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Planera vs nPlan

Two AI-first scheduling products that start from different jobs. Planera is a visual, collaborative CPM scheduling platform for builders' project teams, with DCMA-14 checks, field schedules tied to the master, pull planning and AI that builds and updates schedules from plain-English requests. nPlan is AI for capital project controls: it forecasts which dates are likely to slip and why, using a dataset of past project schedules, and its Schedule Studio generates and edits schedules with AI. Neither publishes prices. Desk research from vendor pages read Oct 29, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 29, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Planera (AI-native CPM scheduling; no public prices (quote / sales)) vs nPlan (Scheduling & risk; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 29, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

Planera vs nPlan: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowPlaneranPlan
CategoryAI-native CPM schedulingScheduling & risk
AI role (our label)AI-firstAI-first
What it doesVisual, 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. Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: site unchanged in substance (the Planera vs. P6 banner; the free DCMA check). Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: site unchanged in substance (AI-native CPM; the Planera vs. P6 banner; the free DCMA quality check). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: homepage and pricing page unchanged in substance (AI scheduling from plain-English requests, DCMA-14 checks and a free DCMA quality check, whiteboard pull planning, field schedules connected to the master, risk simulation, resource loading, version comparison and an iPad app). Builder counts and quotes remain vendor material not used here; the vendor's P6 comparison is not repeated. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (whiteboard pull planning, field schedules, project dashboard, risk simulations, iPad app, DCMA quality check, progress updates, resource loading, version compare; a Planera vs. P6 webinar banner). The vendor's P6 comparison, builder counts and quotes are not used. Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: the AI menu now also lists Planera MCP, marked New, described as connecting Planera to Claude and ChatGPT (vendor statement, not tested); the rest of the homepage is unchanged in substance.AI for project controls trained on a dataset the vendor says contains 750,000+ historical schedules (over $2Tn of construction spend). Four use cases: Plan (generate schedules from scope documents, check schedule integrity), Assure (activity-level uncertainty forecasts), De-risk (flag risky activities and check them against your risk register), and Deliver (project and portfolio summaries). Products: Portfolio, Insights, Schedule Studio, and Schedule Integrity Checker; vendor says Schedule Studio connects to Claude and ChatGPT and exports XER. Works with existing schedules. Sectors listed include highways, rail, and heavy infrastructure. Re-read Oct 17, 2026: the homepage also points to a Model Performance 101 white paper that frames forecast accuracy as mean absolute error (MAE), which it says falls as more schedules become available, and offers user training courses with certifications. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: the homepage now also lists Decision Intelligence (route options when a project reaches a crossroads) and Insights Risk Professional, cites $500bn of projects under active management (vendor claim), mentions a Driving Paths view in Schedule Studio, and offers nPlan Academy courses of about two hours with certifications. Its featured white paper is now AI-First Project Controls and Delivery; the Model Performance 101 paper we noted Oct 17 is no longer linked on the homepage. Re-checked Oct 20, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (750,000+ schedules and over $2Tn of spend, the four use cases, $500bn under active management, nPlan Academy courses of about two hours); the product menu lists Insights Pro, Insights Core, Insights Contract Risk, Insights Risk Professional, Insights Project Management Professional, Portfolio, Schedule Integrity Checker, Schedule Studio and Decision Intelligence, and a featured blog post describes Schedule Studio's link to Claude and ChatGPT for questions, edits, health checks and XER export (vendor statements). Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged in substance (750,000+ historical schedules, the four use cases, Schedule Studio's link to Claude and ChatGPT with XER export, nPlan Academy courses of about two hours); the homepage now lists Project Controls Expo Australia 2026 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground among its events and a blog recap of its AI Day mentioning a Decision Intelligence demo and an orchestration engine it calls Khaleesi (vendor statements). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged in substance; the site lists upcoming events at Wembley Stadium, London (Nov 2, 2026) and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (Nov 23, 2026). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (schedule risk forecasting trained on 750,000 past project schedules, Decision Intelligence, a schedule assistant that works with Claude and ChatGPT, nPlan Academy); events now list Project Controls Expo UK (Nov 2, 2026) and Australia (Nov 23, 2026). Spend and portfolio figures remain vendor claims not used here. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: a blog item on the site says Schedule Studio now connects to Claude and ChatGPT, so you can ask questions about a schedule, edit it, run health checks and export XER from those assistants (vendor description). Events listed: Project Controls Expo UK (Nov 2, 2026) and Australia (Nov 23, 2026). Schedule-count and project-value figures on the homepage are vendor claims and not used here. Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (Schedule Studio still described as connecting to Claude and ChatGPT; Project Controls Expo UK and Australia still listed among events). Schedule-count and outcome figures remain vendor claims not used here. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: the homepage now says Schedule Integrity Checker is part of Schedule Studio (bundling note, not a rename of nPlan); Project Controls Expo UK and Australia are still listed among events. Schedule-count and outcome figures remain vendor claims not used here. Re-checked Oct 29, 2026 (read for a compare): the homepage now says its AI has watched more than a million real projects (the dataset section still cites 750,000+ past schedules; vendor claims), says uploaded plans do not train the model unless you opt in, and the product menu says Schedule Integrity Checker is now part of Schedule Studio. The Schedule Studio sign-up page describes scope-to-schedule generation with up to 3 WBS levels, natural-language editing marked beta, and export to Primavera P6. Its public-data project studies are vendor material and not used.
