Means & Methods Lab, home
Facts: desk research, not tested · Reviews: members' opinions

Nialli vs Planera

Two scheduling tools a GC might weigh for collaborative planning. Nialli Visual Planner is a digital pull planning board built on the Last Planner System for touch displays, sold at a flat annual price per plan; Planera is a cloud CPM scheduling platform it describes as AI-native, with a pull-planning whiteboard, DCMA-14 checks and custom pricing. Desk research from vendor pages read Oct 24, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Nialli Oct 24, 2026; Planera Oct 23, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Nialli (Digital pull planning; vendor publishes prices) vs Planera (AI-native CPM scheduling; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Nialli Oct 24, 2026; Planera Oct 23, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

Nialli vs Planera: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowNialliPlanera
CategoryDigital pull planningAI-native CPM scheduling
AI role (our label)Not AI-firstAI-first
What it doesVisual Planner, construction planning software built on the Last Planner System for digital pull planning; free trial offered. Re-read Oct 17, 2026: the homepage says milestones and activities can be imported from Oracle Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject or Microsoft Project; Percent Plan Complete (PPC) and reasons-for-variance data generate as teams status tasks; constraints show as warning dots on affected tasks; up to three connected touch displays can share one plan; and remote users join from a laptop, tablet or phone. Pricing page re-read Oct 17, 2026: $1,400 single plan and 30-day trial unchanged. Support pages (re-read Oct 17, 2026) say a Not done activity requires a reason for variance, PPC is done activities divided by committed activities, and reports export to PDF and Power BI. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: homepage and pricing unchanged. The homepage FAQ adds that dependencies are drawn as arrows between cards with red indicators for downstream impacts, a staging area lets field teams queue tasks from a phone before a planning meeting, tasks are marked done with a twist gesture on a touchscreen, milestones can also come from a CSV, and all plan data can be exported to Power BI for portfolio reporting; it says large projects are best split across several plans. A PCL Construction hospital video is vendor-published. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance (up to three connected displays, P6, Asta Powerproject and Microsoft Project imports, automatic PPC and reasons for variance). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (up to three connected displays, P6, Asta Powerproject and Microsoft Project or CSV imports, automatic PPC and reasons for variance, Power BI export); the navigation now lists a Data centers industry page, and the pricing FAQ says direct purchase is offered in Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, the UK and the US with data residency in those regions, and that Nialli does not sell hardware.Visual, collaborative CPM scheduling platform described as AI-native, with quality checks, pull planning and plain-English AI scheduling. Features listed: critical path and float management, DCMA-14 schedule quality checks, resource loading and trade stacking, field schedules connected to the master, a whiteboard for pull planning, and AI that turns plain-English requests into schedules and updates, explores what-if scenarios, flags missing logic and shrinking float, and drafts owner updates and delay narratives. Vendor cites 100+ builders (vendor claim). Re-read Oct 17, 2026: the site also lists iPad schedule updates and side-by-side comparison of schedule versions, and the pricing FAQ says onboarding for teams moving from P6, MS Project or other tools includes schedule import assistance and team training, with optional expert training and services. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: the menu now lists an AI Scheduling Assistant marked New (named manny and described as AI that thinks like a scheduler), Risk Simulations, a Project Dashboard and filters among its features, a Data Centers / Hyperscalers solution page, a free DCMA quality check, Planera for Universities, case studies including Big D Construction, Balfour Beatty (marked new), Zachry Construction and AMLI Residential, and comparison pages against P6, Microsoft Project, Outbuild and Procore Scheduling. Customer quotes are vendor-published and not used here. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (AI-native CPM with critical path and float management, DCMA-14 checks, resource loading and trade stacking, unlimited users, field schedules linked to the master, a pull-planning whiteboard, and AI that builds and updates schedules from plain-English requests, explores what-if scenarios, flags missing logic and shrinking float, and drafts owner updates, look-aheads and delay narratives). A banner promotes a Planera vs. P6 comparison event; the 100+ builders line and customer quotes are vendor content and not used. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance (AI-native CPM, DCMA-14 checks, resource loading, unlimited users, field schedules, pull-planning whiteboard, plain-English schedule building and updates); the Planera vs. P6 event banner is still shown, and the pricing page's duplicated feature-card texts persist. Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance (AI-native CPM, DCMA-14 checks, resource loading and trade stacking, unlimited users, field schedules linked to the master, pull-planning whiteboard, version compare, iPad updates); the Planera vs. P6 event banner is still shown. The 100+ builders line and customer stories are vendor content and not used.
