Business Intelligence · head to head
Cyfe vs Helix

Helix
Developer Tools
Post-modern modal text editor for the terminal, written in Rust
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Cyfe is an all-in-one business dashboard application; Helix is an open-source, terminal-based modal text editor.
- Helix is free; Cyfe starts at $29/mo.
- Only Cyfe lists custom Metrics; only Helix lists multiple Selections.
- Where Cyfe falls short: dashboards are the billing unit, at 2 on the $29 Starter plan and 5 on the $39 Standard plan.
- Where Helix falls short: no official GUI application yet, so it requires comfort with terminal workflows.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cyfe and Helix actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: founded for Helix.
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 Cyfe
- Pre-built Widgets
- Custom Metrics
- Historical Data
- White-labeling
- Embedding
- Google Analytics
Only in Helix
- Multiple Selections
- Tree-sitter Syntax Trees
- Built-in LSP Support
- Fuzzy File Finder
- Project-wide Search
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cyfe
- Building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sourcesnot Helix
- Displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public URLsnot Helix
Helix
- Editing code over SSH or in tmux sessionsnot Cyfe
- Working with syntax-aware selection and navigationnot Cyfe
- Getting IDE-like completion and diagnostics without plugin setupnot Cyfe
- Lightweight, low-resource code editing on laptopsnot Cyfe
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cyfe
- Dashboards are the billing unit, at 2 on the $29 Starter plan and 5 on the $39 Standard plan
- Users are capped separately, at 1 on Starter and 2 on Standard, so a two person team needs the second tier for seats alone
- Unlimited users only appears on the $119 Premier plan
- Additional dashboards beyond a plan are $5 each
- The Agency plan includes 10 clients with further clients at $19 each
Helix
- No official GUI application yet, so it requires comfort with terminal workflows
- Plugin ecosystem is far smaller than Vim's or Neovim's, limiting customization
- Keybindings differ from both Vim and Kakoune, adding a learning curve for users of either
- Configuration is more limited than Neovim's Lua-based extensibility
Pricing, plan by plan
Cyfe
Free- Starter$29/mo
- 2 Dashboards
- 1 User
- 14-day free trial
- Standard$39/mo
- 5 Dashboards
- 2 Users
- 14-day free trial
- Pro$65/mo
- 10 Dashboards
- 5 Users
- 14-day free trial
- Premier$119/mo
- 20 Dashboards
- Unlimited Users
- Additional dashboards available at $5 per dashboard
Helix
Free- FreeFree
- Full editor, no paid tiers
Which should you pick?
Choose Cyfe if
- You need pre-built widgets.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, TV and console.
- You also want custom metrics.
Choose Helix if
- You need multiple selections.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want tree-sitter syntax trees.
Questions people ask
- Is Cyfe or Helix better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cyfe starts at Free and Helix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cyfe or Helix?
- Cyfe starts at Free and Helix at Free.
- Does Cyfe or Helix run on more platforms?
- Cyfe runs on Web, iOS, Android, TV and console. Helix runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use Cyfe for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cyfe best used for?
- Cyfe is most often used for building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sources, displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public urls. Of those, building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sources and displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public urls are not what Helix is typically brought in for.
- What can Cyfe do that Helix cannot?
- Cyfe covers Pre-built Widgets, Custom Metrics, Historical Data, White-labeling. Helix covers Multiple Selections, Tree-sitter Syntax Trees, Built-in LSP Support, Fuzzy File Finder.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cyfe: How much does Cyfe cost?
Cyfe offers five subscription plans: Starter at $29/month (2 dashboards, 1 user), Standard at $39/month (5 dashboards, 2 users), Pro at $65/month (10 dashboards, 5 users), Premier at $119/month (20 dashboards, unlimited users), and Agency at $190/month (100 dashboards, 15 users, 10 clients).
SourceHelix: Is Helix free to use?
Yes, Helix is free and open source, licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0), with no paid tiers or subscriptions.
SourceCyfe: What features are included in all Cyfe plans?
All Cyfe tiers include unlimited history, TV mode for dashboard displays, public shareable URLs, custom logos and themes, custom SSL domain support, unlimited data exports, and embedded analytics capabilities. The 14-day free trial is available for every plan.
SourceHelix: How do I install Helix?
Install via your operating system's package manager, or download pre-built binaries from GitHub Releases; the nightly version requires building from source.
SourceCyfe: What is included in Cyfe's Agency plan?
The Agency plan at $190/month includes 100 dashboards, 15 users, and 10 clients. Additional clients cost $19 each. The plan provides 100% white label branding, branded widgets, custom CSS, and full client management features.
SourceHelix: Does Helix support plugins?
Not yet. Helix currently has no plugin system, though the project intends to add one eventually; it instead ships with built-in LSP and tree-sitter support out of the box.
SourceHelix: How do I configure Helix?
Helix ships with sane modern defaults requiring much less config-file fiddling than Vim, though settings can still be customized in a config.toml file.
SourceHelix: Where can I get help or support?
Support is community-driven via GitHub for code and issues, the Matrix chat for discussion, and OpenCollective for funding ongoing development.
SourceRelated pages
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- Helix vs Zoho Analytics
- Helix vs ChartMogul
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- Helix vs Fabi
- Helix vs Glassbox
- Helix vs Glean
- Helix vs Neovim
- Helix vs GNU Emacs
- Helix vs Notepad++
- Helix vs Vim
- Helix vs Sublime Text
- Helix vs Frappe
- Helix vs Restate
- Helix vs Visual Studio Code
- Helix vs Penpot
- Helix vs Ansible
- Helix vs Jenkins
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- Helix vs Keycloak
- Helix vs PyCharm
- Helix vs Vite
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