Question

What was one major similarity between the Marshall Plan and the Molotov Plan?

Answer 1

The USA and the USSR each used their plans to build up their European alliances.

The "Marshall Plan" was named after the man who then was US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall.  Officially the plan was called the European Recovery Program.  Marshall announced the plan in 1947, and it went into effect in 1948.  The intent was to provide aid and rebuilding to European economies after the damaging effects of World War II.  The US intended to build up its allies in Europe and stave off communism.

The Molotov Plan was the Soviet Union's response.  USSR's foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov rejected the Marshall Plan and proposed his own plan to aid states in alliance with the USSR.  The Soviets perceived the Marshall Plan as an effort to build reliance on the USA rather than the USSR, and thus aimed to strengthen its own ties to communist-leaning countries in Europe.  The plan established the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), which was an economic organization of communist states that lasted from 1949 to 1991.

Answer 2

Both were launched because of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. (APEX answer)