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Business Intelligence · head to head

Fabi vs IBM Cognos Analytics

Fabi logo

Fabi

Business Intelligence

AI notebooks combining SQL, Python and no-code for small data teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Business Intelligence

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fabi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fabi fabi is an early-stage company with a small team, so the durability risk is real and there is no obvious migration path for Smartbooks if it stops trading.; IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
  • They diverge on capability: Fabi covers Smartbooks, IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fabi and IBM Cognos Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Fabi and IBM Cognos Analytics differ
AttributeFabiIBM Cognos Analytics
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud
FoundedUnknown1911

Identical on both: 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 Fabi

  • Smartbooks
  • Smart Reports
  • AI analysis
  • Scheduled runs
  • Database connectors
  • Viewer seats

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.

Fabi

  • A single analyst at a startup fielding ad hoc questions faster than dashboards can be built for themnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • An operations team that needs Python for a one-off analysis but has to hand the result to non-technical colleaguesnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Replacing a set of scheduled Jupyter notebooks that nobody outside the data team can read or rerunnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Exploratory work against a warehouse where building a semantic model first would cost more than the answer is worthnot IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Self-service analyticsnot Fabi
  • Data explorationnot Fabi
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Fabi
  • Collaborative analysisnot Fabi
  • Embedded analyticsnot Fabi

Where each one falls short

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

Fabi

  • Fabi is an early-stage company with a small team, so the durability risk is real and there is no obvious migration path for Smartbooks if it stops trading.
  • There is no meaningful governance layer: no data catalogue, no certified metric definitions and limited lineage, so it does not scale to an organisation that needs a single agreed number.
  • The free and Builder tiers cap AI requests, and the daily cap on Starter is reached quickly during genuine exploratory work.
  • Connector counts are limited by tier, so the Builder plan at 39 dollars connects to exactly one data source, which is rarely enough in practice.
  • It overlaps heavily with what Snowflake, Databricks and Hex now ship natively, so a company already paying for one of those is buying a fourth notebook interface.

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

Fabi

Free
  • StarterFree
    • One builder seat
    • Ten dashboard viewers
    • Five Smartbooks
  • Builder$39/month
    • Twenty-five Smart Report viewers
    • Ten Smartbooks with workflows
    • One data connector
  • Team$199/month
    • Four builder seats, extra seats at 39 USD
    • Fifty viewers
    • Premium connector
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited builder seats
    • Full connector access
    • Custom security 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 Fabi if

  • You need smartbooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want smart reports.
Fabi review

Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.
IBM Cognos Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Fabi or IBM Cognos Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Fabi starts at Free 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, Fabi or IBM Cognos Analytics?
Fabi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fabi and $15/month for IBM Cognos Analytics.
Does Fabi or IBM Cognos Analytics run on more platforms?
Fabi runs on Web. IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
Can I use Fabi for free?
Yes. Fabi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month.
What is Fabi best used for?
Fabi is most often used for a single analyst at a startup fielding ad hoc questions faster than dashboards can be built for them, an operations team that needs python for a one-off analysis but has to hand the result to non-technical colleagues, replacing a set of scheduled jupyter notebooks that nobody outside the data team can read or rerun, exploratory work against a warehouse where building a semantic model first would cost more than the answer is worth. Of those, a single analyst at a startup fielding ad hoc questions faster than dashboards can be built for them and an operations team that needs python for a one-off analysis but has to hand the result to non-technical colleagues are not what IBM Cognos Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Fabi do that IBM Cognos Analytics cannot?
Fabi covers Smartbooks, Smart Reports, AI analysis, Scheduled runs. IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fabi: Is there a free plan?

Yes, a Starter tier with one builder, ten viewers, five Smartbooks and ten AI requests a day.

Fabi: Do viewers cost money?

Viewers are bundled by tier rather than charged individually; builders are the priced seat.

Fabi: Can I run arbitrary Python?

Yes, Smartbooks include Python cells alongside SQL and no-code steps.

Fabi: How many data connectors does the entry paid plan include?

One. Additional and premium connectors come with the Team tier.

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