Cost analyst vs planning analyst

The differences between cost analysts and planning analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a cost analyst and a planning analyst. Additionally, a planning analyst has an average salary of $68,137, which is higher than the $54,158 average annual salary of a cost analyst.

The top three skills for a cost analyst include cost analysis, financial analysis and cost estimates. The most important skills for a planning analyst are project management, customer service, and data analysis.

Cost analyst vs planning analyst overview

	Cost Analyst	Planning Analyst
Yearly salary	$54,158	$68,137
Hourly rate	$26.04	$32.76
Growth rate	3%	11%
Number of jobs	60,034	92,380
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a cost analyst do?

Cost Analysts are employees with a strong background in finance or accounting. They are in charge of collecting financial data and analyzing the entries. They study the company's expenses and prepare pertinent reports. Cost Analysts look for inconsistencies in the financial data. This way, they can assist in auditing the company's spending. Cost Analysts also look for inefficiencies. They do so by tracking item costs and department budgets and monitoring department expenses. They are also involved in budget-setting activities.

What does a planning analyst do?

As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.

Cost analyst vs planning analyst salary

Cost analysts and planning analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cost Analyst	Planning Analyst
Average salary	$54,158	$68,137
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $73,000	Between $49,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Virginia	Rhode Island
Best paying company	General Motors	Meta
Best paying industry	Automotive	Automotive

Differences between cost analyst and planning analyst education

There are a few differences between a cost analyst and a planning analyst in terms of educational background:

	Cost Analyst	Planning Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Cost analyst vs planning analyst demographics

Here are the differences between cost analysts' and planning analysts' demographics:

	Cost Analyst	Planning Analyst
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8%	Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between cost analyst and planning analyst duties and responsibilities

Cost analyst example responsibilities.

Manage general ledger expense accounts assign to ERP implementation project.
Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Perform cost control, revenue analysis and variance analysis for several DOD contracts.
Identify parts that need to be realign to correct WBS s in order to bring costs inline.
Ensure that purchase orders and work orders are setup in accordance with establish DuPont procedures and appropriate WBS structures.
Perform fixed asset and manufacturing accounting within ERP system.

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Planning analyst example responsibilities.

Manage 160 footwear SKUs across 3700 stores to ensure optimal inventory depths during peak time frames.
Reduce work in process inventory by use of KANBAN system which also lead to improve customer service.
Manage suppliers (KPI's) to deliver target cost, service and quality levels in each operating center.
Manage cross-functional team which successfully create a manual for ISO 9000 certification and develop a training program for new hires.
Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.
Prepare requests for quotes (RFQ) and requests for improvement (RFI) for distribution to existing and potential suppliers.

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Cost analyst vs planning analyst skills

Common cost analyst skills

Cost Analysis, 8%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Cost Estimates, 6%
Data Analysis, 4%
DOD, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%

Common planning analyst skills

Project Management, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Logistics, 6%
Strong Analytical, 5%
SQL, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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