Side by side
Cube vs Malloy
Both stand on semantic layer software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Open source APILinuxSelf-hosted+1
Cube centers analytics on a governed semantic model, with options for business intelligence, embedded use, and AI agents. The free plan has workbook and request limits; paid plans begin at $40 a month per developer.
Visit Cube Free plan APIExtensionLinux+4
Malloy combines semantic modeling with database-specific SQL generation and several authoring options. macOS CLI users should account for the required permission step, while browser notebook users need a GitHub sign-in.
Visit MalloyThe facts
| Cube | Malloy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web | API, Extension, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Starter: $40 per developer a month | Not published |
| Plans published | 4 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | cube.dev | malloydata.dev |
| On semantic layer software | #1 of 28 | #5 of 28 |
Cube: what it does well
- Free plan includes workbooks, dashboards, and analytics chat.
- Connects to listed databases including Snowflake and PostgreSQL.
- Supports dbt, Dagster, Prefect, Airflow, and Coalesce.io.
- Cloud deployment options include managed service, VPC, and BYOC.
- Starter is $40 a month per developer.
What to know first
- Free plan allows up to five workbooks.
- Free plan allows 1,000 daily requests.
- Free plan retains query history for one day.
- Premium is $80 a month per developer.
Malloy: what it does well
- Compiles queries into SQL optimized for connected databases
- Supports nine listed database systems
- DuckDB reads Parquet, CSV, and JSON without extra setup
- VS Code extension includes query and visualization tools
What to know first
- Browser notebook requires GitHub sign-in
- macOS CLI binary is not notarized
- Sandboxed DuckDB mode restricts file access to allowed directories