Gorilla Budgeting vs Saturation (2026): Desktop vs Cloud Production Finance

Gorilla Budgeting by Jungle Software and Saturation are both built for film producers who need to manage production finances. The difference that matters most: Gorilla is desktop software installed on your computer, while Saturation lives in the cloud. That single distinction drives most of the other differences between them.

This comparison covers what each tool does, where they differ, who each one is built for, and how pricing stacks up in 2026.

What Gorilla Budgeting Is

Gorilla Budgeting is a desktop film budgeting application developed by Jungle Software, a company that also makes Gorilla Scheduling. The software has been used in independent film production for years and offers a deep feature set for producers who want professional budgeting capabilities without Movie Magic Budgeting's price point.

Gorilla Budgeting supports four levels of budget detail, allowing line producers to build from top-sheet summaries down to individual line items. The software includes built-in fringe calculation tools, tax credit tracking, and a comprehensive expense tracking module for tracking actuals against the approved budget.

One of Gorilla's stronger features is its union rate integration. The software connects to a database of over 13,000 union labor rates covering SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, and dozens of other guilds and locals, available as an add-on subscription. For productions working under union agreements, having current rates built into the software reduces the manual research required when building a budget.

Gorilla also supports 14 languages and multiple currencies, making it a practical choice for international co-productions and non-English-language projects. The integration with Gorilla Scheduling allows producers to pull cast, crew, locations, and elements directly from a linked schedule into the budget.

Pricing: $29/month on a monthly subscription, $269/year on an annual subscription. A demo is available. No free plan.

What Saturation Is

Saturation is a cloud-based production finance platform built for film, television, commercial, and music video production. Where Gorilla runs as a desktop application, Saturation runs in any browser. Where Gorilla requires file sharing for collaboration, Saturation allows multiple team members to work on the same budget simultaneously in real time.

Beyond budgeting, Saturation extends into production finance in ways that desktop budgeting tools cannot: integrated expense tracking, Saturation Pay for contractor and vendor payments, and a production credit card with 3% cash back on production expenses. Every payment processed through Saturation is automatically logged against the appropriate budget line.

Core Saturation features:

• Collaborative budgeting: Line producers, coordinators, and department heads can all access and edit the same budget from any device, anywhere.

• Fringe calculations: Automatic fringe application to applicable crew labor lines, covering payroll taxes, union health and pension contributions, and workers compensation.

• Expense tracking and actuals: Purchase orders, petty cash, daily cost reports, and weekly cost-to-complete tracking, all connected to the approved budget.

• Saturation Pay: Direct contractor and vendor payments processed through the platform, with each transaction automatically mapped to the relevant budget category.

• Production banking: The Saturation production card earns 3% cash back on production expenses and feeds directly into expense tracking.

• AICP template support: For commercial and music video productions, Saturation includes AICP account code templates matching the industry standard bid format.

Pricing: Free plan covers a full budget for a single active project. Paid plans from $25/month add unlimited projects, full expense tracking, collaboration features, and payment management.

Gorilla Budgeting vs. Saturation: Feature Comparison

The Desktop vs. Cloud Divide

The most consequential difference between Gorilla and Saturation is not any specific feature: it is the architecture. Gorilla is installed software. Saturation is a web application.

For a single producer working alone on a local project, this difference is smaller. The budget lives on your laptop, you update it yourself, and you export reports as needed. Gorilla works well in this workflow.

For any production with multiple people touching the budget, the desktop model creates friction. A production coordinator and a line producer cannot both edit the Gorilla budget at the same time. If you are on location and the line producer needs to check something in the budget, they need the file. If a department head needs to submit a revised estimate, it goes through the production coordinator who manually enters it into Gorilla. Version control becomes a real problem on longer productions.

Saturation eliminates this overhead. The budget is always current, always accessible, and always showing the same numbers to everyone with access. This is less of an advantage for a two-person short film crew and a significant operational difference for any production with a production office.

Fringe Calculations: How They Compare

Both Gorilla and Saturation handle fringe calculations, but with different approaches. Gorilla's fringe system is well-regarded and includes the optional union rate database covering 13,000+ rates across SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, and other guilds. This built-in rate data is valuable for producers who regularly work on union productions and want current rates applied automatically.

Saturation calculates fringes automatically against applicable labor lines using the rates you configure for your production. You set the fringe percentages based on your specific agreements, location, and union status, and the software applies them across all relevant crew lines. The approach requires slightly more setup than Gorilla's database-driven method, but it accurately reflects your actual production's fringe obligations rather than generic rate data.

For a complete breakdown of how fringe calculations work in production budgeting, see our guide to how to create a film budget.

Expense Tracking: Where Gorilla Falls Short

Gorilla includes expense tracking that lets you record actual costs against budget lines and see real-time balances. For basic actual tracking, this works. The limitation is that expense tracking in a desktop application exists in isolation: it is not connected to your bank account, your production card, or your payment processing.

When a vendor is paid in Saturation, the transaction is automatically logged against the budget. When a crew member is paid through Saturation Pay, the contractor payment flows directly into expense tracking. The production card feed automatically categorizes charges against the appropriate budget lines. The result is actual tracking that requires minimal manual data entry because payments and the budget are the same system.

