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Business Intelligence · head to head

Databox vs Fabi

Databox logo

Databox

Business Intelligence

KPI dashboards that pull from the tools you already run on

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fabi logo

Fabi

Business Intelligence

AI notebooks combining SQL, Python and no-code for small data teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Databox data sources are the billing unit, so cost tracks the number of tools you connect rather than the value you get from them; Fabi fabi is an early-stage company with a small team, so the durability risk is real and there is no obvious migration path for Smartbooks if it stops trading.
  • They diverge on capability: Databox covers Pre-built dashboards, Fabi covers Smartbooks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 25 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Databox and Fabi actually diverge.

Attributes where Databox and Fabi differ
AttributeDataboxFabi
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, TvWeb
CategoryUnknownBusiness Intelligence
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Databox

  • Pre-built dashboards
  • Dashboard designer
  • Metric library
  • Goal tracking
  • Scorecards
  • Alerts
  • Scheduled reports
  • Client reporting

Only in Fabi

  • Smartbooks
  • Smart Reports
  • AI analysis
  • Scheduled runs
  • Database connectors
  • Viewer seats

What people use each for

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

Databox

  • Watching marketing, sales and finance KPIs from separate SaaS tools on one shared dashboardnot Fabi
  • Agencies reporting campaign performance to many clients without rebuilding a report per accountnot Fabi
  • Putting a live KPI board on an office TV or a recurring email to a leadership teamnot Fabi
  • Replacing a manually maintained spreadsheet that someone updates from tool exports each weeknot Fabi
  • Tracking goals and getting alerted when a metric moves past a thresholdnot Fabi

Fabi

  • A single analyst at a startup fielding ad hoc questions faster than dashboards can be built for themnot Databox
  • An operations team that needs Python for a one-off analysis but has to hand the result to non-technical colleaguesnot Databox
  • Replacing a set of scheduled Jupyter notebooks that nobody outside the data team can read or rerunnot Databox
  • Exploratory work against a warehouse where building a semantic model first would cost more than the answer is worthnot Databox

Where each one falls short

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

Databox

  • Data sources are the billing unit, so cost tracks the number of tools you connect rather than the value you get from them
  • The $71 Analyst plan is a single seat: adding even a second person means the $199 Core plan, a 2.8x jump
  • AI credits are metered monthly, from 50 on Free to 1,000 on Scale, so heavier AI use pushes you up a tier
  • Every published price assumes annual billing; monthly billing forfeits the advertised 20% saving
  • Free and Analyst plans sync daily and hourly respectively, so neither suits anything close to real-time monitoring
  • It is a dashboarding layer, not a warehouse: there is no transformation or modelling step for messy source data

Fabi

  • Fabi is an early-stage company with a small team, so the durability risk is real and there is no obvious migration path for Smartbooks if it stops trading.
  • There is no meaningful governance layer: no data catalogue, no certified metric definitions and limited lineage, so it does not scale to an organisation that needs a single agreed number.
  • The free and Builder tiers cap AI requests, and the daily cap on Starter is reached quickly during genuine exploratory work.
  • Connector counts are limited by tier, so the Builder plan at 39 dollars connects to exactly one data source, which is rarely enough in practice.
  • It overlaps heavily with what Snowflake, Databricks and Hex now ship natively, so a company already paying for one of those is buying a fourth notebook interface.

Pricing, plan by plan

Databox

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 data sources
    • 1 user
    • 50 AI credits per month
  • Analyst$71/month
    • 5 data sources
    • 1 user
    • 150 AI credits per month
  • Team - Core$199/month
    • 10 data sources
    • 3 users
    • 500 AI credits per month
  • Team - Scale$319/month
    • 30 data sources
    • 10 users
    • 1,000 AI credits per month

Fabi

Free
  • StarterFree
    • One builder seat
    • Ten dashboard viewers
    • Five Smartbooks
  • Builder$39/month
    • Twenty-five Smart Report viewers
    • Ten Smartbooks with workflows
    • One data connector
  • Team$199/month
    • Four builder seats, extra seats at 39 USD
    • Fifty viewers
    • Premium connector
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited builder seats
    • Full connector access
    • Custom security review

Which should you pick?

Choose Databox if

  • You need pre-built dashboards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Tv.
  • You also want dashboard designer.
Databox review

Choose Fabi if

  • You need smartbooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want smart reports.
Fabi review

Questions people ask

Is Databox or Fabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Databox starts at Free and Fabi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Databox or Fabi?
Databox starts at Free and Fabi at Free.
Does Databox or Fabi run on more platforms?
Databox runs on Web, Mobile, Tv. Fabi runs on Web.
Can I use Databox for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Databox best used for?
Databox is most often used for watching marketing, sales and finance kpis from separate saas tools on one shared dashboard, agencies reporting campaign performance to many clients without rebuilding a report per account, putting a live kpi board on an office tv or a recurring email to a leadership team, replacing a manually maintained spreadsheet that someone updates from tool exports each week. Of those, watching marketing, sales and finance kpis from separate saas tools on one shared dashboard and agencies reporting campaign performance to many clients without rebuilding a report per account are not what Fabi is typically brought in for.
What can Databox do that Fabi cannot?
Databox covers Pre-built dashboards, Dashboard designer, Metric library, Goal tracking. Fabi covers Smartbooks, Smart Reports, AI analysis, Scheduled runs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Databox: How much does Databox cost?

Databox has a free forever plan with 3 data sources and 1 user. Paid plans are Analyst at $71 per month, Team Core at $199 per month and Team Scale at $319 per month, with an Agency plan from $79 per month plus $20 client packs and a Custom tier on request. All prices are billed annually; monthly billing forfeits the 20% annual saving.

Source
Fabi: Is there a free plan?

Yes, a Starter tier with one builder, ten viewers, five Smartbooks and ten AI requests a day.

Databox: Does Databox have a free plan or a free trial?

Both. The Free plan is free forever and covers 3 data sources, 1 user, 50 AI credits a month and daily syncing. Paid plans also offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
Fabi: Do viewers cost money?

Viewers are bundled by tier rather than charged individually; builders are the priced seat.

Databox: How many users does each Databox plan include?

Free and Analyst are single-user. Team Core includes 3 users and Team Scale includes 10. The Agency and Custom plans include unlimited users.

Source
Fabi: Can I run arbitrary Python?

Yes, Smartbooks include Python cells alongside SQL and no-code steps.

Databox: How many tools does Databox integrate with?

Databox connects to more than 130 tools, spreadsheets, databases and APIs, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Google and Facebook Ads, Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, Google Sheets and custom API sources.

Source
Fabi: How many data connectors does the entry paid plan include?

One. Additional and premium connectors come with the Team tier.

Databox: How often does Databox refresh its data?

The Free plan syncs daily. Analyst, Team Core, Team Scale, Agency and Custom plans all sync hourly.

Source
Databox: Who makes Databox?

Databox, Inc., founded in 2012 by Davorin Gabrovec, who is now President and Chief Product Officer. Pete Caputa became CEO in 2017 after a decade at HubSpot. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with its product and engineering team based in Ptuj, Slovenia.

Source
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