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Developer Tools · head to head

Ona (formerly Gitpod) vs Hex

Ona (formerly Gitpod) logo

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Developer Tools

Cloud development environments repositioned as a control plane for software engineering agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Ona (formerly Gitpod)Full review
Hex logo

Hex

Business Intelligence

AI-powered analytics platform unifying notebooks, dashboards, and business intelligence

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HexFull review

The short version

  • Free plans on both; paid from $20/mo and $36/mo.
  • Only Ona (formerly Gitpod) lists ephemeral environments; only Hex lists agentic notebooks.
  • Where Hex falls short: pricing based per-seat ($36-$75/editor/month) becomes expensive for large teams.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Hex actually diverge.

Attributes where Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Hex differ
AttributeOna (formerly Gitpod)Hex
Pricing modelPer month by compute unitSeat-based subscription with credit system
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWSWeb, Slack
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

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

Not yet recorded: founded for Ona (formerly Gitpod).

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 Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Ephemeral environments
  • Agent sessions
  • Bring your own cloud
  • Devcontainer standard
  • Compute unit budgeting
  • Enterprise identity

Only in Hex

  • Agentic notebooks
  • Conversational analytics
  • Data apps
  • Context Studio
  • Data warehouse integration
  • dbt integration
  • Version history
  • Scheduled automation

What people use each for

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setupnot Hex
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Hex
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Hex
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Hex

Hex

  • Deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasetsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Self-serve analytics for business users without SQL knowledgenot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time datanot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharingnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • AI-assisted analysis reducing manual exploration timenot Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Where each one falls short

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments
  • Two disruptive changes of direction inside a year, from development environments to agent orchestration and then from independence to acquisition, mean the product a browser IDE buyer originally chose no longer exists in that form
  • The Gitpod Classic sunset on 15 October 2025 required manual conversion of configuration, hand-moved secrets, self-rescued workspace data and a brand new account, which is the clearest available precedent for how the vendor handles deprecation
  • Community self-hosting is finished: the AGPL-3.0 repository is deprecated by its own README, and self-hosted now means a vendor-operated install in your AWS or GCP account, with no Azure, no on-premises and no air-gapped path
  • Pricing is difficult to model because it runs on a compute unit currency where subscription credits expire at the end of the month, the mapping from units to actual compute is not published on the pricing page, and Enterprise is quotation only

Hex

  • Pricing based per-seat ($36-$75/editor/month) becomes expensive for large teams
  • Free Community tier limited to small compute and trial AI features
  • Advanced compute adds per-hour fees ($0.32-$4.06/hour), requiring cost monitoring
  • Learning curve for users unfamiliar with SQL or Python notebooks
  • Enterprise features requiring custom quotes lack transparent pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 parallel environments
    • Machines up to 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory and 80 GB disk
    • Ona Cloud multi-tenant only
  • Core$20/mo
    • From 20 US dollars a month, up to 100 team members
    • Includes 80 to 2,200 recurring compute units a month depending on tier
    • Additional units from 10 US dollars per 40 units
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

Hex

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Hex agent trial
    • Data source connections
    • All cell types
  • Professional$36/mo
    • Everything in Community
    • Full Hex agent access
    • Standard credits
  • Team$75/mo
    • Everything in Professional
    • Extended credits
    • Unlimited published apps
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Everything in Team
    • Explorer seat add-ons
    • Audit logs

Which should you pick?

Choose Ona (formerly Gitpod) if

  • You need ephemeral environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS.
  • You also want agent sessions.
Ona (formerly Gitpod) review

Choose Hex if

  • You need agentic notebooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Slack.
  • You also want conversational analytics.
Hex review

Questions people ask

Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Hex better?
Neither clearly leads. Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Hex at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Hex?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Hex at Free.
Does Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Hex run on more platforms?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS. Hex runs on Web, Slack.
Can I use Ona (formerly Gitpod) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ona (formerly Gitpod) best used for?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) is most often used for giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup, running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop, keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled account, reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machine. Of those, giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup and running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop are not what Hex is typically brought in for.
What can Ona (formerly Gitpod) do that Hex cannot?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard. Hex covers Agentic notebooks, Conversational analytics, Data apps, Context Studio.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Is Gitpod still called Gitpod?

No. It rebranded to Ona in September 2025, and gitpod.io now redirects to ona.com. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a deal that closed on 10 August 2026.

Hex: What is included in the free Community plan?

The Community plan ($0) includes Hex agent trial, data source connections, all cell types, and small compute sizing. It's suitable for prototyping and hobbyist projects.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): Can I still self-host it for free?

No. The AGPL-3.0 self-hosted project is deprecated by its own README. What is offered now is a vendor-operated single-tenant install in your AWS or GCP account on the Enterprise plan.

Hex: How much do advanced compute resources cost?

Advanced compute is billed per minute and ranges from $0.32 to $4.06 per hour depending on resource tier. Monthly credit grants are included in paid plans.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What happened to Gitpod Classic?

Pay-as-you-go Classic was switched off on 15 October 2025. Migration required converting gitpod.yml to devcontainer.json, moving secrets by hand, downloading workspace data before the cutoff and creating a new account.

Hex: Can I share analytics with non-Hex users?

Yes. Published apps can be shared publicly. Embedded analytics are available on Enterprise plans for integrating Hex into other applications.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What does it cost?

Core starts at 20 US dollars a month and includes a monthly allowance of Ona Compute Units, with more from 10 dollars per 40 units. Subscription credits expire monthly. Enterprise is quoted.

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