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Business Intelligence · head to head

Glassbox vs Steampipe

Glassbox logo

Glassbox

Business Intelligence

Digital experience intelligence

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit GlassboxFull 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

  • Glassbox is a digital experience intelligence platform.
  • Glassbox is free; Steampipe starts at $49/mo.
  • Only Glassbox lists session Replay; only Steampipe lists SQL over live APIs.
  • Where Glassbox falls short: no fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Glassbox and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Glassbox and Steampipe differ
AttributeGlassboxSteampipe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelSubscriptionOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, HybridmacOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

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 Glassbox

  • Session Replay
  • Struggle Detection
  • Journey Mapping
  • AI Insights
  • Voice of Customer
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Google Analytics
  • Salesforce

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.

Glassbox

  • User experience analysisnot Steampipe
  • Bug reproductionnot Steampipe
  • Conversion optimizationnot Steampipe
  • Customer journey mappingnot Steampipe
  • Usability testingnot Steampipe

Steampipe

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

Where each one falls short

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

Glassbox

  • No fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume

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

Glassbox

On request
  • CustomFree
    • Full Platform
    • Mobile Analytics
    • Enterprise Support

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 Glassbox if

  • You need session replay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Hybrid.
  • You also want struggle detection.
Glassbox 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 Glassbox or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Glassbox starts at On request and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Glassbox or Steampipe?
Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Glassbox and Free for Steampipe.
Does Glassbox or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Glassbox runs on Web, iOS, Android, Hybrid. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Steampipe for free?
Yes. Steampipe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Glassbox starts at On request.
What is Glassbox best used for?
Glassbox is most often used for user experience analysis, bug reproduction, conversion optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user experience analysis and bug reproduction are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Glassbox do that Steampipe cannot?
Glassbox covers Session Replay, Struggle Detection, Journey Mapping, AI Insights. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Glassbox: How much does Glassbox cost?

Glassbox uses custom pricing based on three factors: the selected package (Production Operation, Marketing/Business, or Product), data retention period, and session volume. The vendor encourages contacting sales to build customized packages.

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.

Glassbox: Does Glassbox offer add-ons for specific industries?

Yes, Glassbox offers specialized add-on solutions including fraud prevention, accessibility features, and call center solutions tailored for financial organizations.

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.

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.

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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