Business Intelligence · head to head
Hex vs Snowplow
Hex
Business Intelligence
AI-powered analytics platform unifying notebooks, dashboards, and business intelligence
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Snowplow
Business Intelligence
Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Hex has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Hex pricing based per-seat ($36-$75/editor/month) becomes expensive for large teams; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
- They diverge on capability: Hex covers Agentic notebooks, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Hex and Snowplow actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).
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 Hex
- Agentic notebooks
- Conversational analytics
- Data apps
- Context Studio
- Data warehouse integration
- dbt integration
- Version history
- Scheduled automation
Only in Snowplow
- Own-cloud deployment
- Schema enforcement
- Warehouse loading
- Enrichment
- Trackers
- Streaming output
- Data models
- Snowplow BDP
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Hex
- Deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasetsnot Snowplow
- Self-serve analytics for business users without SQL knowledgenot Snowplow
- Executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time datanot Snowplow
- Cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharingnot Snowplow
- AI-assisted analysis reducing manual exploration timenot Snowplow
Snowplow
- A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot Hex
- A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Hex
- A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Hex
- A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot Hex
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Snowplow
- The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
- You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
- Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
- There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
- The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.
Pricing, plan by plan
Hex
Free- CommunityFree
- Hex agent trial
- Data source connections
- All cell types
- Professional$36/month
- Everything in Community
- Full Hex agent access
- Standard credits
- Team$75/month
- Everything in Professional
- Extended credits
- Unlimited published apps
- Enterprise$undefined/custom
- Everything in Team
- Explorer seat add-ons
- Audit logs
Snowplow
On request- Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
- Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
- Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
- Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0
Which should you pick?
Choose Hex if
- You need agentic notebooks.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Slack.
- You also want conversational analytics.
Choose Snowplow if
- You need own-cloud deployment.
- You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
- You also want schema enforcement.
Questions people ask
- Is Hex or Snowplow better?
- Neither clearly leads. Hex starts at Free and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Hex or Snowplow?
- Hex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hex and On request for Snowplow.
- Does Hex or Snowplow run on more platforms?
- Hex runs on Web, Slack. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
- Can I use Hex for free?
- Yes. Hex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Snowplow starts at On request.
- What is Hex best used for?
- Hex is most often used for deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasets, self-serve analytics for business users without sql knowledge, executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time data, cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharing. Of those, deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasets and self-serve analytics for business users without sql knowledge are not what Snowplow is typically brought in for.
- What can Hex do that Snowplow cannot?
- Hex covers Agentic notebooks, Conversational analytics, Data apps, Context Studio. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceSnowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?
Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.
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.
SourceSnowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?
Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.
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.
SourceSnowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?
Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.
Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?
Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.
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