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Business Intelligence · head to head

Hex vs Tilt

Hex logo

Hex

Business Intelligence

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HexFull 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

  • Tilt is free; Hex starts at $36/mo.
  • Only Hex lists agentic notebooks; only Tilt lists live update.
  • 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 Hex and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Hex and Tilt differ
AttributeHexTilt
Pricing modelSeat-based subscription with credit systemOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, SlackLinux, 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 Hex

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

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.

Hex

  • Deep exploratory analysis by data teams on organizational datasetsnot Tilt
  • Self-serve analytics for business users without SQL knowledgenot Tilt
  • Executive dashboarding and reporting with real-time datanot Tilt
  • Cross-functional data collaboration and insight sharingnot Tilt
  • AI-assisted analysis reducing manual exploration timenot 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 Hex
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Hex
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Hex
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

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

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

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 Hex if

  • You need agentic notebooks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Slack.
  • You also want conversational analytics.
Hex 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 Hex or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Hex 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, Hex or Tilt?
Hex starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Hex or Tilt run on more platforms?
Hex runs on Web, Slack. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Hex for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Hex do that Tilt cannot?
Hex covers Agentic notebooks, Conversational analytics, Data apps, Context Studio. Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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.

Source
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

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

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
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

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

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
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.

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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