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Developer Tools · head to head

Steampipe vs Tryton

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
Tryton logo

Tryton

ERP

Modular open source ERP in Python with a five year support window on major releases only

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Tryton ordinary series are supported for only one year, so any deployment not pinned to a long term support major version needs a funded upgrade project every twelve months, which is the largest hidden cost of running Tryton.
  • They diverge on capability: Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Tryton covers Modular installation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Steampipe and Tryton actually diverge.

Attributes where Steampipe and Tryton differ
AttributeSteampipeTryton
Pricing modelOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot PipesOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, WebWeb, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsERP

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 Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

Only in Tryton

  • Modular installation
  • Double entry accounting
  • Manufacturing
  • Inventory and supply chain
  • Sales and purchasing
  • Desktop and web clients
  • Multi-company
  • Project management

What people use each for

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

Steampipe

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

Tryton

  • A small European manufacturer that wants bills of materials and routings without a per user ERP subscriptionnot Steampipe
  • A company with in-house Python developers that intends to extend the data model rather than configure a closed productnot Steampipe
  • An organisation that will not adopt an open core product because it expects features to migrate to a paid edition over timenot Steampipe
  • A distributor needing multi-company books in one database with analytic accounting on topnot Steampipe

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Tryton

  • Ordinary series are supported for only one year, so any deployment not pinned to a long term support major version needs a funded upgrade project every twelve months, which is the largest hidden cost of running Tryton.
  • There is no vendor to buy support from, only a list of independent service providers, so procurement teams that require a single accountable supplier with an SLA have to construct one themselves.
  • The module ecosystem is far smaller than Odoo or ERPNext, so region-specific tax rules, payroll and industry add-ons frequently have to be written rather than installed.
  • Out of the box reporting is thin and there is no built-in business intelligence layer, so most deployments end up exporting to an external tool to get management reporting.
  • Documentation and community discussion are functional but sparse compared with commercial ERPs, which lengthens implementation for teams that have not worked with Tryton before and makes hiring experienced consultants harder.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Tryton

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • GPL-3.0-or-later licence with no per user cost
    • All official modules included
    • Series released every six months

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.
Steampipe review

Choose Tryton if

  • You need modular installation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
  • You also want double entry accounting.
Tryton review

Questions people ask

Is Steampipe or Tryton better?
Neither clearly leads. Steampipe starts at Free and Tryton at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Steampipe or Tryton?
Steampipe starts at Free and Tryton at Free.
Does Steampipe or Tryton run on more platforms?
Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web. Tryton runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
Can I use Steampipe for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Steampipe best used for?
Steampipe is most often used for security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly export, compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is asked, inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one query, engineers who would rather write sql than learn each provider command line tool. Of those, security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly export and compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is asked are not what Tryton is typically brought in for.
What can Steampipe do that Tryton cannot?
Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks. Tryton covers Modular installation, Double entry accounting, Manufacturing, Inventory and supply chain.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Tryton: What licence is Tryton under?

The platform and official modules are GPL-3.0-or-later. There is no paid enterprise edition.

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.

Tryton: How long is a release supported?

Series are released every six months and supported for one year. Major versions get five years of long term support, so pin to an LTS release unless you can fund annual upgrades.

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.

Tryton: Is there a hosted version from the project?

No. The foundation lists independent service providers who offer hosting and support commercially.

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.

Tryton: How does it differ from Odoo?

Tryton has no open core split, so there is no paid edition holding back features, but the module ecosystem and partner network are much smaller.

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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