Softwr

Business Intelligence · head to head

Google Data Studio vs Steampipe

Google Data Studio logo

Google Data Studio

Business Intelligence

Free data visualization by Google

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Google Data StudioFull 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

  • Google Data Studio is free; Steampipe starts at $49/mo.
  • Only Google Data Studio lists free Platform; only Steampipe lists SQL over live APIs.
  • Where Google Data Studio falls short: limited to free offering with no paid tiers or premium features.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Data Studio and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Data Studio and Steampipe differ
AttributeGoogle Data StudioSteampipe
Pricing modelFreeOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
PlatformsWebmacOS, 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 Google Data Studio

  • Free Platform
  • Real-time Collaboration
  • Custom Visualizations
  • Data Blending
  • Sharing
  • Google Analytics
  • BigQuery
  • Google Sheets

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.

Google Data Studio

  • Self-service analyticsnot Steampipe
  • Data explorationnot Steampipe
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Steampipe
  • Collaborative analysisnot Steampipe
  • Embedded analyticsnot Steampipe

Steampipe

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

Where each one falls short

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

Google Data Studio

  • Limited to free offering with no paid tiers or premium features
  • Advanced integrations may require Google Workspace subscriptions

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

Google Data Studio

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited Reports
    • Data Connectors
    • Collaboration

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 Google Data Studio if

  • You need free platform.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time collaboration.
Google Data Studio 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 Google Data Studio or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Data Studio 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, Google Data Studio or Steampipe?
Google Data Studio starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
Does Google Data Studio or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Google Data Studio runs on Web. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Google Data Studio for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Google Data Studio best used for?
Google Data Studio is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Google Data Studio do that Steampipe cannot?
Google Data Studio covers Free Platform, Real-time Collaboration, Custom Visualizations, Data Blending. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Data Studio: Is Google Data Studio free?

Yes, Google Data Studio is completely free to use. The platform states it is easy and free to build interactive dashboards and reports.

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.

Google Data Studio: Are there paid versions of Google Data Studio?

No, Google Data Studio does not offer paid tiers or premium plans. It remains free for all users.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Google Data Studio

More on Steampipe

Keep looking

Other head to heads