5 Showbiz Budgeting Alternatives That Aren't From 1998 (And One That's Only $7)
Showbiz Budgeting (from Media Services) has been around for a long time. And it shows. Users are stuck with a clunky, desktop-only platform that looks and feels like it was designed for Windows 98.
It has zero real-time collaboration, forcing you to email files, and it’s often tied to their expensive payroll services.
Why are you using software that’s older than your lead actor? What if you could get a blazing-fast, beautiful, cloud-based platform? What if your entire team could collaborate in real-time? And what if it cost a single, one-time payment of $7?
That’s Periscope Budgeting. Here’s how we compare.
Part 1: The Business Model Comparison (The "Big Picture")
| The Big Picture | Periscope (The New Standard) | Showbiz Budgeting |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7 (One-Time Fee) | High License Cost |
| Platform | Cloud-Based. (Modern, work from anywhere) | Desktop-Only. (Dated, clunky UI) |
| Collaboration | Real-Time, Google Docs-style. | None. (Requires emailing files) |
| Payroll | Payroll-Agnostic (Total Freedom) | Often tied to Media Services payroll |
| Accounting Workflow | Seamless 1-Click Import to Periscope Accounting | Manual export/import to a separate system |
A Detailed Look at the Alternatives
Here’s a breakdown of the most popular Showbiz Budgeting alternatives and how they compare.
1. Periscope Apps
Overview: Periscope is a modern, accounting-first platform solution that empowers teams to work and collaborate anytime, anywhere. Built for projects of every scale, Periscope delivers modern efficiency without the steep learning curve or high licensing costs, making enterprise-level tools accessible to all.
Core Strengths: With its seamless one-click import feature into Periscope Accounting, users gain access to a comprehensive, all-in-one budgeting suite for a single, affordable payment. Lightweight, blazing-fast, and fully cloud-based, Periscope ensures your projects remain secure and accessible wherever production takes you.
The Periscope Difference: For just $7, Periscope offers an accounting-first, payroll-agnostic platform designed to serve as your central financial hub, streamlined, modern, and built entirely around your production’s workflow.
2. Movie Magic Budgeting (MMB)
Overview: The other “industry standard” legacy tool.
The Periscope Difference: Switching from Showbiz to MMB is like trading one dinosaur for another. It’s also desktop-only, clunky, and has no collaboration. Plus, it has a steep $39.99/month subscription. Periscope is the true modern alternative to both.
3. Saturation.io
Overview: A modern, all-in-one cloud-based suite.
The Periscope Difference: Saturation is a good modern tool, but it locks you into a high monthly subscription (often $50-$150/mo). Periscope gives you the same cloud-based, collaborative power in a dedicated, best-in-class budgeting tool for a single $7 payment.
4. Gorilla Budgeting Software
Overview: A powerful desktop-based suite for Mac & PC.
The Periscope Difference: This is another single-user, desktop-only solution with a steep learning curve. Periscope is built for simplicity and teamwork. It’s cloud-based, accessible from anywhere, and your whole team can work in it at the same time.
5. Celtx
Overview: An all-in-one pre-production suite for writers, with budgeting as an add-on.
The Periscope Difference: Celtx is a “lite” budgeting tool. Periscope is a dedicated, professional-grade platform for producers and UPMs. We provide the familiar, industry-standard layout and robust features you need, plus the one-click accounting import that Celtx can’t.
Stop Choosing Between a Buggy App and a
"Closed Garden."
You don’t have to accept opaque pricing, buggy software, or being forced to use a specific payroll provider just to get your work done.
Periscope is the only platform that is payroll-agnostic, built on a blazing-fast modern framework, and features a revolutionary business model that turns your accounting department into a profit center.
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