Vena Squeezed Between Enterprise and Browser Tools
Vena
Vena wins today by selling a safer version of Excel, but that middle position is exactly what makes it vulnerable. At roughly $60K ACV, it sits between enterprise suites that justify much higher spend with deeper controls and newer browser based tools that promise faster setup, cleaner collaboration, and lower starting prices. That leaves Vena defending a price and workflow tier that both sides can target.
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On the high end, OneStream and Anaplan are bought by larger finance teams that need complex multi department planning, auditability, and reporting workflows, and already tolerate $300K to $450K contracts plus heavier implementation. If those vendors package lighter editions, they can pitch Vena accounts as a step up rather than a replacement.
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On the low end, Equals, Runway, and Causal are rebuilding the spreadsheet in the browser. They connect live data, let teams share dashboards and models more easily, and are explicitly trying to replace the download, update, and email workflow that Vena improves but still inherits from Excel.
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The product tradeoff is concrete. Vena preserves the finance team's existing Excel habit, which lowers training pain. But newer tools are designed so finance, ops, sales, and executives can work in the same interface, which makes collaboration and seat expansion easier once a company wants planning to spread beyond the core Excel power users.
The next phase of FP&A will reward products that either go much deeper into enterprise complexity or make collaborative planning feel as easy as a modern browser app. Vena can keep compounding by moving beyond spreadsheet enhancement into broader planning workflows, but the market is pushing hard against any product that stays only in the middle.