Summary
The Scenario Planner is the tool in Google Analytics designed to simulate different budget allocations and recommend an effective future strategy. It sits under Advertising in the Planning group, uses historical spend and conversion data to build diminishing-returns curves per channel, and projects the conversions each split is likely to deliver. The other options in this question only report on performance that has already happened.
Nitin Batra is a Google Analytics 4 certified professional who configures attribution settings, imports cost data and runs budget planning scenarios for paid search, social and display campaigns.
Last updated: August 16, 2026
To simulate different budget splits across paid search, social and display and get a recommended future spending strategy that maximises conversions, use The Scenario Planner in the Advertising section of Google Analytics.
- The projection plan
- The Model Comparison Report
- The Scenario Planner
- The User Acquisition Report
The correct answer is: The Scenario Planner
Key Takeaways
- – The Scenario Planner is the Google Analytics tool designed to simulate different budget allocations and recommend a future spending strategy that maximises conversions.
- – It works off diminishing-returns curves built from your own historical spend and conversion data, so channels with thin or missing cost data will give weak projections.
- – Attribution reports such as Model Comparison and Conversion Paths explain credit for conversions that already happened, while Scenario Planner is the only forward-looking planning surface.
- – Projections are estimates, not guarantees. If your cost data is not imported or your campaigns are not properly tagged, the planner has nothing reliable to model and the recommended mix will be misleading.
Where exactly is the Scenario Planner located in Google Analytics?
Open the Advertising section from the left navigation, then look under the Planning group. Scenario Planner appears there next to the attribution reporting options such as Model Comparison and Conversion Paths. Availability depends on your property tier and on having enough campaign and conversion history for the tool to build its curves.
How is the Scenario Planner different from the Model Comparison Report?
Model Comparison is a diagnostic report. It shows how the same set of past conversions gets credited differently under, say, last click versus data-driven attribution, which helps you judge whether a channel is undervalued. Scenario Planner takes the next step and projects what happens if you change spend going forward. One explains history, the other plans the quarter ahead.
Does the Scenario Planner need cost data to work?
Yes. The planner models the relationship between spend and conversions, so it needs campaign cost alongside conversion data. Google Ads cost flows in through the account link, and for non-Google channels like social or display you need to import cost data or the tool will not have a spend curve for that channel. Missing cost data is the most common reason planning output looks incomplete.
Why does the recommended budget mix change when I change the conversion event?
Each channel performs differently by conversion type. Display might drive plenty of lead form submissions but very few purchases, while branded paid search converts purchases at a much lower cost. Because the planner builds its curves around the specific conversion event you select, switching from purchase to sign-up will legitimately shift the recommended allocation. Always plan against the event that reflects the business goal for that quarter.