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Business Intelligence · head to head

Fabi vs Tilt

Fabi logo

Fabi

Business Intelligence

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit FabiFull review
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit TiltFull review

The short version

  • Tilt is free; Fabi starts at $39/mo.
  • Only Fabi lists smart Reports; only Tilt lists live update.
  • Where Fabi falls short: the free and Builder tiers cap AI requests, and the daily cap on Starter is reached quickly during genuine exploratory work.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fabi and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Fabi and Tilt differ
AttributeFabiTilt
Pricing modelPer user per monthOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper 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 Fabi

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

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

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 Tilt
  • An operations team that needs Python for a one-off analysis but has to hand the result to non-technical colleaguesnot Tilt
  • Replacing a set of scheduled Jupyter notebooks that nobody outside the data team can read or rerunnot Tilt
  • Exploratory work against a warehouse where building a semantic model first would cost more than the answer is worthnot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot Fabi
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Fabi
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Fabi
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to

Pricing, plan by plan

Fabi

Free
  • StarterFree
    • One builder seat
    • Ten dashboard viewers
    • Five Smartbooks
  • Builder$39/mo
    • Twenty-five Smart Report viewers
    • Ten Smartbooks with workflows
    • One data connector
  • Team$199/mo
    • Four builder seats, extra seats at 39 USD
    • Fifty viewers
    • Premium connector
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Unlimited builder seats
    • Full connector access
    • Custom security review

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose Fabi if

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

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is Fabi or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Fabi starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fabi or Tilt?
Fabi starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Fabi or Tilt run on more platforms?
Fabi runs on Web. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Fabi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Fabi do that Tilt cannot?
Fabi covers Smartbooks, Smart Reports, AI analysis, Scheduled runs. Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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.

Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

Fabi: Do viewers cost money?

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

Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

Fabi: Can I run arbitrary Python?

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

Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

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

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

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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