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APIs · head to head

Ozone API vs Steampipe

Ozone API logo

Ozone API

APIs

Standards-compliant open banking API layer for banks and regulators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Steampipe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ozone API it provides the API layer, not the core connectivity, so the bulk of the project is still integrating your own core banking systems and that cost is not in the licence.; 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.
  • They diverge on capability: Ozone API covers Multi-standard support, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ozone API and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Ozone API and Steampipe differ
AttributeOzone APISteampipe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, REST API, LinuxmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web
CategoryAPIsDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Ozone API

  • Multi-standard support
  • Consent management
  • Developer portal
  • Regulatory reporting
  • Premium API monetisation
  • Deployment flexibility

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.

Ozone API

  • A building society facing an open banking compliance deadline with no API team of its ownnot Steampipe
  • A bank operating in several jurisdictions that must satisfy different open banking standards at oncenot Steampipe
  • A regulator or standards body building national open finance infrastructurenot Steampipe
  • A bank wanting to sell premium APIs beyond the regulatory minimum without building entitlement plumbingnot Steampipe

Steampipe

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

Where each one falls short

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

Ozone API

  • It provides the API layer, not the core connectivity, so the bulk of the project is still integrating your own core banking systems and that cost is not in the licence.
  • Value is driven by regulatory obligation, so an institution not under a mandate struggles to build a business case for the spend.
  • It is a small UK vendor selling to large regulated institutions, which raises procurement and vendor viability questions during bank due diligence.
  • Premium API monetisation is a genuine capability but few banks have found real demand, so revenue projections used to justify the purchase often do not materialise.
  • Standards evolve continuously and each revision means a change programme in your own systems, even where Ozone absorbs the specification work at the API edge.

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

Ozone API

On request
  • Ozone API$undefined/year
    • Annual licence or managed service subscription, quoted
    • Scaling by institution size, standards in scope and API call volume
    • Implementation and core integration charged separately

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 Ozone API if

  • You need multi-standard support.
  • You work on Web, REST API, Linux.
  • You also want consent management.
Ozone API review

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.
Steampipe review

Questions people ask

Is Ozone API or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Ozone API 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, Ozone API or Steampipe?
Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Ozone API and Free for Steampipe.
Does Ozone API or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Ozone API runs on Web, REST API, Linux. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
Can I use Steampipe for free?
Yes. Steampipe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ozone API starts at On request.
What is Ozone API best used for?
Ozone API is most often used for a building society facing an open banking compliance deadline with no api team of its own, a bank operating in several jurisdictions that must satisfy different open banking standards at once, a regulator or standards body building national open finance infrastructure, a bank wanting to sell premium apis beyond the regulatory minimum without building entitlement plumbing. Of those, a building society facing an open banking compliance deadline with no api team of its own and a bank operating in several jurisdictions that must satisfy different open banking standards at once are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Ozone API do that Steampipe cannot?
Ozone API covers Multi-standard support, Consent management, Developer portal, Regulatory reporting. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ozone API: Is this a competitor to Plaid or TrueLayer?

No, the opposite side. Ozone is bought by the bank exposing data; Plaid and TrueLayer consume it on behalf of third parties.

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.

Ozone API: Does it connect to my core banking system?

It provides the standards-compliant API surface and adapters, but connecting your core is an integration project you scope separately.

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.

Ozone API: Which standards does it support?

UK Open Banking, Berlin Group, FDX, Consumer Data Right and Gulf regional standards, among others, from one platform.

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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