The SNP/Green Government had the money to give low income Scots a £600 boost - nearly enough to cover spiralling energy bills.
But Ministers chose to give £150 to a much wider group of people, including the wealthy.
The Poverty Alliance said the Scottish Government had made a “huge mistake” and urged Nicola Sturgeon ’s administration to “think again”.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes last week unveiled a £290m funding package to ease a cost of living crisis that includes soaring gas bills, looming tax rises and high inflation.
She announced £150 for households receiving Council Tax Reduction (CTR), which is claimed by people at the bottom of the income scale.
She also said households in band A-D properties would receive the £150 - regardless of how much they earned.
It means someone on £70,000 a year in a band D flat will get the same help as a minimum wage earner.
Scottish Government figures reveal that the £150 for people on CTR will cost £71m, while the price tag for the banding policy is closer to £200m.
An analysis by the Record shows that, if Forbes had linked the £290m solely to CTR, 475,000 households would have been eligible for £600 each.
Such a payment could have helped struggling families meet the cost of energy bills that are expected to rise by around £693.
Ahead of Forbes’ Budget announcement, rival parties backed moves to target funding at the poor.
Labour called for a £400 Scottish fuel payment to those in need, while pro-independence Alba backed a £500 annual payment for people on CTR.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said of Forbes’ decision last week: “She chose to replicate the misguided approach taken by Rishi Sunak, meaning that a third of the wealthiest people in Scotland will receive support.
“The measures she announced were not only inadequate and poorly targeted, but showed a lack of imagination on how we could do things differently.
“The measures, though, do not just represent a failure of imagination, but also a failure to live up to the responsibility to protect people from poverty. A range of different options could have been announced that would have acted as a lifeline for people struggling to stay afloat, and the failure to do so was a huge mistake. The Scottish Government must think again.”
John Dickie of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said: “It is disappointing that Holyrood Ministers did not find ways to ensure lower income families received more support. Lessons need to be learned so that devolved powers are used to quickly boost the incomes of those struggling the most.”
Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “As we said last week, the Scottish Government could have, and should have, targeted this payment more at low-income households. By spreading this support so thinly they are leaving gaping holes in thousands of families’ budgets.
"With inflation continuing to spike many will wonder how they will get to the end of each month. There were a variety of options open to the Scottish Government and it continues to be baffling as to why they chose the route that they did.”
Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “Up against a cost of living crisis, we had a chance to use the powers of this parliament to direct support to those who need it most.
“Instead, these plans will do little to prevent thousands from being pushed into financial hardship.
“It is disappointing that the SNP have sided with the Tories and followed in their footsteps, with low income households literally paying the price for these unfair plans.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The cost of living crisis and the imminent UK Government National Insurance hike are causing huge concern and people are struggling, including many households not in receipt of benefits or other financial support.
“The Scottish Government is therefore providing a £150 payment which will reach 73% of households, as well as a further £10 million to continue the Fuel Insecurity Fund.
“In addition, we are doubling the unique Scottish Child Payment from April and local authorities will have a discretionary fund from which to make £150 payments to an estimated 38,000 households which are exempt from council tax, including those accessing housing support service or living in temporary accommodation.
“These measures are being introduced despite the UK Government’s announcement of funding to mitigate the cost of living crisis reducing the resources the Scottish Government expected to have available.”
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