Workforce planning software helps a company decide how many people it needs, with which skills, at what cost, before hiring starts.
The products here range from project capacity planners to headcount models and org-design tools. This guide ranks eleven of them on setup effort, the bill once modules are added, data exit, independence and fit.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What workforce planning software does
Workforce planning software models headcount, skills, capacity and payroll cost against business plans, so HR, finance and operations can compare hiring, reorganisation and reskilling scenarios before committing budget.
Ranking criteria for this workforce planning tool list, applied top to bottom: effort to get started, cost in practice, data return, ability to leave, buyer fit. Smaller challengers are placed in the top three wherever the category has them; the well-known brands come after. For why these five were chosen, and why nothing here gets a numeric score, see how we work.
Sold through demo; trial link on the product page; amounts not published
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Finance-led teams that want headcount scenarios and budget in the same planning model
Teams that want a vendor with no ties to a large HR suite
The country column shows the vendor's headquarters or contracting entity. Data hosting is a separate matter, and an entry flags it when the two diverge.
Capacity planning for project teams, priced per planned person
Ranked #1 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
Runn belongs at the practical end of this list. Lite costs seven US dollars and Standard eleven per resource seat each month, billed on the people you plan rather than every login, and Standard can be tried for 30 days with no card needed.
Scenarios exist as tentative projects, so a pitch can be tested against current capacity. The scope is narrow, though: it answers who is available for project work, not what a department may hire next year.
What stands out
Per resource seat
Capacity planning
30-day trial
Where it costs you
Workstreams, unlimited custom fields and SAML sign-on only arrive on the Advanced plan, which is priced through sales.
It plans project demand against people rather than a company-wide headcount budget.
Right for
Software, engineering and consulting firms that need to see who is free for which project next month
Wrong for
A people team drafting an annual headcount budget for the whole company
New ZealandPublished monthly prices per resource seat on two plans; third plan on custom pricing; 30-day free trial
People analytics on headcount and cost, one fee for everyone
Ranked #2 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Crunchr earns its place here as the analytics option from the Netherlands, built in Amsterdam with audit trails, anonymisation thresholds and a choice of data residency.
One fee scaled to workforce size covers every capability, so handing access to every manager adds nothing to the bill. Customer stories describe go-live in one to four weeks. Think of it as the tool that explains your current structure and cost, and then feeds a plan made elsewhere.
What stands out
Fee by workforce size
Headcount and cost
Weeks to go live
Where it costs you
The vendor itself advises against it for fewer than 500 employees.
It shows where headcount and cost sit but does not build a hiring plan.
No price list is shown, so the fee only appears after contact.
Right for
Larger employers wanting to see headcount and cost across the workforce, with the whole management layer given access
Wrong for
Companies under 500 staff or without a core HR system and a named owner for people analytics
NetherlandsSingle fee scaled to workforce size, all analytics included; no price list found
Org chart, HRIS and headcount planning in one model
Ranked #3 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
ChartHop treats the hiring plan as a view on the live organisation rather than a separate file. More than 100 HRIS, ATS, CRM and finance systems feed one model, and the October 2026 update mentions AI-drafted headcount plans.
A US company, it states an intention to comply with GDPR, which European buyers may want confirmed in writing. SOC 2 Type 2 is examined by Schellman. Priced by proposal after a three-question form.
What stands out
Modular
Headcount planning
100+ integrations
Where it costs you
The module list is visible on the pricing page but the amounts are not, so the real cost appears only after a proposal.
Headcount Planning is one module among several, so the full bill grows with every module added.
Right for
People teams that want org chart, HRIS and the hiring plan to sit in one connected model
Wrong for
Buyers who need a published figure to compare against other options before talking to sales
United StatesCore platform plus modules, assembled into a proposal after a three-question form; no price list
Org design and workforce modelling from a Nuremberg software house
Ranked #4 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Ingentis groups its offer into org charts, analytics, design simulations and clean-data management. Use cases include workforce modelling, succession planning, reorganisation, restructuring and merger integration, which makes it a fit when structure is the planning problem.
