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Business Intelligence · head to head

Jedox vs Steampipe

Jedox logo

Jedox

Business Intelligence

Excel-native planning and OLAP modelling for finance teams that refuse to leave spreadsheets

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit JedoxFull 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

  • Steampipe starts at $49/mo; Jedox prices on request.
  • Only Jedox lists in-memory OLAP cube; only Steampipe lists SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Jedox and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Jedox and Steampipe differ
AttributeJedoxSteampipe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelQuoteOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, LinuxmacOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

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 Jedox

  • In-memory OLAP cube
  • Excel add-in
  • Web spreadsheet
  • Integrator ETL
  • Workflow and approvals
  • AIssisted planning
  • Financial consolidation
  • Report designer

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.

Jedox

  • A manufacturer whose budget process is hundreds of Excel files emailed between plants and needs one governed cube without retraining plant controllersnot Steampipe
  • A mid-market group doing statutory consolidation and management reporting on the same data instead of in two systemsnot Steampipe
  • A finance team that priced IBM Planning Analytics, found it unaffordable, and still wants cube-based modellingnot Steampipe
  • A retailer running driver-based sales and workforce plans that must reconcile to the financial budgetnot Steampipe

Steampipe

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

Where each one falls short

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

Jedox

  • Cube modelling is a specialist skill closer to IBM TM1 than to a modern SaaS planning tool, so most customers depend on a partner or a single internal expert whose departure leaves the model unmaintainable
  • Almost every deployment carries a partner implementation fee that frequently matches or exceeds the first year of licence, and that cost never appears in the vendor comparison you are shown
  • The Excel add-in is the strongest client, which means Mac-based and browser-only users get a materially thinner experience than the Windows majority
  • Dashboards and visual analytics are weaker than dedicated BI tools, so organisations typically keep Power BI or Tableau alongside Jedox and pay for both
  • Insight Partners took a majority stake in 2021, and the pressure toward a cloud subscription base has meant self-managed customers see new capability later than cloud ones

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

Jedox

On request
  • JedoxOn request
    • Named user subscription, tiered by user count
    • Cloud or self-managed deployment
    • Modules priced separately for consolidation and add-ons

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 Jedox if

  • You need in-memory olap cube.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want excel add-in.
Jedox 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 Jedox or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Jedox 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, Jedox or Steampipe?
Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Jedox and Free for Steampipe.
Does Jedox or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Jedox runs on Web, Windows, Linux. 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. Jedox starts at On request.
What is Jedox best used for?
Jedox is most often used for a manufacturer whose budget process is hundreds of excel files emailed between plants and needs one governed cube without retraining plant controllers, a mid-market group doing statutory consolidation and management reporting on the same data instead of in two systems, a finance team that priced ibm planning analytics, found it unaffordable, and still wants cube-based modelling, a retailer running driver-based sales and workforce plans that must reconcile to the financial budget. Of those, a manufacturer whose budget process is hundreds of excel files emailed between plants and needs one governed cube without retraining plant controllers and a mid-market group doing statutory consolidation and management reporting on the same data instead of in two systems are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Jedox do that Steampipe cannot?
Jedox covers In-memory OLAP cube, Excel add-in, Web spreadsheet, Integrator ETL. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Jedox: Does Jedox publish pricing?

No. It is quoted per named user with tiering by volume, and modules such as consolidation are priced separately.

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.

Jedox: Is Jedox a BI tool or a planning tool?

A planning tool with reporting attached. Organisations almost always keep a separate BI tool for visual analysis.

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.

Jedox: Can it run on premises?

Yes, on Windows or Linux, though the vendor pushes cloud and self-managed customers receive features later.

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.

Jedox: How does it compare to IBM Planning Analytics?

Similar cube architecture at a lower price point, with a friendlier web layer and a smaller partner ecosystem.

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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