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Business Intelligence · head to head

Evidence vs MotherDuck

Evidence logo

Evidence

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence as code for teams and AI agents

From
$2500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MotherDuck logo

MotherDuck

Databases

Serverless analytics data warehouse built on DuckDB

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MotherDuck has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Evidence high starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption; MotherDuck the free Lite plan caps compute at 10 hours per month, which limits it to light or hobbyist workloads.
  • They diverge on capability: Evidence covers Analytics Agent, MotherDuck covers Serverless DuckDB instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Evidence and MotherDuck actually diverge.

Attributes where Evidence and MotherDuck differ
AttributeEvidenceMotherDuck
Starting price$2500/monthFree
Pricing modelFlat team pricing with no per-user feesusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, Embeddedweb, api
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabases
FoundedUnknown2022

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 Evidence

  • Analytics Agent
  • Code-based infrastructure
  • Development environment
  • Visualization tools
  • Embedded analytics
  • Enterprise security
  • Multi-channel access

Only in MotherDuck

  • Serverless DuckDB instances
  • Cloud storage querying
  • MCP server
  • Dives
  • Flights
  • Read-scaling replicas

What people use each for

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

Evidence

  • Building version-controlled analytics infrastructurenot MotherDuck
  • Enabling AI agents to answer business questionsnot MotherDuck
  • Delivering analytics through multiple channels (web, Slack, ChatGPT)not MotherDuck
  • Embedding white-labeled analytics in productsnot MotherDuck

MotherDuck

  • Ad-hoc analytics on gigabyte-to-terabyte datasetsnot Evidence
  • Querying data lake files in S3/GCS/Azure without ingestionnot Evidence
  • AI agent data analysis via MCPnot Evidence
  • Scheduled data pipeline transformationsnot Evidence

Where each one falls short

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

Evidence

  • High starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption
  • No freemium option for evaluation or learning
  • Code-based approach has steeper learning curve than visual tools
  • AI credits limited on Team plan; additional credits cost extra
  • Requires Git workflow familiarity for effective collaboration

MotherDuck

  • The free Lite plan caps compute at 10 hours per month, which limits it to light or hobbyist workloads.
  • Business plan usage charges on top of the $250/month base can make costs less predictable than flat-rate competitors.
  • There are no academic or non-profit discounts, unlike some competing data platforms.
  • Annual billing requires going through a sales conversation rather than a self-serve toggle.

Pricing, plan by plan

Evidence

$2500/month
  • Team$2500/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Monthly billing
    • Analytics Agent
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • All Team features
    • SSO/SAML authentication
    • SCIM directory sync

MotherDuck

Free
  • LiteFree
    • Up to 3 internal active users
    • 2 service accounts
    • 10GB free storage
  • Business$250/month
    • Up to 10 internal active users
    • Unlimited service accounts
    • 5 instance types with read-scaling replicas
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited internal users and service accounts
    • Fixed-cost capacity pricing
    • AWS PrivateLink, IP allowlisting

Which should you pick?

Choose Evidence if

  • You need analytics agent.
  • You work on Cloud, Embedded.
  • You also want code-based infrastructure.
Evidence review

Choose MotherDuck if

  • You need serverless duckdb instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want cloud storage querying.
MotherDuck review

Questions people ask

Is Evidence or MotherDuck better?
Neither clearly leads. Evidence starts at $2500/month and MotherDuck at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Evidence or MotherDuck?
MotherDuck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2500/month for Evidence and Free for MotherDuck.
Does Evidence or MotherDuck run on more platforms?
Evidence runs on Cloud, Embedded. MotherDuck runs on web, api.
Can I use MotherDuck for free?
Yes. MotherDuck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Evidence starts at $2500/month.
What is Evidence best used for?
Evidence is most often used for building version-controlled analytics infrastructure, enabling ai agents to answer business questions, delivering analytics through multiple channels (web, slack, chatgpt), embedding white-labeled analytics in products. Of those, building version-controlled analytics infrastructure and enabling ai agents to answer business questions are not what MotherDuck is typically brought in for.
What can Evidence do that MotherDuck cannot?
Evidence covers Analytics Agent, Code-based infrastructure, Development environment, Visualization tools. MotherDuck covers Serverless DuckDB instances, Cloud storage querying, MCP server, Dives.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Evidence: Does Evidence have per-user pricing?

No, Evidence offers one flat price for unlimited users at $2,500/month on the Team plan with a 30-day free trial.

Source
MotherDuck: What does MotherDuck cost?

The Lite plan is free (up to 3 users, 10GB storage, 10 hours of Pulse compute/month). Business is $250/organization/month plus usage, with Enterprise available at custom fixed-cost pricing.

Source
Evidence: How many AI credits come with Team plan?

Team plan includes 20,000 AI credits monthly at $0.01 per additional credit. Enterprise offers custom credit packages.

Source
MotherDuck: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

Yes, the Lite plan is free for up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts, with 10GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute per month.

Source
Evidence: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise adds SSO/SAML, SCIM directory sync, row-level access rules, embedding capabilities, and custom deployment options at custom pricing.

Source
MotherDuck: How is usage metered?

Compute instances (Pulse, Standard, Jumbo, Mega, Giga) are billed per second at hourly rates from $0.60 to $24.00/hour, storage is $0.04/GB-month, and AI Functions cost $1.00 per AI Unit.

Source
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