Developer Tools · head to head
Keil MDK vs Steampipe
Keil MDK
Developer Tools
Microcontroller Development Kit for Arm-based devices
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Steampipe
Developer Tools
Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Keil MDK pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site; 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.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Keil MDK and Steampipe actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer 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 Keil MDK
Nothing recorded that Steampipe does not also cover.
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.
Keil MDK
- Embedded software developmentnot Steampipe
- ARM microcontroller programmingnot Steampipe
- Professional development environmentsnot Steampipe
Steampipe
- Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot Keil MDK
- Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot Keil MDK
- Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot Keil MDK
- Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot Keil MDK
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Keil MDK
- Pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site
- Customers must contact Arm Developer Tools store for subscription rates
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
Keil MDK
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Keil MDK review.
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/month
- Three users
- 2,000 compute minutes
- 20GB storage
- Pipes Enterprise$249/month
- Three users
- 10,000 compute minutes
- 100GB storage
Which should you pick?
Choose Steampipe if
- You need sql over live apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
- You also want wide plugin set.
Questions people ask
- Is Keil MDK or Steampipe better?
- Neither clearly leads. Keil MDK 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, Keil MDK or Steampipe?
- Keil MDK starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
- Does Keil MDK or Steampipe run on more platforms?
- Keil MDK runs on Web. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
- Can I use Keil MDK for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Keil MDK best used for?
- Keil MDK is most often used for embedded software development, arm microcontroller programming, professional development environments. Of those, embedded software development and arm microcontroller programming are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
- What can Keil MDK do that Steampipe cannot?
- Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Keil MDK: Does Keil MDK have a free version?
Yes, Keil MDK Community Edition is free for non-commercial projects. Essential and Professional editions are available as monthly or annual subscriptions.
SourceSteampipe: 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.
Keil MDK: How much do Keil MDK paid editions cost?
Specific pricing for Essential and Professional editions is not published on the main site. Rates are available from the Arm Developer Tools store or by contacting Arm sales.
SourceSteampipe: 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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