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Spreadsheets · head to head

Databox vs Sigma Computing

Databox logo

Databox

Spreadsheets

KPI dashboards that pull from the tools you already run on

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigma Computing logo

Sigma Computing

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet-style analytics that queries a cloud data warehouse directly with no extract layer

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Databox has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Sigma Computing every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • They diverge on capability: Databox covers Pre-built dashboards, Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 25 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Databox and Sigma Computing actually diverge.

Attributes where Databox and Sigma Computing differ
AttributeDataboxSigma Computing
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, TvWeb
CategoryUnknownSpreadsheets
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Sigma Computing

  • Spreadsheet interface over SQL
  • No extract layer
  • Input tables and write-back
  • Workbooks
  • Embedded analytics
  • Version control and dbt awareness

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 Sigma Computing
  • Agencies reporting campaign performance to many clients without rebuilding a report per accountnot Sigma Computing
  • Putting a live KPI board on an office TV or a recurring email to a leadership teamnot Sigma Computing
  • Replacing a manually maintained spreadsheet that someone updates from tool exports each weeknot Sigma Computing
  • Tracking goals and getting alerted when a metric moves past a thresholdnot Sigma Computing

Sigma Computing

  • A finance or operations team that lives in spreadsheets and needs warehouse-scale data without exporting CSVsnot Databox
  • An organisation that has consolidated on Snowflake or Databricks and wants one governed access layer rather than several desktop toolsnot Databox
  • Planning and scenario work where users need to type assumptions back into governed tables rather than into a local filenot Databox
  • Embedding customer-facing analytics into a product where each tenant must only see their own rowsnot 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

Sigma Computing

  • Every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • It cannot work without a supported cloud data warehouse, so an organisation running analytics on an on-premises database or a plain application database has nothing to connect to.
  • Pricing is not published and seats are differentiated by capability, so budgeting requires a sales cycle and a headcount forecast before you can compare it with a tool you could simply buy.
  • Performance is only as good as the warehouse behind it, which means slow or badly modelled tables surface as a slow interface and the fix is a data engineering project, not a Sigma setting.
  • Statistical and scientific visualisation is limited compared with dedicated tools, so anything beyond standard business charting has to be done elsewhere and brought back in.

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

Sigma Computing

On request
  • Sigma Computing$undefined/year
    • Quoted per organisation
    • Seat types are differentiated by whether a user views, explores or authors
    • Warehouse compute is billed separately by your cloud data warehouse vendor

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 Sigma Computing if

  • You need spreadsheet interface over sql.
  • You also want no extract layer.
Sigma Computing review

Questions people ask

Is Databox or Sigma Computing better?
Neither clearly leads. Databox starts at Free and Sigma Computing at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Databox or Sigma Computing?
Databox has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Databox and On request for Sigma Computing.
Does Databox or Sigma Computing run on more platforms?
Databox runs on Web, Mobile, Tv. Sigma Computing runs on Web.
Can I use Databox for free?
Yes. Databox has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sigma Computing starts at On request.
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 Sigma Computing is typically brought in for.
What can Databox do that Sigma Computing cannot?
Databox covers Pre-built dashboards, Dashboard designer, Metric library, Goal tracking. Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL, No extract layer, Input tables and write-back, Workbooks.

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
Sigma Computing: Does Sigma store a copy of my data?

No. Queries are executed on your warehouse and results are returned for display, which is why there is no extract refresh to manage.

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
Sigma Computing: What does it actually cost?

The vendor does not publish prices. Expect an annual contract priced by seat type, plus a warehouse compute increase you should model separately.

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
Sigma Computing: Can business users break the warehouse?

They can run expensive queries. Warehouse sizing, query limits and materialised tables are the controls, and they need configuring before a wide rollout.

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
Sigma Computing: Is it a replacement for a modelling layer like dbt?

No. Sigma works best on top of modelled tables and is usually deployed alongside dbt rather than instead of it.

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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