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Business Intelligence · head to head

Geckoboard vs Tilt

Geckoboard logo

Geckoboard

Business Intelligence

Real-time KPI dashboards

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit GeckoboardFull 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

  • Geckoboard is a real-time dashboard tool.
  • Tilt is free; Geckoboard starts at $79/mo.
  • Only Geckoboard lists real-time Updates; only Tilt lists live update.
  • 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 Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Geckoboard and Tilt differ
AttributeGeckoboardTilt
Pricing modelSubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, TV and console, iOS, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

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

Not yet recorded: founded for Tilt.

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 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.

Geckoboard

  • TV wall dashboards for office and operations displaysnot Tilt
  • Live KPI monitoring for sales and support teamsnot Tilt
  • Sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tiernot Tilt
  • Alerting when a metric crosses a thresholdnot 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 Geckoboard
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Geckoboard
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Geckoboard
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

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

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

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 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 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 Geckoboard or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Geckoboard 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, Geckoboard or Tilt?
Geckoboard starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Geckoboard or Tilt run on more platforms?
Geckoboard runs on Web, TV and console, iOS, Android. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Geckoboard do that Tilt cannot?
Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, TV Mode, Custom Widgets, Data Blending. Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

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

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
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

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

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
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.

Geckoboard: Does Geckoboard offer discounts for nonprofits?

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

Source
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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