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Evidence Review

Depends

Should I use Evidence?

Evidence is an open source, code-based alternative to drag-and-drop BI tools. Build polished data products with just SQL and markdown. - evidence.dev

· 1 month ago

Buy if your team lives in SQL and git and wants version-controlled reports instead of a BI GUI. Skip it if you need drag-and-drop dashboards for non-technical business users.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~14 public sources; detailed user reviews are thin, so user sentiment carries lower weight.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depthNo feature comparison evidence found
  • Support qualityNo support evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Open Source

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Team$15/user/mo

Best for

  • Data teams that code in SQL
  • Developer-led analytics
  • Version-controlled reporting
  • Docs/report-heavy data products

Not for

  • Non-technical teams wanting drag-and-drop dashboards
  • Anyone without SQL skills
  • Business users who need self-serve charts
  • Buyers avoiding vendor risk at a seed-stage company

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Team price ($15/user/mo) comes from a third-party listing; verify current pricing with vendor

medium

What the paid tier adds over the free open-source core is unclear in sources

medium

Seed-stage company; long-term support and roadmap continuity are a risk

low

Code-based BI adoption is debated; some communities say the trend is fading

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Open source core, free to self-host
  • Version-controls your BI layer like code
  • Builds interactive data products with just SQL and Markdown
  • Positioned as cheaper code-based alternative to drag-and-drop BI

Cons

  • Requires SQL and Markdown skills; excludes non-technical users
  • BI-as-code trend actively questioned in community threads
  • Small vendor: only $2.1M seed raised

Sources & method

- 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x4review x6security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free open-source core; paid tier listed at $15/user/mo
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Requires SQL and Markdown; no drag-and-drop
  • Feature depth. No feature comparison evidence found
  • Support quality. No support evidence found
  • Security posture: 3/5. Publishes security page; no incidents found
  • $2.1M Seed funding YC S21 alum
  • $15/user/mo Starting price Team tier, per third-party listing
  • Yes Free tier Open source core
  • 2021 Founded Y Combinator S21 batch

Pricing

Open Source

Free

  • Self-hosted
  • Core SQL + Markdown reporting

Team

$15/user/mo

  • Per third-party listing
  • Unlimited users (per listing, verify)

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Reddit data-engineering communities discuss Evidence as a credible code-first BI option, though some threads question the BI-as-code trend itself.

“Version control your BI layer”
Reddit, r/dataengineering
Full analysis

Based on ~14 public sources; detailed user reviews are thin, so user sentiment carries lower weight.

Open-source SQL+Markdown BI for engineers. Great for code-first teams; wrong for anyone wanting drag-and-drop dashboards.

Methodology

Based on ~14 public sources; detailed user reviews are thin, so user sentiment carries lower weight.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Evidence - Business Intelligence as Code (official)evidence.dev
    official
  2. evidence-dev/evidence on GitHubgithub.com
    official
  3. Evidence on Y Combinatorycombinator.com
    official
  4. Product security pageevidence.dev
    security
  5. Evidence raises $2.1M seed (LinkedIn)linkedin.com
    news
  6. r/BusinessIntelligence thread on Evidencereddit.com
    review
  7. r/dataengineering thread on Evidencereddit.com
    review
  8. BI as code is dead? (r/BusinessIntelligence)reddit.com
    review
  9. Evidence pricing listing (Team $15/user/mo)toolfox.ru
    official
  10. Evidence on Product Huntproducthunt.com
    review
  11. Code-centric BI for small teams threadreddit.com
    review
  12. Open Source Project Report: Evidence (OSA Con)youtube.com
    review

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