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Databases · head to head

Dremio vs Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Dremio logo

Dremio

Databases

SQL query engine and lakehouse layer over Iceberg tables in object storage

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit DremioFull review
Ona (formerly Gitpod) logo

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Developer Tools

Cloud development environments repositioned as a control plane for software engineering agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Ona (formerly Gitpod)Full review

The short version

  • Free plans on both; paid from $0.2/mo and $20/mo.
  • Only Dremio lists arrow-based execution; only Ona (formerly Gitpod) lists ephemeral environments.
  • Where Dremio falls short: Dremio Cloud is AWS-first, which leaves Azure and Google Cloud customers on the self-managed path with the operational burden that entails.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dremio and Ona (formerly Gitpod) actually diverge.

Attributes where Dremio and Ona (formerly Gitpod) differ
AttributeDremioOna (formerly Gitpod)
Pricing modelPer Dremio Compute Unit consumedPer month by compute unit
PlatformsLinux, Self-hosted, WebWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

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 Dremio

  • Arrow-based execution
  • Reflections
  • Semantic layer
  • Iceberg catalogue
  • Federated queries
  • Autonomous management
  • Fine-grained access control
  • BI connectors

Only in Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Ephemeral environments
  • Agent sessions
  • Bring your own cloud
  • Devcontainer standard
  • Compute unit budgeting
  • Enterprise identity

What people use each for

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

Dremio

  • A company with petabytes of Parquet in S3 that wants BI dashboards without duplicating it into a warehousenot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • A data platform team standardising on Apache Iceberg and needing a SQL engine plus catalogue that does not lock the tables innot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • An analytics group accelerating slow lake queries with Reflections instead of hand-built aggregate tablesnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • A regulated enterprise that must keep data on premises but wants a modern lakehouse SQL layernot Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setupnot Dremio
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Dremio
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Dremio
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Dremio

Where each one falls short

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

Dremio

  • Reflections consume compute and storage to build and refresh continuously, so a team that enables them widely discovers that background maintenance rather than user queries drives the DCU bill
  • Self-managing Dremio on Kubernetes requires real platform engineering capacity for tuning executors, memory and coordinator sizing, and it is not comparable in effort to running a managed warehouse
  • The Community Edition lacks the security and governance features most enterprises require, so the free tier is a trial path rather than a viable production option for regulated buyers
  • Dremio Cloud is AWS-first, which leaves Azure and Google Cloud customers on the self-managed path with the operational burden that entails
  • Query performance without Reflections on raw, poorly laid out files is often unremarkable, so the promise of querying the lake as is depends on file layout work you still have to do

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments
  • Two disruptive changes of direction inside a year, from development environments to agent orchestration and then from independence to acquisition, mean the product a browser IDE buyer originally chose no longer exists in that form
  • The Gitpod Classic sunset on 15 October 2025 required manual conversion of configuration, hand-moved secrets, self-rescued workspace data and a brand new account, which is the clearest available precedent for how the vendor handles deprecation
  • Community self-hosting is finished: the AGPL-3.0 repository is deprecated by its own README, and self-hosted now means a vendor-operated install in your AWS or GCP account, with no Azure, no on-premises and no air-gapped path
  • Pricing is difficult to model because it runs on a compute unit currency where subscription credits expire at the end of the month, the mapping from units to actual compute is not published on the pricing page, and Enterprise is quotation only

Pricing, plan by plan

Dremio

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Self-managed on your own hardware
    • SQL engine and semantic layer
    • No vendor support
  • Dremio Cloud$0.2/hour
    • Billed at $0.20 per Dremio Compute Unit
    • Includes query execution, Reflections and background processing
    • 400 dollar trial credit for 30 days
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Self-managed on Kubernetes, on premises or any cloud
    • Enterprise security, SSO and governance
    • Vendor support with SLA

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 parallel environments
    • Machines up to 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory and 80 GB disk
    • Ona Cloud multi-tenant only
  • Core$20/mo
    • From 20 US dollars a month, up to 100 team members
    • Includes 80 to 2,200 recurring compute units a month depending on tier
    • Additional units from 10 US dollars per 40 units
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

Which should you pick?

Choose Dremio if

  • You need arrow-based execution.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want reflections.
Dremio review

Choose Ona (formerly Gitpod) if

  • You need ephemeral environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS.
  • You also want agent sessions.
Ona (formerly Gitpod) review

Questions people ask

Is Dremio or Ona (formerly Gitpod) better?
Neither clearly leads. Dremio starts at Free and Ona (formerly Gitpod) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dremio or Ona (formerly Gitpod)?
Dremio starts at Free and Ona (formerly Gitpod) at Free.
Does Dremio or Ona (formerly Gitpod) run on more platforms?
Dremio runs on Linux, Self-hosted, Web. Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS.
Can I use Dremio for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dremio best used for?
Dremio is most often used for a company with petabytes of parquet in s3 that wants bi dashboards without duplicating it into a warehouse, a data platform team standardising on apache iceberg and needing a sql engine plus catalogue that does not lock the tables in, an analytics group accelerating slow lake queries with reflections instead of hand-built aggregate tables, a regulated enterprise that must keep data on premises but wants a modern lakehouse sql layer. Of those, a company with petabytes of parquet in s3 that wants bi dashboards without duplicating it into a warehouse and a data platform team standardising on apache iceberg and needing a sql engine plus catalogue that does not lock the tables in are not what Ona (formerly Gitpod) is typically brought in for.
What can Dremio do that Ona (formerly Gitpod) cannot?
Dremio covers Arrow-based execution, Reflections, Semantic layer, Iceberg catalogue. Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dremio: How is Dremio Cloud billed?

At 0.20 US dollars per Dremio Compute Unit, which counts query execution, Reflection building and platform overhead, not just user queries.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Is Gitpod still called Gitpod?

No. It rebranded to Ona in September 2025, and gitpod.io now redirects to ona.com. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a deal that closed on 10 August 2026.

Dremio: Is there a free version?

Yes, a Community Edition you self-manage, but it omits the enterprise security and governance features and comes with no support.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Can I still self-host it for free?

No. The AGPL-3.0 self-hosted project is deprecated by its own README. What is offered now is a vendor-operated single-tenant install in your AWS or GCP account on the Enterprise plan.

Dremio: Does it lock in my data?

No, tables stay in Apache Iceberg or Parquet in your own object storage and can be read by Spark, Trino or other engines.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): What happened to Gitpod Classic?

Pay-as-you-go Classic was switched off on 15 October 2025. Migration required converting gitpod.yml to devcontainer.json, moving secrets by hand, downloading workspace data before the cutoff and creating a new account.

Dremio: Do I still need a warehouse?

Often not for analytics, but Dremio is not a transactional store and high-concurrency operational serving is not its strength.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): What does it cost?

Core starts at 20 US dollars a month and includes a monthly allowance of Ona Compute Units, with more from 10 dollars per 40 units. Subscription credits expire monthly. Enterprise is quoted.

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