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Business Intelligence · head to head

Pigment vs Preset

Pigment logo

Pigment

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business planning platform for finance, sales and workforce modelling

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Preset logo

Preset

Business Intelligence

Managed Apache Superset

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Preset has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Pigment no pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.; Preset limited SQL IDE advanced features compared to specialized query tools
  • They diverge on capability: Pigment covers Dimensional modelling, Preset covers Managed Superset.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pigment and Preset actually diverge.

Attributes where Pigment and Preset differ
AttributePigmentPreset
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Pigment

  • Dimensional modelling
  • Scenario planning
  • Data connectors
  • Application blocks
  • Reporting and boards
  • Access control
  • Audit trail
  • AI assistance

Only in Preset

  • Managed Superset
  • Auto-scaling
  • Enterprise Security
  • Custom Branding
  • API Access
  • Snowflake
  • BigQuery
  • Redshift

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Pigment

  • A finance team retiring a fragile Excel consolidation that no one can audit and only one person can runnot Preset
  • Sales operations modelling quota, territory and headcount capacity against a revenue plan in the same system finance usesnot Preset
  • A company that needs monthly re-forecasting fast enough to run scenarios live in the leadership meetingnot Preset
  • Replacing an ageing Anaplan estate where the model has become unmaintainable and per-workspace costs have crept upnot Preset

Preset

  • Self-service analyticsnot Pigment
  • Data explorationnot Pigment
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Pigment
  • Collaborative analysisnot Pigment
  • Embedded analyticsnot Pigment

Where each one falls short

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

Pigment

  • No pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • Cost scales with planning processes rather than with company size, so a successful first deployment creates internal demand that directly increases the bill at renewal.
  • It requires a modelling owner. Without a person who understands dimensional design, teams rebuild spreadsheet patterns in Pigment and inherit all the maintenance problems they were trying to escape.
  • Implementation is partner-led and measured in months, so the payback horizon is long compared with lighter FP&A tools that a controller can configure alone.
  • The connector library covers major systems well but the long tail is thinner than the incumbents, and industry-specific source systems often need a warehouse or a file drop in between.

Preset

  • Limited SQL IDE advanced features compared to specialized query tools
  • Viewer licenses add substantial cost for embedded analytics deployments
  • Dataset-centric approach requires preprocessing by data teams for some use cases

Pricing, plan by plan

Pigment

On request
  • Pigment platform$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per use-case fees
    • Licences tiered as editor, contributor and explorer
    • No free tier and no self-service signup

Preset

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Preset review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Pigment if

  • You need dimensional modelling.
  • You also want scenario planning.
Pigment review

Choose Preset if

  • You need managed superset.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want auto-scaling.
Preset review

Questions people ask

Is Pigment or Preset better?
Neither clearly leads. Pigment starts at On request and Preset at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pigment or Preset?
Preset has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Pigment and Free for Preset.
Does Pigment or Preset run on more platforms?
Pigment runs on Web. Preset runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use Preset for free?
Yes. Preset has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Pigment starts at On request.
What is Pigment best used for?
Pigment is most often used for a finance team retiring a fragile excel consolidation that no one can audit and only one person can run, sales operations modelling quota, territory and headcount capacity against a revenue plan in the same system finance uses, a company that needs monthly re-forecasting fast enough to run scenarios live in the leadership meeting, replacing an ageing anaplan estate where the model has become unmaintainable and per-workspace costs have crept up. Of those, a finance team retiring a fragile excel consolidation that no one can audit and only one person can run and sales operations modelling quota, territory and headcount capacity against a revenue plan in the same system finance uses are not what Preset is typically brought in for.
What can Pigment do that Preset cannot?
Pigment covers Dimensional modelling, Scenario planning, Data connectors, Application blocks. Preset covers Managed Superset, Auto-scaling, Enterprise Security, Custom Branding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pigment: Does Pigment publish prices?

No. Expect a quote combining a platform fee, fees per planning use case, and seat licences split into editor, contributor and explorer tiers.

Preset: Is Preset free?

Preset offers a free tier for small teams called Starter with 5 users and no credit card required. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month.

Source
Pigment: Is Pigment an alternative to Anaplan?

It is positioned directly against Anaplan and much of its customer base is migrating from it, mainly citing modelling readability and recalculation speed.

Preset: Can I export my data from Preset?

Yes. Preset uses Apache Superset and the founders contribute over 75% of commits to the open-source project, enabling migration to Superset without vendor lock-in.

Source
Pigment: Can we use it without consultants?

In practice most deployments use Pigment or a partner for the initial build. Ongoing model changes can be handled in-house once someone owns the modelling discipline.

Preset: Does Preset include embedded analytics?

Yes. Embedded dashboards are available on Professional and Enterprise plans, with viewer licenses starting at $500 per month for 50 licenses.

Source
Pigment: Where is data hosted?

Pigment is a European vendor with regional hosting options, which is often the deciding factor for EU buyers with data residency requirements.

Preset: What is the enterprise pricing for Preset?

Enterprise plans are custom quoted. The median buyer pays $35,495 per year.

Source
Preset: Does Preset support AI-powered analytics?

Yes. As of 2026, Preset includes an AI Chatbot and MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for building charts and dashboards via natural language.

Source
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