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Business Intelligence · head to head

Preset vs Steampipe

Preset logo

Preset

Business Intelligence

Managed Apache Superset

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit PresetFull 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

  • Free plans on both; paid from $25/user/mo and $49/mo.
  • Only Preset lists managed Superset; only Steampipe lists SQL over live APIs.
  • Where Preset falls short: limited SQL IDE advanced features compared to specialized query tools.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Preset and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where Preset and Steampipe differ
AttributePresetSteampipe
PlatformsWebmacOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Preset, founded for Steampipe.

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 Preset

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

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.

Preset

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

Steampipe

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Preset

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Preset 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/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 Preset if

  • You need managed superset.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want auto-scaling.
Preset 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 Preset or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. Preset 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, Preset or Steampipe?
Preset starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
Does Preset or Steampipe run on more platforms?
Preset runs on Web. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Preset for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Preset best used for?
Preset is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can Preset do that Steampipe cannot?
Preset covers Managed Superset, Auto-scaling, Enterprise Security, Custom Branding. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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.

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
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.

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
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.

Preset: What is the enterprise pricing for Preset?

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

Source
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.

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
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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