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Databases · head to head

Canary Labs vs Grist

Canary Labs logo

Canary Labs

Databases

Industrial process historian with published per-tag pricing and no client licence fees

From
$3000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Grist logo

Grist

Databases

The evolution of spreadsheets

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Grist has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Canary Labs pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.; Grist business plan has minimum 5-user requirement
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Canary Labs and Grist actually diverge.

Attributes where Canary Labs and Grist differ
AttributeCanary LabsGrist
Starting price$3000/yearFree
Pricing modelPer tag band per yearfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb

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

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 Canary Labs

  • Loss-less compression
  • Unlimited clients
  • Store and forward
  • Views service
  • Sparkplug B
  • Calculation engine
  • Axiom
  • ODBC and REST

Only in Grist

Nothing recorded that Canary Labs does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Canary Labs

  • A manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a PI System enterprise agreementnot Grist
  • A water utility replacing SCADA-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next SCADA replacementnot Grist
  • An Ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboardsnot Grist
  • A plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an auditnot Grist

Grist

  • Collaborative data and spreadsheet managementnot Canary Labs
  • Database creation and automationnot Canary Labs
  • Team data analysis and reportingnot Canary Labs

Where each one falls short

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

Canary Labs

  • Pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.
  • CustomerCare at 18 percent of licence cost is effectively mandatory on perpetual licences because lapsing it removes upgrades, so the perpetual option is not really a one-time cost.
  • The storage format is proprietary; getting data out at volume means the ODBC connector, an additional 2,500 USD one-time or 1,000 USD a year, or writing against the REST API.
  • Canary is a small vendor with a limited partner network outside North America, so support coverage and integrator availability in Europe and Asia are thinner than for AVEVA or Ignition.
  • It is a Windows-only server product with no Linux or container deployment, which complicates placing collectors in modern edge estates.

Grist

  • Business plan has minimum 5-user requirement
  • Enterprise self-hosted pricing not disclosed publicly
  • Annual billing discount only 20%, lower than some competitors

Pricing, plan by plan

Canary Labs

$3000/year
  • Subscription, 3,500 tags$3000/year
    • Unlimited Axiom clients
    • Unlimited Excel clients
    • Support and upgrades included
  • Perpetual, 3,500 tags$8730/one-time
    • 7,400 USD licence plus 1,330 USD first-year CustomerCare
    • CustomerCare renews at 18 percent of licence cost per year
    • Unlimited clients
  • Private cloud, 3,500 tags$12320/year
    • Hosted by Canary
    • 1,500 USD one-time setup fee per system
    • Scales to around 58,684 USD per year at 60,000 tags
  • Enterprise unlimited$undefined/year
    • Unlimited tags
    • Negotiated licensing terms
    • Quoted pricing

Grist

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited documents
    • Up to 5,000 records per document
    • 30-day snapshot history
  • Pro$10/month
    • Up to 100,000 records per document
    • 3-year snapshot history
    • 100+ AI credits monthly
  • Business$30/month
    • 150,000 records per document
    • 5-year snapshot history
    • 2,000 AI credits monthly

Which should you pick?

Choose Canary Labs if

  • You need loss-less compression.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want unlimited clients.
Canary Labs review

Choose Grist if

  • You want to start without paying.
Grist review

Questions people ask

Is Canary Labs or Grist better?
Neither clearly leads. Canary Labs starts at $3000/year and Grist at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Canary Labs or Grist?
Grist has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3000/year for Canary Labs and Free for Grist.
Does Canary Labs or Grist run on more platforms?
Canary Labs runs on Windows, Web. Grist runs on Web.
Can I use Grist for free?
Yes. Grist has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Canary Labs starts at $3000/year.
What is Canary Labs best used for?
Canary Labs is most often used for a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement, a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement, an ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboards, a plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an audit. Of those, a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement and a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement are not what Grist is typically brought in for.
What can Canary Labs do that Grist cannot?
Canary Labs covers Loss-less compression, Unlimited clients, Store and forward, Views service.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Canary Labs: What does Canary cost?

8,730 USD for a 3,500 tag perpetual system including first-year CustomerCare, or 3,000 USD a year on subscription.

Grist: Does Grist have a free version?

Yes. Grist Free includes unlimited documents with up to 5,000 records each, 30-day snapshot history, and 100 AI Assistant credits. No credit card required.

Source
Canary Labs: Are client licences extra?

No. Unlimited Axiom browser clients and unlimited Excel clients are included on every tier.

Grist: How much does Grist Pro cost?

Grist Pro is $10/user/month (billed monthly) or $8/user/month with annual billing. It includes up to 100,000 records per document and 3-year snapshot history.

Source
Canary Labs: Is perpetual cheaper than subscription?

Canary states perpetual pays off after roughly three years, and after that you still pay 18 percent CustomerCare annually.

Grist: What does Grist's Business plan include?

Grist Business is $30/user/month ($24 annually) with a minimum of 5 users. It includes 150,000 records per document, 5-year snapshot history, 2,000 AI credits monthly, and automations with priority support.

Source
Canary Labs: Does it use lossy compression?

No. Canary stores every collected value rather than approximating the trend, which matters for regulated data retention.

Grist: Do nonprofits get discounts on Grist?

Yes. Nonprofits receive a 50% discount on the Pro plan with Letter of Determination verification.

Source
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