The imprint names Ingentis Softwareentwicklung GmbH in Nuremberg, and the site calls the firm an SAP Silver Partner. Ask for a reference customer on your HR system.
What stands out
Org design
Workforce modelling
SAP partner
Where it costs you
No price list, trial or implementation time is shown.
The strongest signals are org charts and SAP integration; finance-style budgets are not described.
Right for
Organisations redesigning structures, especially with SAP HR data behind them
Wrong for
Teams wanting self-service signup and published prices
GermanySold through the vendor and partners; amounts not published on the site
Workforce Plans that compare structure, cost and skills scenarios
Ranked #5 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
For workforce planning, Visier's pitch is side-by-side scenarios. The Workforce Plans page describes comparing structures, cost, skills and location, merging inputs from HR, finance and operations, and bringing in external talent market data.
A chosen scenario can become an action plan through Workforce Programs. The company is Canadian, with its privacy office in Vancouver. Only a demo or sales contact is offered, so cost stays unknown until that conversation.
What stands out
Scenario comparison
People data
Org design
Where it costs you
The pricing path returned page not found and no figure, trial or tier is shown.
Workforce Plans sits inside a wider people-data platform, so a team with one planning task takes on more than it needs.
Right for
Organisations that want to compare structure, cost, skills and location scenarios before choosing a plan
Wrong for
Small teams wanting to start alone, see a price and plan hires within a week
CanadaDemo and sales contact only; no figures given
Staffing forecasts and schedules for customer support teams
Ranked #6 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
The pricing page lists workforce management from a monthly starting price, with forecasting, scheduling, intraday management, insights and human-AI planning, and an optional add-on.
Each product is bought separately, and vendor management goes through sales. The about page shows a San Francisco office and customers in more than 50 countries. It will not help a manufacturer plan plant headcount, but it answers staffing a contact centre.
What stands out
Support teams
Forecasting
Human and AI staffing
Where it costs you
It is built around customer support teams and their queues.
Workforce management is priced apart from the AI agent and copilot products.
Right for
Support leaders staffing queues across in-house, outsourced and AI agents
Wrong for
Strategic multi-year headcount planning outside support operations
United StatesPublished starting prices per product, workforce management sold separately; vendor management by sales
Resource planning inside a project and billing suite
Ranked #7 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
There is one plan, billed per user: monthly, quarterly or yearly, with the yearly rate lowest. Unlimited projects, onboarding, training and support are listed as included, and a free trial is offered.
Resource planning is described as knowing who has capacity for more work. The footer gives an address in Raleigh, North Carolina. The simple price is the draw; the cost is paying for modules you may not open.
What stands out
One plan
Resource planning
Billing included
Where it costs you
Resource planning is one tool in a suite that includes a CRM, billing and purchase orders.
The pricing page does not describe skills forecasting or headcount budgets.
Right for
Consultancies and agencies running projects, time and billing in one system
Wrong for
HR teams modelling headcount, attrition and cost for the whole company
United StatesOne plan with published per-user monthly, quarterly and yearly prices; free trial; onboarding included
AI impact modelling on roles and tasks before reskilling decisions
Ranked #8 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Draup's Etter reads process maps, task lists and job descriptions, scores tasks for automation or augmentation, and builds a plan that sorts roles into reskill, redeploy and hire.
It runs scenarios on headcount, cost and capacity, and writes redesigned roles into Workday, SAP SuccessFactors or other HR systems. The footer gives a Texas address. Expect a sales process, since the site offers a demo and nothing else.
What stands out
Task scoring
Reskill or redeploy
Scenario modelling
Where it costs you
The site gives no price, trial or plan structure.
It models AI's effect on roles and does not describe routine requisition or budget workflows.
Right for
Large employers deciding which roles to reskill, redeploy or hire for as AI spreads
Wrong for
Teams wanting an everyday headcount tracker with approvals
United StatesDemo only; amounts and trial terms not published on the site
AI agents for talent decisions inside Teams, Workday or SuccessFactors
Ranked #9 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Gloat describes itself as agentic HR, with transactional, workflow and strategic agents, a pre-built agent library and a no-code builder. Its strategic examples include building succession plans, modelling workforce capacity and flagging skill gaps.
