kitio.aiGoogle Colab vs Hex
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Google Colab has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $36 for Hex.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Hosted Jupyter notebooks
- Free GPU access
- Gemini code assistance
- Data Science Agent
- Google Drive sharing
- SQL and Python notebooks
- Notebook Agent
- Threads chat analytics
- Published data apps
- Semantic models
| Feature | Google Colab | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Free hosted Jupyter notebooks with GPUs and Gemini built in | Collaborative data notebooks and apps with AI agents |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | $36/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Hex Technologies | |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Google Colab has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $36 for Hex.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Free
Free
- Free notebooks
- Limited GPU access
Pay As You Go
$9.99 / 100 compute units
- No subscription
- Faster GPUs
Colab Pro
$9.99/mo
- 100 compute units/month
- Faster GPUs
- More memory
Colab Pro+
$49.99/mo
- 500 compute units/month
- Background execution
4 plans
Community
Free
- Small compute
- Limited credits
Professional
$36/mo
- Per editor
- Hex agent, standard credits
- Up to 5 published apps
Team
$75/mo
- Per editor
- 14-day free trial
- Unlimited published apps
- Unlimited version history
Enterprise
Custom
- Audit logs, premium credits
- OAuth database connections
- Unlimited users
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Google Colab
- Free GPUs for learning
- No setup needed
- Easy sharing via Drive
- Sessions disconnect when idle
- Free GPU access is not guaranteed
Hex
- Mixes SQL, Python and no-code
- Strong AI agent features
- Easy to publish apps
- Per-editor pricing
- Compute limits on lower tiers
Which one should you choose?
Choose Google Colab if you want:
- Free GPUs for learning
- No setup needed
- Easy sharing via Drive
Watch out: sessions disconnect when idle.
Choose Hex if you want:
- Mixes SQL, Python and no-code
- Strong AI agent features
- Easy to publish apps
Watch out: per-editor pricing.
Google Colab vs Hex FAQ
What is the difference between Google Colab and Hex?
Google Colab: Free hosted Jupyter notebooks with GPUs and Gemini built in. Hex: Collaborative data notebooks and apps with AI agents. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Google Colab or Hex cheaper?
Google Colab has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $36 for Hex.
Do Google Colab and Hex have free plans?
Google Colab: Yes. Hex: Yes.
Who makes Google Colab?
Google Colab is made by Google, based in United States.
Who makes Hex?
Hex is made by Hex Technologies, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Google Colab or Hex?
Choose Google Colab if you value free gpus for learning and no setup needed. Choose Hex if you value mixes sql, python and no-code and strong ai agent features.