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Spreadsheets · head to head

Equals vs Periscope Data

Equals logo

Equals

Spreadsheets

A real spreadsheet with SQL result sets landing in its cells, now sold only on annual contracts starting at 24,000 USD

From
$24000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Data logo

Periscope Data

Business Intelligence

SQL and Python analytics platform

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Equals the price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.; Periscope Data the periscopedata.com domain now redirects to sisense.com, so Periscope Data is no longer sold as a standalone product
  • They diverge on capability: Equals covers Connected sheets, Periscope Data covers SQL Editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Equals and Periscope Data actually diverge.

Attributes where Equals and Periscope Data differ
AttributeEqualsPeriscope Data
Starting price$24000/year$1000/month
Pricing modelPer year by connector count and refresh frequencysubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Cloud
CategorySpreadsheetsBusiness Intelligence
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Equals

  • Connected sheets
  • Real spreadsheet mechanics
  • Cell references into SQL
  • Equals Warehouse
  • Views
  • Writeback

Only in Periscope Data

  • SQL Editor
  • Python/R Integration
  • Version Control
  • Caching
  • Dashboards
  • Redshift
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake

What people use each for

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

Equals

  • A revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a BI semantic layernot Periscope Data
  • Analysts who need a SQL result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cellsnot Periscope Data
  • Joining Stripe, Salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline firstnot Periscope Data
  • Distributing a recurring numbers pack to Slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboardnot Periscope Data

Periscope Data

  • SQL-based analytics and dashboards over a data warehousenot Equals
  • Python and R analysis alongside SQL in one workflownot Equals
  • Shared dashboards for data teamsnot Equals

Where each one falls short

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

Equals

  • The price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.
  • Your data is copied out of your infrastructure by design, into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals operates, with Fivetran holding non-SQL source data in transit, and no self-hosted or bring-your-own-warehouse option is documented.
  • The financial function category contains only IRR, NPV and PMT, with no XIRR, XNPV, FV, PV, RATE or NPER, and there is no LAMBDA, LET, OFFSET or INDIRECT, so a substantial class of existing spreadsheet models cannot be ported without rework.
  • No documentation of importing or exporting Excel files exists anywhere in the docs index; the supported file sources are CSV and Google Sheets and the only documented export is dashboards as PDF, which is a notable gap for a product positioning itself as a successor to Excel.
  • Data freshness is a pricing lever rather than a setting, at six hours on Essential, one hour on Business and fifteen minutes on Enterprise, and the feature that removes row limits is itself gated above the entry tier, so the Essential row ceiling is neither published nor unlimited.

Periscope Data

  • The periscopedata.com domain now redirects to sisense.com, so Periscope Data is no longer sold as a standalone product
  • No Periscope Data pricing, plan or seat rate remains published at the original domain
  • Buyers must now purchase through Sisense, whose own pricing is not published as a rate card

Pricing, plan by plan

Equals

$24000/year
  • Essential$24000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 3 connectors
    • Data sync every 6 hours
  • Business$36000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 5 connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every hour
  • Enterprise$60000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • Unlimited connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every 15 minutes
  • Connector add-ons$199/month
    • 199 USD per month for each additional database or import script connector
    • 699 USD per month for each additional connector of any other type
    • Available on Business and Enterprise

Periscope Data

$1000/month
  • Team$1000/month
    • SQL Analytics
    • Python/R
    • Dashboards
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced Features
    • Custom Integrations
    • Premium Support

Which should you pick?

Choose Equals if

  • You need connected sheets.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want real spreadsheet mechanics.
Equals review

Choose Periscope Data if

  • You need sql editor.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want python/r integration.
Periscope Data review

Questions people ask

Is Equals or Periscope Data better?
Neither clearly leads. Equals starts at $24000/year and Periscope Data at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Equals or Periscope Data?
Equals starts at $24000/year and Periscope Data at $1000/month.
Does Equals or Periscope Data run on more platforms?
Equals runs on Web, API. Periscope Data runs on Web, Cloud.
What is Equals best used for?
Equals is most often used for a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer, analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells, joining stripe, salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline first, distributing a recurring numbers pack to slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboard. Of those, a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer and analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells are not what Periscope Data is typically brought in for.
What can Equals do that Periscope Data cannot?
Equals covers Connected sheets, Real spreadsheet mechanics, Cell references into SQL, Equals Warehouse. Periscope Data covers SQL Editor, Python/R Integration, Version Control, Caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Equals: Is it a real spreadsheet or a modelling tool with a grid?

A real spreadsheet. A1 references, absolute reference locking, pivot tables and spilling array formulas all work, and SQL results land in ranges that ordinary cells reference.

Periscope Data: Does Sisense offer a free trial?

Yes. Sisense offers a free trial of their Self-Serve plan. You can try features like data warehouse connectivity, built-in AI for natural-language queries, auto-narratives, and customer assistant features.

Source
Equals: What does it actually cost?

24,000 USD a year for Essential, 36,000 for Business and 60,000 for Enterprise, billed annually. There is no monthly option and no self-serve signup; the trial is negotiated per customer.

Periscope Data: What is the difference between Sisense Self-Serve and Enterprise plans?

The Self-Serve plan is for startups and teams and includes basic connectivity and AI features with iframe embedding. The Enterprise plan is for regulated industries and includes multi-tenant architecture, HIPAA readiness, column-level security, single sign-on, on-premise deployment options, 99.99% SLA, and 30-day backups.

Source
Equals: Are seats charged?

No. Viewers and editors are unlimited on every plan. The meters are connector count, refresh frequency and AI spend, with additional connectors at 199 or 699 USD a month.

Periscope Data: How do I access the Sisense Enterprise plan?

The Enterprise plan requires contacting Sisense for a demo and custom quote. There is no self-service signup for this tier.

Source
Equals: Does my data stay in my own warehouse?

No. Connecting more than one source syncs data into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals runs, and non-SQL sources pass through Fivetran. There is no documented self-hosted option.

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