Who it's forBuilders' project managers, superintendents, schedulers, and field crews.Project owners and contractors' project controls teams.
Pricing (as publicly stated)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). Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide; FAQ describes tiers without figures). Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide, unlimited users at no extra cost; FAQ describes tiers without figures). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide; unlimited users at no extra cost; premium support at no added cost; optional professional services; demo only). Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide; unlimited users at no extra cost; optional professional services; demo only). Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: unchanged (custom pricing from a single project to company-wide; unlimited users at no extra cost; premium support at no added cost; FAQ describes tiers without figures; demo only).No public prices found (checked Oct 16, 2026; unchanged Oct 17, 2026 evening re-read): the vendor site has no pricing or plans link in its navigation or footer, and /pricing and /plans return a not-found page. The site's calls to action include "Get a demo" and "Talk to us". Confirm current pricing with the vendor. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: unchanged. /pricing still returns not found. Re-checked Oct 20, 2026: unchanged; /pricing still returns not found; Talk to us. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged; /pricing still returns not found; Talk to us. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged; /pricing still returns not found; Talk to us. Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged (no public prices; /pricing still returns a 404 page; demo on request). Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: unchanged (no public prices; /pricing still returns a 404 page; demo on request). Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: unchanged (/pricing returns not found; Talk to us; no prices). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: unchanged; /pricing still returns not found; Talk to us. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: unchanged; /pricing still returns not found; Talk to us. Re-checked Oct 28, 2026: still no published prices; /pricing still returns not found and the main call to action is Talk to us. The homepage now also has a Try it free button and says Schedule Studio is free to start for planners and risk teams, linking to a Schedule Studio sign-up page (Sign up and start for free); no paid tiers or prices are shown. Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: unchanged (no published prices; Talk to us; Schedule Studio free to start, no credit card required).
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Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 29, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Not like-for-like: Planera is where a builder's team builds and runs the schedule day to day. nPlan sits on top of schedules you already have, forecasting delay risk and testing scenarios for project controls, risk and portfolio teams; Schedule Studio is its schedule-generation tool. AI schedule generation is where they overlap.
  • Building schedules: Planera lists critical path and float management, DCMA-14 quality checks, resource loading and trade stacking, a whiteboard for pull planning and field schedules connected to the master, and AI that turns plain-English requests into schedules and updates. nPlan says Schedule Studio turns a scope, brief or RFP into a logic-linked schedule with up to 3 WBS levels, lets you review the AI's breakdown before detailed generation, offers natural-language editing (marked beta) and exports to Primavera P6; it says the Schedule Integrity Checker is now part of Schedule Studio.
  • Forecasting and risk: nPlan describes activity-level uncertainty forecasts, identifying risky activities and checking them against your risk register, scenario runs that show what each intervention buys back, and project and portfolio summaries. Planera lists risk simulation and what-if scenarios that show effects on the critical path and milestones.
  • AI assistants: Planera's menu lists Planera MCP, marked New, to connect Planera to Claude and ChatGPT. nPlan's homepage says it works with your planning tools and your AI assistant. Not tested for either.
  • Data claims: nPlan says its model draws on a dataset of more than 750,000 past project schedules, and its homepage now also says its AI has watched more than a million real projects. It also says uploaded plans do not train the model unless you opt in. These are vendor statements, not verified.
  • Who it's for: Planera's solutions menu lists pursuits, preconstruction, operations, enterprise and data centers. nPlan names owner-operators, general contractors and consultants, and roles such as portfolio directors, PMO managers, planners and risk managers, across sectors including data centers, transportation, utilities and energy.
  • AI tag: both are tagged AI-first.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 29, 2026): neither publishes prices. Planera describes custom pricing from a single project to company-wide, unlimited users at no extra cost and premium support at no added cost, with a demo for a quote. nPlan has no pricing page (its /pricing is not found); its main call to action is Talk to us, and Schedule Studio is free to start with no credit card required. See each tool page for detail.
  • Not used here: Planera's builder count and customer quotes, and nPlan's managed-project dollar figure and its public-data project studies (vendor material). 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

  • How a Schedule Studio P6 export holds up when opened and edited in Planera or P6
  • Whether nPlan's forecasts are useful on a heavy civil schedule with a few hundred activities
  • What each costs for one project versus company-wide use
  • 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?

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