Runway vs Excel: Say Goodbye to 12 Versions of the Same Model

Free playbook Before you spend $50K on AI, run this audit

Runway vs Excel : Say goodbye to 12 versions of the same model

Built for the way finance teams actually think—with the flexibility of a sheet, but none of the manual work, version chaos, or formula anxiety.

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Trusted by fast-moving teams

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The core difference


Integration breadth

  • Runway connects to 750+ data sources and refreshes automatically. Your actuals are always current without a single export or paste.

  • Excel is limited to exporting from NetSuite, Rippling, Salesforce, pasting into pivot tables, and repeating every month. Many teams spend 2+ weeks just updating data.

Scenario management

  • Runway lets you create a draft scenario, drag a hiring date or funding round on a timeline, and see every metric update instantly.

  • Excel means copying the entire workbook to test a new scenario, updating assumptions across tabs, and reconciling outputs by hand. Hours of manual work.

Modeling language

  • Runway lets you write in plain language with built-in tags, filters, and drivers so you don't have to memorize any syntax.

  • Excel formulas are complicated and confusing, like =IF (E$7="", 0, IFERROR ( INDEX ('Data'!$D :$D,MATCH (E67,$A:$A,0)) * $E$60,0)) and when the model creator leaves, nobody knows what it does.

From what-ifs to what's next

Simulate business decisions in real time

See how Runway works for finance teams that have outgrown their spreadsheets. Faster decisions, fewer bottlenecks, and a model your whole team can understand.

See Runway in action

Platform breakdown

A side-by-side comparison
Features
Runway
Excel
750+ automatic integrations
Included
Not included
Human-readable formulas
Included
Not included
Real-time scenario simulation
Included
Not included
Drag-and-drop timing changes
Included
Not included
Git-like version control
Included
Not included
Real-time collaboration
Included
Included
Native time series
Included
Not included
Right-click dimension expansion
Included
Not included
Built for large model performance
Included
Not included

Honest reviews—The good and the bad

“Onboarding is fucking
awesome”
A real customer named Vivian

Fast track to clarity

Start building a unified model you can trust as the source of truth for planning and forecasting.

Onboarding guided by finance experts

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  1. 01 Kickoff

    Integrate all your sources

    Connect data from our 750+ integrations. Including your HRIS, ERP, CRM, and more.

    1-week average

  2. 02 Model

    Build your model

    Create your P&L, cashflow, headcount model, and more. Build out your projections, scenarios, and plans.

    4-week average

  3. 03 Strategize

    Get continuous support

    Stay aligned with our team through strategic check-ins and real-time support in a dedicated Slack channel.

    Ongoing

Frequently asked questions