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Business Intelligence · head to head

Chartio vs Snowplow

Chartio logo

Chartio

Business Intelligence

Cloud-based data exploration (discontinued)

From
On request
Rated
-
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
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chartio product was discontinued and sunset on March 1, 2022 after company acquisition by Atlassian; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Chartio covers Visual Query Builder, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chartio and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where Chartio and Snowplow differ
AttributeChartioSnowplow
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWebLinux, Web, Docker
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 Chartio

  • Visual Query Builder
  • Interactive Dashboards
  • Data Blending
  • Collaboration
  • Embedding
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Redshift

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.

Chartio

  • Drag and drop chart building over SQL databasesnot Snowplow
  • Shared business dashboards for non-technical teamsnot Snowplow
  • Exploring warehouse data without writing SQLnot 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 Chartio
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Chartio
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Chartio
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot Chartio

Where each one falls short

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

Chartio

  • Product was discontinued and sunset on March 1, 2022 after company acquisition by Atlassian
  • No current pricing available as service no longer operates
  • Users were migrated to alternative Atlassian solutions

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

Chartio

On request
  • DiscontinuedFree
    • Service ended March 2022

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 Chartio if

  • You need visual query builder.
  • You also want interactive dashboards.

Choose Snowplow if

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

Questions people ask

Is Chartio or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. Chartio 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, Chartio or Snowplow?
Chartio starts at On request and Snowplow at On request.
Does Chartio or Snowplow run on more platforms?
Chartio runs on Web. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
What is Chartio best used for?
Chartio is most often used for drag and drop chart building over sql databases, shared business dashboards for non-technical teams, exploring warehouse data without writing sql. Of those, drag and drop chart building over sql databases and shared business dashboards for non-technical teams are not what Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can Chartio do that Snowplow cannot?
Chartio covers Visual Query Builder, Interactive Dashboards, Data Blending, Collaboration. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chartio: Is Chartio still available?

No, Chartio was discontinued on March 1, 2022. The product was acquired by Atlassian and the service was shut down. Users were offered migration to alternative solutions.

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.

Chartio: What should I use instead of Chartio after its discontinuation?

Atlassian, which acquired Chartio, recommends users migrate to other data visualization and business intelligence tools within the Atlassian ecosystem or compatible alternatives.

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.

Chartio: Can I still access Chartio's pricing information?

No, historical pricing is not relevant as Chartio ceased operations in March 2022. Any archived pricing information would not reflect current market options.

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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