Cloud · head to head
SST vs Steampipe
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: SST primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support; 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: SST covers Single config file, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which SST and Steampipe actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 SST
- Single config file
- Resource linking
- Local development
- Multi-cloud support
- Multiple deployment stages
- VPC tunneling
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.
SST
- Deploying Next.js frontends with serverless backendsnot Steampipe
- Managing databases and storage alongside application codenot Steampipe
- Creating staging environments for feature testingnot Steampipe
Steampipe
- Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot SST
- Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot SST
- Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot SST
- Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot SST
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
SST
- Primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
- Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with infrastructure concepts
- Limited documentation for some advanced 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
SST
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the SST 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 SST if
- You need single config file.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
- You also want resource linking.
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 SST or Steampipe better?
- Neither clearly leads. SST 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, SST or Steampipe?
- SST starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
- Does SST or Steampipe run on more platforms?
- SST runs on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
- Can I use SST for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is SST best used for?
- SST is most often used for deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends, managing databases and storage alongside application code, creating staging environments for feature testing. Of those, deploying next.js frontends with serverless backends and managing databases and storage alongside application code are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
- What can SST do that Steampipe cannot?
- SST covers Single config file, Resource linking, Local development, Multi-cloud support. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
SST: Is SST free?
Yes, SST is open source and free. You only pay for cloud resources from AWS and other providers.
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.
SST: What cloud providers does SST support?
SST supports over 150 providers through built-in AWS and Cloudflare components, plus Pulumi and Terraform providers.
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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