Business Intelligence · head to head
Databox vs Helm

Databox
Business Intelligence
KPI dashboards that pull from the tools you already run on
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Helm is a Kubernetes package manager, licensed Apache 2.
- Helm is free; Databox starts at $71/mo.
- Where Databox falls short: data sources are the billing unit, so cost tracks the number of tools you connect rather than the value you get from them.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Databox and Helm actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).
Not yet recorded: founded for Helm.
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 Helm
Nothing recorded that Databox does not also cover.
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 Helm
- Agencies reporting campaign performance to many clients without rebuilding a report per accountnot Helm
- Putting a live KPI board on an office TV or a recurring email to a leadership teamnot Helm
- Replacing a manually maintained spreadsheet that someone updates from tool exports each weeknot Helm
- Tracking goals and getting alerted when a metric moves past a thresholdnot Helm
Helm
- Kubernetes package manager and deployment toolnot 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
Helm
- Contributors must sign commits under the Developer Certificate of Origin to have them accepted, per helm.sh, a process requirement not all Kubernetes tools impose
Pricing, plan by plan
Databox
Free- FreeFree
- 3 data sources
- 1 user
- 50 AI credits per month
- Analyst$71/mo
- 5 data sources
- 1 user
- 150 AI credits per month
- Team - Core$199/mo
- 10 data sources
- 3 users
- 500 AI credits per month
- Team - Scale$319/mo
- 30 data sources
- 10 users
- 1,000 AI credits per month
Helm
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Helm review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Databox if
- You need pre-built dashboards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, TV and console.
- You also want dashboard designer.
Questions people ask
- Is Databox or Helm better?
- Neither clearly leads. Databox starts at Free and Helm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Databox or Helm?
- Databox starts at Free and Helm at Free.
- Does Databox or Helm run on more platforms?
- Databox runs on Web, iOS, Android, TV and console. Helm 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 Helm is typically brought in for.
- What can Databox do that Helm cannot?
- Databox covers Pre-built dashboards, Dashboard designer, Metric library, Goal tracking.
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.
SourceHelm: How much does Helm cost?
Helm is free and open-source. It is a graduated project in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) with no commercial pricing model.
SourceDatabox: 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.
SourceDatabox: 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.
SourceDatabox: 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.
SourceDatabox: How often does Databox refresh its data?
The Free plan syncs daily. Analyst, Team Core, Team Scale, Agency and Custom plans all sync hourly.
SourceDatabox: 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.
SourceRelated pages
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