Evidence vs Klipfolio

Evidence is an open-source business intelligence framework built around the idea of BI as code. Analysts write reports as Markdown files with embedded SQL queries and ready-made components for charts, tables and big numbers, and Evidence builds them into a fast static website. The project is MIT licensed and backed by a venture-funded company that also runs a hosted service.

Evidence connects to common warehouses and databases including Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Redshift, Postgres, MySQL and DuckDB, as well as CSV files. Query results are cached and processed in the browser with DuckDB, so pages stay quick once built. Templated pages generate one report per customer, region or product from a single file, loops and conditionals add logic, and everything lives in git, so changes go through pull requests and code review. The open-source framework is free to self-host; Evidence Cloud adds managed builds, hosting, scheduled refreshes and authentication.

Evidence fits data teams that already think in SQL and git and want polished, reproducible reports such as board packs, KPI sites or customer-facing data pages. It is not a self-serve tool for business users who want to drag fields onto a chart. Metabase and Looker Studio are better for ad hoc exploration, Lightdash builds BI directly on dbt models, and Observable Framework is the closest alternative for code-first data apps with more JavaScript flexibility.

Klipfolio is a dashboard platform from Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 2001 as Serence by Allan Wille, Peter Matthews and James Scott, and took the Klipfolio name in 2008 as it moved from consumer widgets to business dashboards. Today it sells two products: Klips, the long-running dashboard builder, and PowerMetrics, a newer metrics-layer analytics app with AI features. The company reports more than 25,000 customers in 82 countries. Klips pulls live data from many services into dashboards that teams and clients watch or receive by email.

Klips connects directly to 200+ services, including Google Ads, analytics, CRMs and social platforms, and can query SQL databases, REST APIs, Excel and Google Sheets. Data is shaped with spreadsheet-style formulas and shown in 30+ chart types with drill-down and white-label options. Plans differ by dashboard count and refresh speed, not users: Base gives 3 dashboards refreshed every 4 hours, Grow adds published links and scheduled reports, Team adds SSO and 15-minute refresh, and Team+ adds near real-time refresh and onboarding. All plans include unlimited users and a 14-day trial without a card; there is no free plan.

Klipfolio fits agencies and data-savvy SMB teams that want custom KPI dashboards without a data warehouse. The formula editor has a learning curve. Databox and Geckoboard set up faster, Looker Studio is free for Google data, and Power BI goes deeper.

Buying tip: count dashboards per client first; extras cost $8 each a month and the white-label bundle $299 a month (annual).