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Business Intelligence · head to head

Cabin vs Qlik Sense

Cabin logo

Cabin

Business Intelligence

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qlik Sense logo

Qlik Sense

Business Intelligence

Self-service data analytics and visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Qlik Sense expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • They diverge on capability: Cabin covers Cookieless tracking, Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cabin and Qlik Sense actually diverge.

Attributes where Cabin and Qlik Sense differ
AttributeCabinQlik Sense
Pricing modelPer month by pageview volumeUnknown
PlatformsWebWeb (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android)
FoundedUnknown1993

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Qlik Sense

  • Associative Engine
  • AI Insights
  • Augmented Analytics
  • Natural Language
  • Alerting
  • SAP
  • Salesforce
  • ServiceNow

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 Qlik Sense
  • An organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissionsnot Qlik Sense
  • An agency managing many client sites that wants unlimited domains and branded client dashboards for a flat $45 a monthnot Qlik Sense
  • A developer who wants to query site analytics conversationally through an MCP-connected assistant rather than reading a dashboardnot Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense

  • 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.

Qlik Sense

  • Expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • Performance degradation when working with very large datasets
  • Limited field capacity and strict 10 GB data limit on Starter plan ($300/month)
  • Weak date handling in set analysis compared to other BI tools
  • Poor API usability, particularly for Python scripts and integration workflows

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

Qlik Sense

Free
  • Qlik Sense Business (Desktop)Free
    • Personal dashboards
    • No content sharing
    • Desktop only
  • Starter$300/month
    • 10 users
    • 10 GB data for analysis
    • Cloud-based
  • Standard$825/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 25 GB data for analysis
    • Advanced analytics
  • Premium$2750/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 50 GB data for analysis
    • Enhanced 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 Qlik Sense if

  • You need associative engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
  • You also want ai insights.
Qlik Sense review

Questions people ask

Is Cabin or Qlik Sense better?
Neither clearly leads. Cabin starts at Free and Qlik Sense at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cabin or Qlik Sense?
Cabin starts at Free and Qlik Sense at Free.
Does Cabin or Qlik Sense run on more platforms?
Cabin runs on Web. Qlik Sense runs on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
Can I use Cabin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Qlik Sense is typically brought in for.
What can Cabin do that Qlik Sense cannot?
Cabin covers Cookieless tracking, Carbon reporting, 1.2kb script, Custom events. Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, AI Insights, Augmented Analytics, Natural Language.

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.

Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense have a free tier?

Qlik Sense Business (Desktop) is permanently free for individual users for creating personal dashboards, though content cannot be shared. Qlik Cloud Analytics offers a 30-day free trial with full features.

Source
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.

Qlik Sense: What is the entry price for Qlik Cloud Analytics?

Qlik Cloud Analytics Starter plan starts at $300 per month (annual billing) for 10 users and 10 GB of data. Standard is $825/month for 25 GB with unlimited users. Premium is $2,750/month for 50 GB.

Source
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.

Qlik Sense: How many users can access Qlik Sense?

The Starter plan is limited to 10 users. Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans include unlimited users and charge based on data capacity (gigabytes) rather than seat count.

Source
Cabin: Can it replace Google Analytics entirely?

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

Qlik Sense: What is the Associative Engine in Qlik Sense?

The Associative Engine is Qlik's proprietary technology that automatically discovers and explores all possible relationships between data points, enabling intuitive analysis compared to traditional query-based BI tools.

Source
Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense support self-service analytics?

Yes, Qlik Sense is designed for self-service business intelligence, allowing business users to create dashboards and explore data without extensive technical knowledge, though complex implementations require expertise.

Source
Qlik Sense: Is Qlik Sense available on-premises?

Yes, Qlik offers both cloud-based (Qlik Cloud Analytics) and on-premises deployment options, though on-premises licensing requires a separate quote.

Source
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