# Preuve AI vs IdeaBuddy IdeaBuddy builds your business plan. Preuve AI tests whether the market deserves one. Different tools for different stages of the founder journey. **TL;DR:** IdeaBuddy is business planning software - canvas, financial projections, and plan exports. Preuve AI is market validation - 40+ live sources with linked evidence. They solve different problems. **Last updated:** April 2026 ## Feature comparison at a glance | Feature | Preuve AI | IdeaBuddy | |----------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------| | **Data sources** | 40+ live sources (Crunchbase, Trends, Reddit, PH, G2) | Founder inputs + AI assistance | | **Focus** | Validation-first: is the market real? | Planning-first: build a business plan | | **Source linking** | Every claim links to its origin | No source links | | **Report sections** | 13 interactive sections | Guide + Canvas + Financial Plan + Business Plan | | **Pricing model** | $29 one-time per report | Free trial + subscription tiers | | **Free tier** | Free viability scan | 15-day free trial (no credit card) | | **Competitor mapping**| Live data with funding, pricing, traction | Not included | | **TAM/SAM/SOM** | Bottom-up with sources | Not included | | **Business plan** | Not included (validation focus) | Full business plan builder with exports | | **Financial projections** | MRR, unit economics, and revenue estimates in paid report | P&L, cash flow, monthly/quarterly/yearly | | **Collaboration** | Shareable dashboard link | Invite collaborators with view/edit access | | **Pivot recommendations**| Yes, based on competitive gaps | Not available | ## The core difference ### Planning software vs validation software #### Preuve AI - Scans 40+ live sources for demand signals and competitive data - Every claim links to its source - click to verify - Competitor mapping with real funding, pricing, and traction data - TAM/SAM/SOM built bottom-up from live market data - Pivot recommendations based on gaps in the competitive landscape - Honest scoring - only 18.3% of ideas earn a go verdict #### IdeaBuddy - Guided canvas and step-by-step business plan builder - Financial projections with P&L, cash flow, and breakdowns - Export to PDF, Word, and Excel for investor presentations - AI assistance for ideation and plan refinement - Collaboration with view/edit access for team members - Templates and guides for different business models These tools complement each other. Validate the market first, then build the plan around a validated opportunity. ## Fair assessment ### What IdeaBuddy does well - Complete planning suite with guided steps, templates, and professional exports to PDF, Word, and Excel. Named #1 business plan software for ideation by Forbes. - P&L statements, cash flow forecasting, and monthly/quarterly/yearly breakdowns. Helps founders model their numbers before launch. - Invite team members and mentors with granular view/edit access. Work together on the same business plan in real time. ### What Preuve AI does differently - 40+ sources searched in real-time, not from training data. Crunchbase, Google Trends, Reddit, Product Hunt, G2, and more. - Click any data point to see its source. No trust required. Every competitor, funding round, and demand signal links back to where we found it. - We tell founders when their idea needs work. Only 18.3% of ideas earn a go verdict. Six scoring frameworks mean the data pushes back when the numbers don't add up. - $499 package with pitch deck, investment memo, 18-month financial model, and competitive teardown. Built for due diligence, not just brainstorming. - Shareable link with 13 interactive sections. Filter competitors, drill into market data, and share specific sections with co-founders or investors. - Real competitors with real funding data, real pricing, and real traction. Not a list of names from an LLM's training data. ## Decision guide ### Who should use which tool #### Choose IdeaBuddy if - You need a structured business plan with financial projections - You want to collaborate on a plan with team members or mentors - You need professional exports (PDF, Word, Excel) for investors - You already know the market is real and need to plan execution #### Choose Preuve AI if - You need to validate whether the market opportunity is real - You want evidence-backed analysis with verifiable source links - You need competitor intelligence with live funding and traction data - You want honest scoring that tells you when to pivot **Best together:** Validate with Preuve AI first, then plan with IdeaBuddy. Build your business plan on top of evidence, not assumptions. ## Validate before you plan A business plan built on an unvalidated market is a beautiful document about a fantasy. Test the market first. ## Common questions about Preuve AI vs IdeaBuddy ### What is the main difference between Preuve AI and IdeaBuddy? They solve different jobs. IdeaBuddy is a business planning tool - it helps you build a business plan, financial projections, and investor-ready documents. Preuve AI is a market validation tool - it scans 40+ live data sources to test whether the market opportunity is real before you invest time planning. Planning and validation are complementary, not competing. ### Does IdeaBuddy validate startup ideas? Yes, IdeaBuddy includes a validation module in its feature set. However, it relies on founder inputs and AI assistance rather than live market data sources. Preuve AI pulls from 40+ live sources (Crunchbase, Google Trends, Reddit, Product Hunt, G2) and links every claim to its origin so you can verify the data yourself. ### Can I use both tools together? Yes, and this is often the ideal sequence. Use Preuve AI first to validate the market opportunity - check demand signals, competitor landscape, and TAM/SAM/SOM with live data. If the market looks real, use IdeaBuddy to build the business plan, financial projections, and investor documents around a validated idea. ### Which tool is better for investors? It depends on what the investor needs. Preuve AI provides due diligence evidence - source-linked competitor data, market sizing with citations, and risk analysis from live sources. IdeaBuddy produces polished business plan documents with financial projections. Some founders use both: Preuve AI for the evidence, IdeaBuddy for the presentation. ### Is IdeaBuddy free? IdeaBuddy offers a 15-day free trial with no credit card required (1 idea, 1 collaborator, 10 AI requests). After the trial, paid subscription tiers unlock more ideas, collaborators, and features. Preuve AI offers a permanently free viability scan with no time limit.