Software · head to head
Domino Data Lab vs Pachyderm
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Domino Data Lab pricing is by quote only: the pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and the tier breakdown is behind a downloadable datasheet form; Pachyderm core software is Apache-2.0 licensed and free to self-host
- They diverge on capability: Domino Data Lab covers Reproducible environments, Pachyderm covers Data versioning.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Domino Data Lab and Pachyderm actually diverge.
| Attribute | Domino Data Lab | Pachyderm |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Platforms | Web | Linux |
| Founded | 2013 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Domino Data Lab
- Reproducible environments
- Model registry
- Model monitoring
- Collaboration
- Governance
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
Only in Pachyderm
- Data versioning
- Data-driven pipelines
- Automatic provenance
- Kubernetes-native
- Reproducibility
- S3
- GCS
- Azure Blob
Both cover
- Kubernetes
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Domino Data Lab
- Running reproducible data science workspaces and experiments on shared computenot Pachyderm
- Deploying and monitoring models with governance controlsnot Pachyderm
- Giving regulated enterprises a self managed MLOps platformnot Pachyderm
Pachyderm
- Machine learningnot Domino Data Lab
- Data analysisnot Domino Data Lab
- Model trainingnot Domino Data Lab
- Predictive analyticsnot Domino Data Lab
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Domino Data Lab
- Pricing is by quote only: the pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and the tier breakdown is behind a downloadable datasheet form
- Licensing is split by user type, with separate data science professional, data analyst, service account and admin licences
- FinOps, Nexus and Governance are paid add on modules rather than part of the platform
- Support level is a separate priced choice
- Self managed VPC or on premises deployment requires the Premium tier or higher
- No free trial is offered on the pricing page
Pachyderm
- Core software is Apache-2.0 licensed and free to self-host
Pricing, plan by plan
Domino Data Lab
Free- TrialFree
- 14-day trial
- Full features
- EnterpriseFree
- Full platform
- Enterprise support
- SLA
Pachyderm
Free- CommunityFree
- Core features
- Community support
- EnterpriseFree
- Advanced security
- Premium support
- SLAs
Which should you pick?
Choose Domino Data Lab if
- You need reproducible environments.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want model registry.
Choose Pachyderm if
- You need data versioning.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux.
- You also want data-driven pipelines.
Questions people ask
- Is Domino Data Lab or Pachyderm better?
- Neither clearly leads. Domino Data Lab starts at Free and Pachyderm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Domino Data Lab or Pachyderm?
- Domino Data Lab starts at Free and Pachyderm at Free.
- Does Domino Data Lab or Pachyderm run on more platforms?
- Domino Data Lab runs on Web. Pachyderm runs on Linux.
- Can I use Domino Data Lab for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Domino Data Lab best used for?
- Domino Data Lab is most often used for running reproducible data science workspaces and experiments on shared compute, deploying and monitoring models with governance controls, giving regulated enterprises a self managed mlops platform. Of those, running reproducible data science workspaces and experiments on shared compute and deploying and monitoring models with governance controls are not what Pachyderm is typically brought in for.
- What can Domino Data Lab do that Pachyderm cannot?
- Domino Data Lab covers Reproducible environments, Model registry, Model monitoring, Collaboration. Pachyderm covers Data versioning, Data-driven pipelines, Automatic provenance, Kubernetes-native. Both handle Kubernetes.