Who it's forConstruction managers and jobsite teams.Builders' project managers, superintendents, schedulers, and field crews.
Pricing (as publicly stated)Vendor-listed pricing (pricing page, re-checked Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026): Single-plan subscription $1,400 per year (USD), flat price with unlimited users, core features and basic support (one plan supports up to 25 lanes of activity); Multiplan subscription with volume pricing on request; 30-day free trial, no credit card. Paid onboarding/support packages are described without prices. Confirm current terms with the vendor. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged ($1,400 single-plan subscription with any number of users and up to 25 lanes; Multiplan volume pricing on request; 30-day trial with no credit card). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged ($1,400 single-plan subscription a year with any number of users and up to 25 lanes; Multiplan volume pricing on request, which the page says covers SSO and APIs; 30-day trial with no credit card; a Getting Started support package is included and a Project Enablement package is recommended, without prices). Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: unchanged ($1,400 single-plan subscription a year (USD) with any number of users; Multiplan volume pricing via Contact sales, covering SSO and APIs; 30-day full-access trial with no credit card).Not publicly listed. Pricing page (re-checked Oct 16, 2026; unchanged Oct 17 and Oct 19, 2026) still describes customized pricing from a single project to company-wide use, with unlimited users at no extra cost; the FAQ points to a demo for a custom quote. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: the pricing FAQ now describes tiered pricing in which every plan includes the CPM engine, critical path analysis, the visual canvas and collaboration, while higher tiers add DCMA quality checks, Monte Carlo risk simulation, resource loading, portfolio dashboards and advanced integrations, with enterprise features such as SSO and dedicated account management; the page itself still shows no tiers or prices. No prices shown. Earlier note (Oct 15, 2026): Not publicly listed. Pricing page describes customized pricing from a single project to company-wide use, with unlimited users at no extra cost; a custom quote comes through a demo. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide, unlimited users at no extra cost, optional professional services, premium support at no added cost; no tiers or figures shown). On the pricing page the Field Schedules and Risk Simulation feature cards repeat the DCMA Quality Check and Project Dashboard descriptions, so we do not rely on those card texts. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide, unlimited users at no extra cost, optional professional services, premium support at no added cost; no tiers or figures shown). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide, unlimited users at no extra cost, optional professional services, premium support at no added cost; the FAQ still describes tiers without figures).
User reviewsNo reviews yet. Read or writeNo reviews yet. Read or write
Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Nialli Oct 24, 2026; Planera Oct 23, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Scope (vendor pages): Nialli plans the near-term work. Milestones and activities come in from Oracle Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project or a CSV, and teams build pulls and weekly plans on one visual board. Planera is the CPM schedule itself, with critical path and float management, resource loading and trade stacking, field schedules connected to the master and a whiteboard for pull planning.
  • In the room: Nialli is built for large touch displays, with up to three connected screens on one plan, drag-and-drop and touch gestures and remote users joining from a laptop, tablet or phone. Planera describes a visual canvas for collaboration and an iPad app for schedule updates.
  • Lean metrics and quality checks: Nialli generates Percent Plan Complete and reasons-for-variance data as tasks are statused and exports plan data to PDF and Power BI. Planera lists DCMA-14 schedule quality checks, side-by-side schedule version comparison, risk simulation and project dashboards.
  • AI: Nialli's pages do not describe AI features; we label it Not AI-first. Planera says its AI turns plain-English requests into schedules and updates, explores what-if scenarios, flags missing logic and shrinking float and drafts owner updates; we label it AI-first. We have tested neither.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 24, 2026): Nialli lists a single-plan subscription at $1,400 a year (USD) with unlimited users, Multiplan volume pricing through sales (which also covers SSO and APIs) and a 30-day trial with no credit card. Planera publishes no prices: its pricing page describes custom pricing from a single project to company-wide use, unlimited users at no extra cost and optional professional services, and its FAQ describes tiers in which higher plans add DCMA checks, Monte Carlo risk simulation and resource loading.
  • Not used here: customer quotes and time-saved comparisons on both sites. Neither tool has been tested by Means & Methods Lab.

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • Whether you need a pull-planning board next to your existing CPM tool (Nialli) or one tool for both the CPM schedule and pull planning (Planera)
  • What Planera costs for a single project compared with Nialli's $1,400 per plan
  • How updates from a Nialli board flow back to a P6 or Microsoft Project master
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?

How reviews work: review guidelines and methodology. All reviews: reviews hub.

Related