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Business Intelligence · head to head

ChartMogul vs Cortex

ChartMogul logo

ChartMogul

Business Intelligence

Subscription analytics platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ChartMogulFull review
Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit CortexFull review

The short version

  • ChartMogul is a subscription analytics platform.
  • ChartMogul starts at $59/mo; Cortex prices on request.
  • Only ChartMogul lists MRR Analytics; only Cortex lists service catalogue.
  • Where ChartMogul falls short: the free tier stops at $10K MRR, so it lapses precisely as a company starts to matter.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ChartMogul and Cortex actually diverge.

Attributes where ChartMogul and Cortex differ
AttributeChartMogulCortex
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelSubscriptionQuote
Free tierYesNo
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: platforms (Web, API).

Not yet recorded: founded for Cortex.

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 ChartMogul

  • MRR Analytics
  • Churn Analysis
  • Cohort Analysis
  • Customer Segmentation
  • Revenue Recognition
  • Stripe
  • Chargebee
  • Recurly

Only in Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

What people use each for

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

ChartMogul

  • MRR trackingnot Cortex
  • Churn analysisnot Cortex
  • Revenue analyticsnot Cortex
  • Subscription metricsnot Cortex
  • Financial forecastingnot Cortex

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot ChartMogul
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot ChartMogul
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot ChartMogul
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot ChartMogul

Where each one falls short

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

ChartMogul

  • The free tier stops at $10K MRR, so it lapses precisely as a company starts to matter
  • Starter is capped at 3 team members and a single billing system connection
  • Two-way CRM sync and warehouse integration require the Pro tier
  • Pricing scales with your ARR rather than with usage, so the bill rises as the business grows
  • Enterprise starts at $19,900 a year and is required above $10M ARR

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract

Pricing, plan by plan

ChartMogul

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to $120K ARR tracked
    • 1 billing source
    • Unlimited team members
  • Starter$59/mo
    • $59-$707/month based on ARR
    • Up to $10M ARR tracked
    • 1 billing source
  • Pro$99/mo
    • $99-$1,199/month based on ARR
    • Up to $10M ARR tracked
    • 5 billing sources
  • Enterprise$19,900/yr
    • Custom pricing available
    • Unlimited ARR tracked
    • 15 billing sources

Cortex

On request
  • CortexOn request
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

Which should you pick?

Choose ChartMogul if

  • You need mrr analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want churn analysis.
ChartMogul review

Choose Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex review

Questions people ask

Is ChartMogul or Cortex better?
Neither clearly leads. ChartMogul starts at Free and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ChartMogul or Cortex?
ChartMogul has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ChartMogul and On request for Cortex.
Does ChartMogul or Cortex run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use ChartMogul for free?
Yes. ChartMogul has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is ChartMogul best used for?
ChartMogul is most often used for mrr tracking, churn analysis, revenue analytics, subscription metrics. Of those, mrr tracking and churn analysis are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
What can ChartMogul do that Cortex cannot?
ChartMogul covers MRR Analytics, Churn Analysis, Cohort Analysis, Customer Segmentation. Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ChartMogul: How much does ChartMogul cost for a small SaaS startup?

ChartMogul offers a free plan for companies with up to $120K ARR. Starter plans begin at $59 per month for smaller ARR amounts and scale up to $707 per month, with a 17% discount available for annual commitments. Source: https://chartmogul.com/pricing

Source
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

ChartMogul: What are the team member limits on ChartMogul plans?

The Free and Pro plans include unlimited team members, while the Starter plan is limited to 3 team members. Enterprise plans offer unlimited users with custom pricing. Source: https://chartmogul.com/pricing

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

ChartMogul: How many billing sources can each ChartMogul plan integrate?

Free and Starter plans support 1 billing source each. Pro plans increase to 5 billing sources. Enterprise plans support 15 billing sources with custom pricing and unlimited integration capabilities. Source: https://chartmogul.com/pricing

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

ChartMogul: Does ChartMogul offer an annual payment discount?

Yes, ChartMogul provides a 17% discount when paying annually instead of monthly on Starter and Pro plans. Enterprise customers can discuss custom annual pricing with the sales team. Source: https://chartmogul.com/pricing

Source
Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

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