro. A lot of reporting, and a bundle sized for accountants, if all you need is a runway number.

Source: Fathom pricing page

4. Agicap

Connects to: Banks and ERPs

Best for: European SMBs and mid-market firms with cash across several banks and entities

Bank-connected cash management: forecasting, payments, collections and bank reconciliation on one platform. More than a company with one bank account and one entity needs.

Source: Agicap home page

5. Cash Flow Frog

Connects to: QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, Sage Intacct, Odoo, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, banks

Best for: Small businesses whose books are already in an accounting package

Builds a rolling forecast up to 36 months out from your accounting data, with what-if scenarios and an AI connector for chatting about your cash flow from Claude or ChatGPT. 14-day free trial, no card. Like Float, it is only as current as the ledger behind it.

Source: Cash Flow Frog home page, integrations page

6. LivePlan

Connects to: QuickBooks, Xero

Best for: A business plan for a lender or investor, with the forecast inside it

Plan builder, forecasts, pitch and plan against actual. Standard is listed at $20 a month billed monthly. Built for the funding document more than for weekly cash management.

Source: LivePlan pricing page

7. Jirav

Connects to: Accounting, workforce and operational data

Best for: Companies with a finance lead or an outsourced CFO firm

Driver-based forecasting of the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, with separate offers for accounting and CFO firms and for businesses. Real planning software, and it expects someone whose job is finance to run it.

Source: Jirav home page

8. A spreadsheet

Connects to: Whatever you paste into it

Best for: Total control at zero cost

Flexible enough for an unusual business model. Accuracy depends on the formulas, assumptions and how often someone updates the inputs.

Where Plainhub fits

Plainhub estimates how long your cash lasts from the income and costs you record. It recalculates runway when those entries change, without connecting to a bank or ledger. Keep the records current, then use draft plans to see how another recurring cost would change the estimate.

When Plainhub is not the right fit

Plainhub is the wrong cash forecasting tool when you need week-level timing, growth modelling, several entities, figures imported from a bank or ledger, or bookkeeping. It projects runway in a straight line from what you record. Each limit below is a point where another tool is the better choice.

You need to see the week payroll leaves before an invoice lands. Plainhub does not know invoice or bill dates and has no 13-week view.
Your forecast depends on growth. Plainhub projects in a straight line from the recurring numbers you have recorded.
You run several entities or need consolidation.
You want figures pulled in from a bank or ledger. Plainhub only knows what you record.
You need bookkeeping, invoicing or tax filing. It is not accounting software.

In those cases use Float or Cash Flow Frog on top of clean books, or Fathom if you also want the reporting. The longer version of that boundary is in when you need a Fathom alternative and when you don't.

If you want a runway-first option for founders rather than a forecasting suite, see the Plainhub startup finance platform.

To sanity-check a number before choosing anything, the cash flow forecast tool and cash runway calculator are free and need no signup.

Common questions

Which tool is best for forecasting cash runway?

If runway is the only question, you do not need a full cash forecast: cash divided by net burn, kept current, answers it, and a runway tool like Plainhub or the free runway calculator does that. If you need to see a specific week where payroll leaves before a big invoice lands, you need a 13-week forecast built from your books, which is what Float and Cash Flow Frog do.

Do I need accounting software to forecast cash flow?

For Float, Fathom, Cash Flow Frog and Jirav, yes, because they build the forecast from your ledger, and an empty or stale ledger gives an empty or stale forecast. Tools that take direct input, and spreadsheets, work without one.

How far ahead should a cash flow forecast go?

Thirteen weeks is a common operating horizon, close enough to be accurate and long enough to act on. For runway and fundraising you also want a twelve-month view, which answers a different question from the same numbers.

Is there free cash flow forecasting software?

The dedicated tools here are paid. Float, Fathom and Cash Flow Frog advertise 14-day free trials. Plainhub has no trial, but its demo runs without signing up, and the cash flow forecast tool and runway calculator on this site are free. A spreadsheet template costs time instead of money.

How much does cash forecasting software cost?

From the vendors' own pricing pages: LivePlan Standard $20 a month, Fathom Pro $450 a month for 25 companies, Float Essentials €115 a month billed monthly, Plainhub €29.99 or €59.99 a month. Agicap and Jirav start with a demo.

Source: LivePlan pricing, Fathom pricing, Float pricing

Runway without the bookkeeping project

Enter cash and monthly totals to see a first runway estimate before choosing a plan, with no card required. Record income and costs as they change, then test a hire before committing to the spend. Plainhub supports 155 currencies and recalculates the estimate from your entries.

Build your model Try the free forecast tool