Business Intelligence · head to head
Exa vs IBM Cognos Analytics
IBM Cognos Analytics
Business Intelligence
AI-powered business intelligence
- From
- $15/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Exa pricing is metered per 1,000 requests and stacks by feature: $7 per 1,000 basic searches, $12 to $15 per 1,000 for deep search variants, and separate per-ACU and per-search charges for the Agent product, as of August 2026.; IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Exa and IBM Cognos Analytics actually diverge.
| Attribute | Exa | IBM Cognos Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | $15/month |
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud |
| Founded | Unknown | 1911 |
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).
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 Exa
Nothing recorded that IBM Cognos Analytics does not also cover.
Only in IBM Cognos Analytics
- AI Assistant
- Natural Language Queries
- Automated Insights
- Story Telling
- Mobile Analytics
- IBM Db2
- Oracle
- SQL Server
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Exa
No use cases recorded yet. See the Exa review.
IBM Cognos Analytics
- Self-service analyticsnot Exa
- Data explorationnot Exa
- Ad-hoc reportingnot Exa
- Collaborative analysisnot Exa
- Embedded analyticsnot Exa
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Exa
- Pricing is metered per 1,000 requests and stacks by feature: $7 per 1,000 basic searches, $12 to $15 per 1,000 for deep search variants, and separate per-ACU and per-search charges for the Agent product, as of August 2026.
IBM Cognos Analytics
- Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
Pricing, plan by plan
Exa
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Exa review.
IBM Cognos Analytics
$15/month- Standard$15/month
- Dashboards
- Reporting
- AI Insights
- Plus$35/month
- Advanced Analytics
- Planning
- Premium Support
Which should you pick?
Choose Exa if
Nothing in the data separates Exa from IBM Cognos Analytics on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if
- You need ai assistant.
- You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
- You also want natural language queries.
Questions people ask
- Is Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics better?
- Neither clearly leads. Exa starts at On request and IBM Cognos Analytics at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics?
- Exa starts at On request and IBM Cognos Analytics at $15/month.
- Does Exa or IBM Cognos Analytics run on more platforms?
- Exa runs on Web. IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
- What can Exa do that IBM Cognos Analytics cannot?
- IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling.