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Business Intelligence · head to head

Geckoboard vs Steampipe

Geckoboard logo

Geckoboard

Business Intelligence

Real-time KPI dashboards

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit GeckoboardFull review
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SteampipeFull review

The short version

  • Geckoboard is a real-time dashboard tool.
  • Free plans on both; paid from $79/mo and $49/mo.
  • Only Geckoboard lists real-time Updates; only Steampipe lists SQL over live APIs.
  • Where Geckoboard falls short: annual billing required; monthly billing not offered.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Geckoboard and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Geckoboard and Steampipe differ
AttributeGeckoboardSteampipe
Pricing modelSubscriptionOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
PlatformsWeb, TV and console, iOS, AndroidmacOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Steampipe.

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 Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

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 Steampipe
  • Live KPI monitoring for sales and support teamsnot Steampipe
  • Sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tiernot Steampipe
  • Alerting when a metric crosses a thresholdnot Steampipe

Steampipe

  • Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot Geckoboard
  • Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot Geckoboard
  • Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot Geckoboard
  • Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot 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

Steampipe

  • AGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it
  • Dashboards, benchmarks and mods were removed from Steampipe entirely at version 1.0 in October 2024 and now live in a separate product, so pre-2024 documentation and tutorials describe commands that no longer exist
  • Live querying is bound by cloud provider API rate limits and keeps no persistent store by default, which is why a separate DuckDB-backed product exists for log volumes and why large accounts return slowly
  • The company is fifteen people and bootstrapped, maintaining four command line tools plus a hosted service plus two further products, and the newer tools have thin community traction relative to that surface area
  • Hosted tiers include only three users regardless of tier, with additional Enterprise users charged separately, so a team of thirty costs an order of magnitude more than the headline figure before compute and storage are counted

Pricing, plan by plan

Geckoboard

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

Steampipe

Free
  • Steampipe CLIFree
    • AGPL-3.0
    • All plugins
    • No user or query limits
  • Pipes DeveloperFree
    • One user
    • 400 compute minutes
    • 3GB storage
  • Pipes Team$49/mo
    • Three users
    • 2,000 compute minutes
    • 20GB storage
  • Pipes Enterprise$249/mo
    • Three users
    • 10,000 compute minutes
    • 100GB storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Geckoboard if

  • You need real-time updates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, TV and console, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tv mode.
Geckoboard review

Choose Steampipe if

  • You need sql over live apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want wide plugin set.
Steampipe review

Questions people ask

Is Geckoboard or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Geckoboard starts at Free and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Geckoboard or Steampipe?
Geckoboard starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
Does Geckoboard or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Geckoboard runs on Web, TV and console, iOS, Android. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Geckoboard for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Geckoboard do that Steampipe cannot?
Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, TV Mode, Custom Widgets, Data Blending. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

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
Steampipe: When did Steampipe become AGPL?

May 2021, about four months after the project went public. It is a settled licence rather than a recent change, and predates the Business Source Licence wave it is often confused with.

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
Steampipe: Where did the dashboards and benchmarks go?

Into Powerpipe. They were deprecated in March 2024 and removed from Steampipe at version 1.0 in October 2024, so the check, dashboard, mod and variable commands are gone.

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
Steampipe: Is it fast on a large cloud estate?

Not always. Queries call provider APIs at request time, so rate limits rather than query planning set the pace, and there is no persistent store by default.

Geckoboard: Does Geckoboard offer discounts for nonprofits?

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

Source
Steampipe: Does the AGPL affect internal use?

Running it internally for your own analysis is fine. Putting a web interface in front of it that other people use is where the network clause becomes a question for your legal team.

Steampipe: Is a bootstrapped vendor a risk?

It cuts both ways. There is no investor pressure toward a licence change or an exit, and there are also fifteen people supporting a large product surface.

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