Softwr

Business Intelligence · head to head

Cabin vs IBM Cognos Analytics

Cabin logo

Cabin

Business Intelligence

Cookieless web analytics that also reports the carbon footprint of your website

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Business Intelligence

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cabin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cabin the analytics are deliberately shallow: no funnels, no cohort retention, no session replay and no user-level journeys, so anything beyond traffic and event counts requires a second tool.; IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
  • They diverge on capability: Cabin covers Cookieless tracking, IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cabin and IBM Cognos Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Cabin and IBM Cognos Analytics differ
AttributeCabinIBM Cognos Analytics
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelPer month by pageview volumesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud
FoundedUnknown1911

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cabin

  • Cookieless tracking
  • Carbon reporting
  • 1.2kb script
  • Custom events
  • Ad-blocker bypass
  • MCP access
  • Branded dashboards
  • EU data storage

Only in IBM Cognos Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Automated Insights
  • Story Telling
  • Mobile Analytics
  • IBM Db2
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cabin

  • Replacing Google Analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising datanot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • An organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissionsnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • An agency managing many client sites that wants unlimited domains and branded client dashboards for a flat $45 a monthnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • A developer who wants to query site analytics conversationally through an MCP-connected assistant rather than reading a dashboardnot IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Self-service analyticsnot Cabin
  • Data explorationnot Cabin
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Cabin
  • Collaborative analysisnot Cabin
  • Embedded analyticsnot Cabin

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cabin

  • The analytics are deliberately shallow: no funnels, no cohort retention, no session replay and no user-level journeys, so anything beyond traffic and event counts requires a second tool.
  • Carbon figures are modelled from bytes transferred using CO2.js assumptions about grid intensity and device energy, not measured, so they are directionally useful and should never be presented as audited emissions data.
  • Cabin is a product of Normally, a design studio, rather than a company whose sole business is analytics, which puts a reasonable question mark over long-term roadmap investment and support depth.
  • The 30-day retention on the free tier and 12 months on Plus mean year-on-year comparison needs the $45 Scale plan, which is a large jump for a small site that only wanted longer history.
  • Because it does not use cookies or cross-site identifiers, returning-visitor and multi-session attribution are approximations, which matters if anyone in the business is trying to reconcile it with an ad platform's numbers.

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter

Pricing, plan by plan

Cabin

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 domain
    • 10,000 pageviews per month
    • 30-day data retention
  • Plus$14/month
    • Up to 10 domains
    • 100,000 pageviews per month
    • 12-month retention
  • Scale$45/month
    • Unlimited domains
    • 5,000,000 pageviews per month
    • Unlimited retention

IBM Cognos Analytics

$15/month
  • Standard$15/month
    • Dashboards
    • Reporting
    • AI Insights
  • Plus$35/month
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Planning
    • Premium Support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cabin if

  • You need cookieless tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want carbon reporting.
Cabin review

Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.
IBM Cognos Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Cabin or IBM Cognos Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Cabin starts at Free and IBM Cognos Analytics at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cabin or IBM Cognos Analytics?
Cabin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cabin and $15/month for IBM Cognos Analytics.
Does Cabin or IBM Cognos Analytics run on more platforms?
Cabin runs on Web. IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
Can I use Cabin for free?
Yes. Cabin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month.
What is Cabin best used for?
Cabin is most often used for replacing google analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising data, an organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissions, an agency managing many client sites that wants unlimited domains and branded client dashboards for a flat $45 a month, a developer who wants to query site analytics conversationally through an mcp-connected assistant rather than reading a dashboard. Of those, replacing google analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising data and an organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissions are not what IBM Cognos Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Cabin do that IBM Cognos Analytics cannot?
Cabin covers Cookieless tracking, Carbon reporting, 1.2kb script, Custom events. IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cabin: Do I need a cookie consent banner with Cabin?

No. It sets no cookies and collects no cross-site identifiers, and data is stored in the EU, which is the specific reason most buyers switch to it.

Cabin: How accurate is the carbon measurement?

It is an estimate derived from data transfer using the CO2.js model. It is reliable for tracking change over time on your own site and unsuitable as an audited emissions figure.

Cabin: Who makes Cabin?

It was built at Normally, a research and design studio in London, out of work on data, privacy and the carbon footprint of digital products.

Cabin: Can it replace Google Analytics entirely?

For traffic, referrer and event reporting, yes. For advertising attribution, audience building and funnel analysis, no.

Share

Related pages

More on Cabin

More on IBM Cognos Analytics

Keep looking

Other head to heads