In Gorilla, every expense needs to be manually entered after the fact, pulling data from bank statements, receipts, and payment records. For a small production with low transaction volume, this is manageable. For a production processing dozens of transactions a day across multiple departments, it is significant ongoing data entry work.

For a complete overview of production expense management, see our guide to managing film production expenses.

Tax Credit Tracking: Gorilla's Advantage

One area where Gorilla has a meaningful advantage over Saturation is tax credit tracking. Film production tax incentives, available in most U.S. states and many countries, can offset 15-35% of qualifying production costs. Gorilla Budgeting includes tools specifically designed to track qualifying expenditures and model the expected tax credit value against your budget.

Saturation does not currently include dedicated tax credit tracking. Productions building their budgets around significant tax incentives will need to model this separately or supplement Saturation with a tax credit broker's tools.

For a broader look at how tax incentives fit into production budgeting strategy, see our guide to film production accounting software.

International Productions: Gorilla's Strength

Gorilla's support for 14 languages and multiple currencies gives it a meaningful advantage for international co-productions and non-English-language projects. A production budgeting in euros with crew across multiple countries and guild agreements has tools in Gorilla designed for that complexity.

Saturation is currently optimized for U.S. dollar productions. International producers can use it, but they will not find the same depth of multi-currency and international rate support that Gorilla offers.

Who Should Use Gorilla Budgeting

Gorilla Budgeting is the better choice when:

• You work primarily as a solo line producer or production manager and do not need collaboration features

• You regularly work on union productions and want a built-in union rate database (via the add-on)

• Your productions involve multiple currencies or non-English-language markets

• Tax credit tracking is a core part of your budgeting workflow

• You already use Gorilla Scheduling and want integrated scheduling-to-budget data flow

• You prefer a one-time or annual license to a monthly subscription

Who Should Use Saturation

Saturation is the better choice when:

• Your production has multiple people who need to access or edit the budget (coordinator, line producer, department heads, accountant)

• You need real-time visibility into the budget from any device during production

• You want expense tracking that is directly connected to actual payments rather than manual data entry

• You are processing contractor and vendor payments and want them automatically logged against budget categories

• You are producing commercials or music videos where AICP format is required

• You want to start without paying, using the free plan to build your first project budget

Pricing Comparison

Both tools are in a similar price range for individual producers. Gorilla at $29/month or $269/year is comparable to Saturation's paid plans starting at $25/month.

The difference is the free tier: Saturation's free plan allows building a full production budget for a single active project with no time limit. A producer working on one project at a time can use Saturation's full budgeting functionality for free indefinitely. Gorilla offers a demo but no free production use.

The total cost diverges when you factor in what Saturation replaces. A production using Saturation for budgeting, expense tracking, and contractor payments replaces tools that would otherwise require separate subscriptions or manual processes. Gorilla's desktop budgeting is a single-function tool; additional workflow tools require additional software.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gorilla Budgeting cloud-based?

No. Gorilla Budgeting by Jungle Software is desktop software installed on Mac or Windows. It does not run in a browser and does not support real-time collaboration. Teams sharing a Gorilla budget must share the file manually. Saturation is cloud-based and runs in any browser with real-time collaboration built in.

Does Gorilla Budgeting have a free plan?

Gorilla Budgeting does not offer a free plan. A demo is available to try the software before purchasing. Subscription pricing starts at $29/month. Saturation offers a free plan that includes full budget building for a single active project with no time limit.

Can Gorilla Budgeting track actual expenses?

Yes. Gorilla Budgeting includes expense tracking that lets you record actual costs against budget lines and view real-time budget balances. The limitation compared to cloud-based tools is that expense entry is manual: payments do not automatically flow into Gorilla from bank accounts or payment processors. Saturation's expense tracking is connected to Saturation Pay and the production card, so payments log automatically against budget lines.

Does Gorilla Budgeting support union rate tables?

Yes. Gorilla offers an add-on union rate database covering over 13,000 rates across SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, and other guilds. This is sold separately from the base software subscription. For productions regularly working under union agreements, this built-in rate data is a genuine advantage over tools that require manual rate research and entry.

Which is better for indie film budgeting, Gorilla or Saturation?

For a solo indie filmmaker, Gorilla's feature depth makes it a capable choice. For a production with any team size, Saturation's real-time collaboration and automatic expense tracking reduce the operational overhead significantly. Saturation's free plan also means indie filmmakers can use professional budgeting software at no cost for a single project, removing the financial barrier that used to make tools like Gorilla the only affordable option.

Does Gorilla Budgeting work for commercial production?

Gorilla Budgeting can be used for commercial production, but it does not include AICP account code templates, which are the standard format for commercial agency bids. Saturation includes AICP templates specifically for commercial, music video, and branded content productions. Commercial producers who need to submit bids to agencies in AICP format will find Saturation better suited to that workflow.

What is the best alternative to Gorilla Budgeting?

For independent film producers who want cloud-based budgeting with real-time collaboration, expense tracking, and integrated payments, Saturation is the most direct modern alternative to Gorilla. For producers who prioritize union rate databases and tax credit tracking and work primarily alone, Gorilla remains a solid choice. Movie Magic Budgeting is the industry standard for larger productions but costs significantly more.