What is a cost benefit analysis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cost benefit analysis (CBA) is a process that determines whether a project or a plan is worth investing in by comparing the costs and expected benefits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is commonly expressed through benefit-cost ratio (BCR) or net present value (NPV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost benefit analysis templates are excellent assets to have since they help save you time and ensure you don\u2019t make a mistake in your calculations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are our top choices for the cost benefit analysis templates you can download for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Manage CBA in Plaky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to track and analyze the costs and benefits of your projects is to use Plaky<\/a> \u2014 a high-end project management tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaky is based on Boards<\/a> (Table, Kanban, Gantt, and Chart) filled with Items<\/a> containing information in custom Fields<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can track costs and benefits in 2 separate Item groups within 1 Plaky Board giving you a clear overview of both at once. At the bottom of each group is a Summary row that shows you the sum of all your costs and benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaky\u2019s custom fields help you track all relevant data for the analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, you and your team members can leave Comments<\/a> on Items. That way, if anyone has a suggestion or a question, they can start a discussion right where all the information is, rather than in a separate DM.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best part \u2014 Plaky offers viewer access, so you can invite stakeholders to view your cost benefit analysis without allowing them to make any changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you create your ideal CBA board, you can save it as a template in Plaky, ready for your next project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n Create elaborate boards from templates to track resources, plan projects, and manage progress. Try Plaky by CAKE.com.<\/p>\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Sheets<\/a> | Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This Excel cost benefit template is ideal if you need to calculate the benefit cost ratio (BCR) and net present value (NPV) of your project without going into details of particular costs and benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It requires you to put in expected costs and gains across quarters, and to include the discount rate, and you\u2019ll get the CBR and NPV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to worry about making a mistake in the calculations, since the template will do the work for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This cost benefit analysis template is great for tracking individual costs and seeing how they add up and compare to expected benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What makes this template different from the others on this list is that you can track individual benefits as well. This will be a great addition if you can predict the earnings from different aspects of the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve included all the costs and benefits, the Google Sheets template will calculate the NPV and BCR for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Docs<\/a> | Word<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This Microsoft Word cost benefit analysis template in Word is designed to help you track costs across different categories and compare them to the benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the top of the template, there is a cell where you can mark the status of the project \u2014 whether it was approved after the analysis or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also a table with general information about the project, followed by a list of individual costs, the total sum of costs, and the amount of benefits you expect to earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the table, there\u2019s a space for benefit-cost ratio, which stands as a parameter to determine if the project should be approved or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Docs<\/a> | Word<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This simple cost benefit analysis template groups basic information about the project and analyzes the costs and benefits by calculating the benefit-cost ratio (BCR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a separate section in the table for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s ideal for when you want to keep project details in the same place as the CBA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Sheets<\/a> | Excel<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The advanced cost benefit analysis template gives you the all-round view of your costs and benefits. You can track costs from different categories (direct, indirect, opportunity, etc.), and the template will calculate total cost for each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve entered all costs and benefits across the years, all relevant information will be calculated and neatly presented at the top of the template. You\u2019ll see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Sheets<\/a> | Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The multiple project cost benefit analysis template serves as a tool to help you decide which project is worth investing in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re planning multiple projects, but don\u2019t have the resources to finance them all, this cost benefit analysis template will help you decide which one is worth your time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first sheet, you\u2019ll find information about all projects in one single table for easier review. In the other sheet, there\u2019s a table for each project with all the relevant details:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download<\/strong>: Google Slides<\/a> | PowerPoint<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use this CBA template to present your calculations to stakeholders to convince them that a project is worth investing in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first slide shows a table with the overview of all project options or project plans with predicted costs and benefits, BCRs, and notes for additional information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The rest of the slides are dedicated to specific project plans and allow you to break down their costs and benefits through time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The tables are customizable, so you can adjust the timeline to fit your plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a simple step-by-step guide to calculating a cost benefit analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFree cost benefit analysis templates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
#1 Cost benefit analysis template in Plaky <\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Tracking](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cost-benefit-analysis-in-Plaky-1.webp\")
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Save time with Plaky<\/h2>\n
![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-learn\/src\/images\/plaky\/banners\/features@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n#2 Excel cost benefit analysis template<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Excel](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Excel-CBA-template-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#3 Google Sheets cost benefit analysis template<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Google-Sheets-CBA-template-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#4 Microsoft Word cost benefit analysis template<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Microsoft](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Microsoft-Word-CBA-template-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#5 Simple cost benefit analysis template<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Simple](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Simple-CBA-template-1.webp\")
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#6 Advanced cost benefit analysis template<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Advanced](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Advanced-CBA-template-1.webp\")
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#7 Multi-project cost benefit analysis template <\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Multi-project](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Multi-project-CBA-template-1.webp\")
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#8 Cost benefit analysis for PowerPoint<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Cost](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CBA-template-for-PowerPoint-2.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHow to do a cost benefit analysis (a step-by-step guide)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
#1 Decide on the objectives and define the scope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Cost](\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Example-of-excel-CBA-template-1.webp\")
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