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Business Intelligence · head to head

Geckoboard vs Snowplow

Geckoboard logo

Geckoboard

Business Intelligence

Real-time KPI dashboards

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowplow logo

Snowplow

Business Intelligence

Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Geckoboard has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Geckoboard annual billing required; monthly billing not offered; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • They diverge on capability: Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Geckoboard and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where Geckoboard and Snowplow differ
AttributeGeckoboardSnowplow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Tv, MobileLinux, Web, Docker
Founded2010Unknown

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 Geckoboard

  • Real-time Updates
  • TV Mode
  • Custom Widgets
  • Data Blending
  • Sharing
  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk
  • Google Analytics

Only in Snowplow

  • Own-cloud deployment
  • Schema enforcement
  • Warehouse loading
  • Enrichment
  • Trackers
  • Streaming output
  • Data models
  • Snowplow BDP

What people use each for

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

Geckoboard

  • TV wall dashboards for office and operations displaysnot Snowplow
  • Live KPI monitoring for sales and support teamsnot Snowplow
  • Sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tiernot Snowplow
  • Alerting when a metric crosses a thresholdnot Snowplow

Snowplow

  • A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot Geckoboard
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Geckoboard
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Geckoboard
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot Geckoboard

Where each one falls short

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

Geckoboard

  • Annual billing required; monthly billing not offered
  • Add-on dashboards cost $24 each
  • Additional editors cost $20 each
  • Additional screens cost $20 each

Snowplow

  • The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
  • Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
  • There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
  • The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.

Pricing, plan by plan

Geckoboard

Free
  • Essentials$79/month
    • 2 dashboards
    • 1 editor
    • 1 screen
  • Performance$319/month
    • 20 dashboards
    • 3 editors
    • 5 screens
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Unlimited dashboards, editors, and screens
    • All Performance features
    • Dedicated support manager

Snowplow

On request
  • Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
    • Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
    • Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
    • Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0

Which should you pick?

Choose Geckoboard if

  • You need real-time updates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Tv, Mobile.
  • You also want tv mode.
Geckoboard review

Choose Snowplow if

  • You need own-cloud deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
  • You also want schema enforcement.
Snowplow review

Questions people ask

Is Geckoboard or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. Geckoboard starts at Free and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Geckoboard or Snowplow?
Geckoboard has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Geckoboard and On request for Snowplow.
Does Geckoboard or Snowplow run on more platforms?
Geckoboard runs on Web, Tv, Mobile. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
Can I use Geckoboard for free?
Yes. Geckoboard has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Snowplow starts at On request.
What is Geckoboard best used for?
Geckoboard is most often used for tv wall dashboards for office and operations displays, live kpi monitoring for sales and support teams, sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tier, alerting when a metric crosses a threshold. Of those, tv wall dashboards for office and operations displays and live kpi monitoring for sales and support teams are not what Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can Geckoboard do that Snowplow cannot?
Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, TV Mode, Custom Widgets, Data Blending. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Geckoboard: How much does Geckoboard cost?

Geckoboard offers Essentials at $79 per month, Performance at $319 per month, and custom-priced Enterprise plans. All plans are billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

Source
Snowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?

Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.

Geckoboard: Is there an annual billing discount for Geckoboard?

Yes, annual billing provides 20% savings compared to monthly pricing. Pricing is shown for annual billing with VAT not included.

Source
Snowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?

Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.

Geckoboard: What are the add-on costs for additional Geckoboard resources?

Additional dashboards cost $24 each, extra editors cost $20 each, and additional screens cost $20 each. All add-ons are billed with the annual subscription.

Source
Snowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?

Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.

Geckoboard: Does Geckoboard offer discounts for nonprofits?

Yes, Geckoboard offers 20% off any plan for nonprofit organizations.

Source
Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?

Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.

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