Cube vs Exact Online

Cube is an FP&A platform for finance teams planning, forecasting, and reporting with governed business data. It connects business data into a governed layer and syncs it with tools finance teams already use. Its planning and analysis features include budgeting, forecasting, scenario modeling, root-cause variance analysis, natural-language queries, forecast-versus-actual review, and drill-down to general ledger transactions. Listed connections include NetSuite, Salesforce, Workday, Sage Intacct, Snowflake, ADP, QuickBooks, and HubSpot; Cube says it can build custom connections to nearly any system or flat file. Teams can work through Excel, Google Sheets, PowerPoint, Google Slides, Slack, and Teams. The Cube MCP Server connects decision-ready data to Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot, and MCP is included in every tier. Cube states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and HIPAA compliant, with data encrypted in transit and at rest on AWS. Role-based access applies across the app, connected spreadsheets, and reports; queries, answers, publishes, and denied actions are logged. Pricing is on request.

Exact Online is a cloud-delivered package for accounting and business operations, with accounting and CRM included across its products. Online accounting provides bank feeds and invoicing, while Time & Billing includes time tracking, invoicing, and CRM. Industry solutions are available for manufacturing, wholesale, and professional services. Wholesale offerings list order, relation, and stock management; a listed manufacturing plan includes calculation, planning, and production. The service also includes inventory and order management, and users can work together online. The accountancy solution supports administration management with clients. Exact says around 675,000 companies use Exact Online and that 2,000 specialists are ready to help. Packages are priced monthly and exclude VAT; payments, including extensions, are made by direct debit. The pricing note says From £25/mo, while the listed Accountancy Professional plan costs £91 a month. There is no free plan, and the free trial's duration and feature limits are unstated.