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Business Intelligence · head to head

Celonis vs Snowplow

Celonis logo

Celonis

Business Intelligence

German process mining platform that analyzes, designs and operates AI-driven business processes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowplow logo

Snowplow

Business Intelligence

Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Celonis celonis does not publish pricing on their pricing page or website; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Celonis and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where Celonis and Snowplow differ
AttributeCelonisSnowplow
PlatformsWebLinux, Web, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Celonis

Nothing recorded that Snowplow does not also cover.

Only in Snowplow

  • Own-cloud deployment
  • Schema enforcement
  • Warehouse loading
  • Enrichment
  • Trackers
  • Streaming output
  • Data models
  • Snowplow BDP

What people use each for

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

Celonis

  • Process mining and analyticsnot Snowplow

Snowplow

  • A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot Celonis
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Celonis
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Celonis
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot Celonis

Where each one falls short

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

Celonis

  • Celonis does not publish pricing on their pricing page or website
  • Company directs customers to contact sales team for pricing information
  • No indication of pricing tiers, starting prices, or quote-based model on public pages
  • Pricing inquiry requires using a contact form or reaching out directly

Snowplow

  • The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
  • Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
  • There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
  • The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.

Pricing, plan by plan

Celonis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Celonis review.

Snowplow

On request
  • Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
    • Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
    • Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
    • Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0

Which should you pick?

Choose Celonis if

Nothing in the data separates Celonis from Snowplow on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Celonis review

Choose Snowplow if

  • You need own-cloud deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
  • You also want schema enforcement.
Snowplow review

Questions people ask

Is Celonis or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. Celonis starts at On request and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Celonis or Snowplow?
Celonis starts at On request and Snowplow at On request.
Does Celonis or Snowplow run on more platforms?
Celonis runs on Web. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
What is Celonis best used for?
Celonis is most often used for process mining and analytics. Of those, process mining and analytics is not what Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can Celonis do that Snowplow cannot?
Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Celonis: How much does Celonis cost?

Celonis does not publish pricing on their website. The company offers process mining and analytics solutions but requires customers to contact their sales team or use the Get in touch form on their pricing page to receive custom pricing quotes.

Source
Snowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?

Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.

Celonis: What is Celonis' pricing model?

Celonis' pricing model and pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. Customers must request pricing information directly from Celonis through their sales contact channels.

Source
Snowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?

Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.

Celonis: Does Celonis offer a free trial or demo?

Celonis offers resources through Celonis Academy for training and has specialized programs (Academic Alliance, Aspire, Labs), but specific pricing for trials or demos is not disclosed. Contact Celonis directly for information on trial availability and pricing.

Source
Snowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?

Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.

Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?

Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.

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