Hex vs Rows
Data teams and analysts deciding between a notebook-style workspace for real analysis versus a spreadsheet that pulls live data automatically for reporting.
The difference that matters
Hex is a notebook connected to your warehouse, its AI writes SQL grounded in your actual schema, not guessed column names. Rows is a spreadsheet that pulls live data from SaaS APIs straight into cells and puts AI in the formula bar. One is built for querying and modeling a warehouse, the other for building recurring, self-updating reports without a database.
Side by side
| Hex | Rows | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Community plan: notebook agent trial, connect any data source, small compute, 7-day version history, up to 3 shared collections/components | 5 AI Tasks/month, manual data import only, 10 integration accounts, 3 guests, 1 MB import limit, 7-day version history, 500 API calls/month |
| Entry paid plan | $36/editor/mo | $8/user/month (Plus), $6/user/month billed annually - 200 AI Tasks/month, daily Data Table automation, 10 integrations, 30-day history, 50k API calls/month |
| Bills in | seats | Per user/seat plus monthly AI-Task and API-call quotas |
Choose Hex if
You have a real warehouse and need to run and share actual analysis: SQL, Python cells, and an AI assistant that references your real tables instead of hallucinating columns.
Choose Rows if
You need a recurring report or dashboard built like a spreadsheet, fed by live API data (SaaS tools, not a warehouse), without setting up a database connection.
Our verdict
Hex for warehouse-backed analysis and notebooks. Rows for a lightweight, self-refreshing spreadsheet report that pulls from APIs directly.
What to watch out for
Both prices checked live and confirmed current: Hex is free, then $36/editor/month for Professional. Rows is free, then $8/user/month billed monthly or $6/user/month billed annually for Plus, both with monthly AI Task and API call caps rather than unlimited seats. Rows' entry tier has been misreported elsewhere as $15/mo, that figure does not match any current published plan.
Compare against the rest
Both of these sit in the full Data & Analysis directory, which covers 5 tools.
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