It lists integrations with Teams, Copilot, SuccessFactors, Workday and Oracle HCM. The about page names three co-founders but no head office. Ask where contracts are signed and which HCM connection you would use.
What stands out
AI agents
Talent marketplace
HCM integrations
Where it costs you
Workforce planning is one use case among talent, learning and HR operations.
The site gives neither pricing nor a head-office country.
Right for
HR teams wanting AI agents inside Teams or an existing HCM
Wrong for
Buyers who need a standalone planning model with published prices
Not stated by the vendorDemo and sales talks only; no figures given
Skills inventory and internal mobility to fill gaps from within
Ranked #10 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Fuel50 splits its offer into Skills Intelligence, covering inventory, architecture and insights, and a Talent Marketplace covering mobility, gigs, development, coaching and succession.
It also lists Task Intelligence on which tasks to automate, augment or protect. The FAQ says price follows employee count and modules, with annual or multi-year terms and standalone packages. The contact page lists four regional offices and no headquarters.
What stands out
Skills inventory
Internal mobility
Succession
Where it costs you
It covers skills and mobility supply, not budget or demand modelling.
Pricing varies with employee count and modules, and no figures are shown.
Right for
Employers filling roles from inside through skills data and internal moves
Wrong for
Finance teams building a headcount budget and cost forecast
Not stated by the vendorSubscription by employee count and chosen modules; annual and multi-year terms; no price list
Finance planning with a workforce module tied to Workday
Ranked #11 of 11 in Best Workforce Planning Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Adaptive splits into Financial, Workforce and Operational Planning, so the workforce piece is one of three modules on a shared platform. Its page says workforce data, financial data and insights are unified to model scenarios, and the vendor claims more than 7,000 teams.
A Free Trial link sits beside the demo request, which is rarer here. It is sold by Workday, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, so independence from a large HR vendor is the trade.
What stands out
Finance and HR
Scenario models
Sold by Workday
Where it costs you
Customers on other HR and finance systems should expect integration effort that the product page does not quantify.
No price list is shown, so total cost is unknown until a demo.
Right for
Finance-led teams that want headcount scenarios and budget in the same planning model
Wrong for
Teams that want a vendor with no ties to a large HR suite
United StatesSold through demo; trial link on the product page; amounts not published
Workforce planning software models headcount, skills, capacity and payroll cost against business plans, so HR, finance and operations can compare hiring, reorganisation and reskilling scenarios before committing budget. Products in this area look alike on a feature list, so we would decide these questions first.
01
Work out how much a sales call is worth to you
8 vendors on this page sell by quote, while 3 publish a pricing model you can read today: Runn, Assembled, Ravetree.
02
Ask which country the contract runs through
Where a company is established decides which courts and regulators can reach it. Here that means 6 countries: North America 6, Europe 2, Elsewhere 2, Asia-Pacific 1.
Workforce planning software: project capacity or company headcount
The phrase covers two different jobs. Runn and Ravetree plan named people against project work week by week, which suits agencies and consultancies. ChartHop, Visier and Workday Adaptive Planning model headcount, structure and payroll spend across the organisation, with HR and finance sharing one plan.
Assembled sits in a third group, forecasting staffing for support queues. Draup and Fuel50 start from tasks and skills instead of seats. Buying a project planner for a board-level hiring question, or the reverse, is the commonest miss. Write down which decision the tool must support, then check that the vendor's own pages describe that decision.
Name the decision: weekly project staffing or yearly headcount budget
Check which of the three groups the vendor's pages describe
Ask for a customer of your size and industry
What the bill covers in workforce planning tools
Pricing models differ more here than in most categories. Runn counts resource seats and publishes two plan prices, Ravetree publishes one per-user price, and Assembled publishes a monthly starting price for its workforce product.
Crunchr charges one fee scaled to workforce size, ChartHop builds a proposal from Core plus modules, and Fuel50 prices by employee count and modules. Visier, Ingentis, Draup and Gloat publish no amounts. Ask each vendor what is in the base price, whether integrations, extra scenarios or analytics are separate, and how the fee changes when headcount grows.
Request a written quote that lists every module
Ask how the price moves when employee numbers rise
Check whether integration work is billed separately
Where the HR data comes from and what ties you in
A plan is only as good as the headcount feeding it. ChartHop connects more than 100 HRIS, ATS, CRM and finance systems, Draup writes role changes back into Workday or SAP SuccessFactors, and Gloat integrates with Teams, Workday, SuccessFactors and Oracle HCM. Ingentis names an SAP partnership.
Workday Adaptive Planning shares a vendor with a core HR system, which helps data flow but raises dependence. Before signing, ask which fields sync, how often, and how scenario results leave the tool if you cancel. Crunchr's own page says buyers without a core HR system are probably not ready yet.
List the HR and finance systems that must feed the tool
Ask whether saved scenarios can be exported
Find out who maintains each connection after go-live
Match the vendor to company size and team
Fit by size is stated outright by some vendors. Crunchr says fewer than 500 employees is a reason to wait, Runn lists volume discounts from 100 resource seats, and Fuel50 and Draup describe large-employer programmes. Smaller project businesses can use Runn or Ravetree without an HR system at all.
An organisation redesigning structure after an acquisition should look at Ingentis or Visier. A support team with changing queues is the Assembled case. Pick the product that was built for your size, then run a trial on real data. Where there is no trial, ask for a paid pilot.
Compare your headcount with each vendor's stated minimums
Run a trial or pilot with real project or HR data
Ask who in the vendor will own your rollout
What goes wrong most often when buying workforce planning software
Buying a project capacity planner such as Runn for a company-wide headcount budget, or a headcount model for weekly project staffing.
Counting only the platform fee, then finding that ChartHop modules or Fuel50 modules add cost once the team asks for them.
Assuming a vendor with no listed price, such as Visier or Gloat, fits a small budget without asking for a written quote.
Starting without clean HR data, even though Crunchr says it suits buyers who already have a core HR system.
07
Frequently asked questions
6 answers
What is the best workforce planning software in 2026?
Runn takes first place among the 11 we reviewed. Runn Fast Limited sells one product: capacity planning for teams that staff projects, as in software, engineering and consulting firms.
Billing counts the people you plan, not everyone who logs in, and a 30-day trial needs no card. It plans project demand against people, not a company-wide headcount budget. Workstreams, unlimited custom fields and SAML sign-on sit only on the Advanced plan.
Which workforce planning tools publish their pricing?
3 of the 11, with the pricing model each one publishes:
Runn: Published monthly prices per resource seat on two plans; third plan on custom pricing; 30-day free trial.
Assembled: Published starting prices per product, workforce management sold separately; vendor management by sales.
Ravetree: One plan with published per-user monthly, quarterly and yearly prices; free trial; onboarding included.
Everything else on the list is priced on request.
Is there a free workforce planning tool?
No. None of the 11 offer a usable free tier.
Where are these workforce planning software vendors established?
Across 6 countries (North America 6, Europe 2, Elsewhere 2, Asia-Pacific 1):
Runn: New Zealand.
Crunchr: Netherlands.
ChartHop: United States.
Ingentis: Germany.
Visier: Canada.
Assembled: United States.
Ravetree: United States.
Draup: United States.
Gloat: Not stated by the vendor.
Fuel50: Not stated by the vendor.
Workday Adaptive Planning: United States.
What should you use instead of Runn?
Look at Crunchr (made for larger employers wanting to see headcount and cost across the workforce, with the whole management layer given access) and ChartHop (made for People teams that want org chart, HRIS and the hiring plan to sit in one connected model), which hold places two and three.
Who should not buy Runn?
A people team drafting an annual headcount budget for the whole company. Workstreams, unlimited custom fields and SAML sign-on only arrive on the Advanced plan, which is priced through sales..
If a workforce planning software product of yours deserves a place among these 11, say what it is and who it serves. Inclusion rests with us alone. See software advice for the rules.
