# Kater vs Sigma

> Sigma made BI feel like a spreadsheet. Kater makes BI a codebase your agent can work in.

Sigma is fast, warehouse-native and liked by business users. But its workbooks live in Sigma, and its git support is new. In Kater, every model, query, dashboard and app is a file. Your agent builds it, and you review the diff.

URL: https://kater.ai/kater-vs-sigma/
Reviewed October 2026.

- [Start a 30-day free trial](https://kater.ai/free-trial-request/)
- [Book a demo](https://kater.ai/request-demo/)
- [Ask for a free migration](https://kater.ai/request-demo/): We do the migration for free. Tell us what you want to move. We do the migration with you, on your warehouse, and we do not charge for it. Then compare the numbers and decide.

## The short version

### Select Kater if

- You want files in git to be the source of truth, not a copy.
- You want each metric defined once, in SQL, and read by every workbook and agent.
- Your team builds with Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.
- Your warehouse is Snowflake or DuckDB.

### Stay with Sigma if

- Your business users want to build their own analysis in a spreadsheet grid.
- You need input tables that write back to the warehouse.
- You embed analytics in your own product.
- Your warehouse is BigQuery, Databricks or Redshift.

## Why teams leave Sigma

### 1. Git keeps a copy. Sigma keeps the work.

Workbooks live in Sigma. Workbooks as code is in beta, and a Sigma partner found that only the simplest workbook imported back from git.

> “So plan for a one-way trip: people build in Sigma, Git keeps the record.” ([phData, a Sigma partner, September 2026](https://www.phdata.io/blog/sigma-api-to-git-integration/))

**In Kater:** The files are the product. Kater compiles them, serves them and keeps every save as a commit.

### 2. Builder seats get rationed.

Viewers are free, but each person who builds needs a paid seat. Many teams keep most people on view-only.

> “We have very few admin or report creator licenses, while everyone else is on a view-only mode.” ([Sigma customer, PeerSpot review, March 2025](https://www.peerspot.com/products/sigma-reviews))

**In Kater:** Kater quotes your rollout, not a seat count. People who do not build ask their own agent and get governed answers.

### 3. Agents cost extra.

Sigma Agents are a premium feature, metered in Sigma credits. The model tokens bill to your AI provider on top.

**In Kater:** Kater runs no chat of its own. Your team’s own agent reads the governed model through the Kater MCP.

### 4. It looks like Excel, but it is not Excel.

Sigma works in columns, not cells. Users say the grid takes time to learn.

> “I think there is a steep learning curve. It is not as intuitive as I was hoping…” ([Head of marketing, PeerSpot review, December 2025](https://www.peerspot.com/products/sigma-reviews))

**In Kater:** Business users read dashboards and apps, or ask in Slack, Claude or ChatGPT. Analysts can still type Excel formulas over a query’s rows.

## Kater vs Sigma at a glance

### Building with agents

| Feature | Kater | Sigma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source of truth | Yes. Files in git: models, queries, charts, dashboards and apps. Every save is a commit. | In part. Workbooks live in Sigma. Workbooks as code is in beta, and git round-trips only simple workbooks. |
| Coding agents | Yes. Claude Code, Codex and Cursor edit the files through the Kater MCP, or in a local copy. | In part. The Sigma CLI, and Sigma Skills for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor in private beta. |
| Checks on changes | Yes. A write through the MCP compiles first and is refused on error. Every change has a diff, History and Undo. | In part. Version history, tags and restore. No branches or merges in the product. |
| Answers in your own AI | Yes. People ask in Slack, Claude or ChatGPT. The agent sees only what that person can see. | Yes. A Sigma MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. Sigma Agents are a paid add-on. |

### Metrics and trust

| Feature | Kater | Sigma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shared metrics | Yes. Kater SQL: your warehouse’s SQL with DIMENSION, MEASURE and EVAL. Defined once, read everywhere. | Yes. Data models with metrics. Workbooks can also define their own calculations. |
| Spreadsheet formulas | In part. Type Excel formulas over a query’s rows. The warehouse computes them. | Yes. A full spreadsheet grid with Excel-style functions. |

### Dashboards and apps

| Feature | Kater | Sigma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Build without code | Yes. Select fields, a chart and a place on the dashboard, all in the browser. | Yes. Business users build workbooks in a spreadsheet grid. |
| Custom apps | Yes. HTML apps, reports and decks on live queries, built by your agent. Export to PDF, PowerPoint, Word or Excel. | Yes. Data apps with input tables and actions. |
| Write-back | No. Kater reads your warehouse. It does not write to it. | Yes. Input tables write to the warehouse. |

### Platform

| Feature | Kater | Sigma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Warehouses | In part. Snowflake and DuckDB today. | Yes. Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift and more. |
| Live queries | Yes. Queries run live on your warehouse. There are no extracts to refresh. | Yes. Warehouse-native. Every view runs live. |
| Embedding | No. No embedding (for now). It is in development. | Yes. Embedding, with a React SDK. |

## Where Sigma is ahead, and why teams still select Kater

### Spreadsheet self-service

**Sigma:** Business users build their own analysis in a grid that looks like Excel.

**Why teams still select Kater:** Most business users want the answer, not the grid. In Kater they ask their own agent, and analysts can still type Excel formulas over a query’s rows.

### Write-back and input tables

**Sigma:** Sigma apps can write data to the warehouse, such as plans and forecasts.

**Why teams still select Kater:** Kater only reads your warehouse, so no app or agent can change the data under a dashboard.

### More warehouses

**Sigma:** Sigma connects to Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift and more. Kater connects to Snowflake and DuckDB today.

**Why teams still select Kater:** Kater goes deep on each warehouse it supports. Queries run live, and the compiler checks each SQL dialect before a query runs. Have a warehouse we do not support? Request it. [Request a warehouse](https://kater.ai/request-integration/)

### Embedding

**Sigma:** Sigma embeds analytics in your own product, with a React SDK.

**Why teams still select Kater:** Kater has no embedding (for now). It is in development. Until it ships, apps export to PDF, PowerPoint, Word and Excel for readers outside Kater. [Ask about early access](https://kater.ai/request-demo/?intent=embedding-early-access)

### Support

**Sigma:** Users rate Sigma’s live support among the best in BI.

**Why teams still select Kater:** At Kater, you work directly with the people who build it, and your requests shape what ships next.

## How pricing compares

**Sigma:** Sigma does not publish prices. Its AWS Marketplace listing shows an Enterprise platform at $150,000 a year, with creator and explorer seats at $2,000 each and free viewers. Vendr reports a median contract near $65,000 a year. Sigma Agents are a premium add-on, metered in credits.

**Kater:** A 30-day free trial with every feature, then a subscription quoted for your team. Kater does not charge per viewer or per dashboard. Kater runs no chat of its own, so answers run in the agent your team already uses.

## Moving from Sigma

Sigma and Kater both query your warehouse live, so there is no data to move. You move the definitions and the layouts.

| In Sigma | In Kater |
| --- | --- |
| Connection | Connection, on Snowflake or DuckDB |
| Data model | Kater datasets and a semantic model, in Kater SQL |
| Metric | MEASURE in the shared layer |
| Workbook formula | A dimension or measure, or an Excel formula on a query |
| Workbook page | A dashboard section in dashboard.yaml, or an HTML app |
| Version tag | A git commit, with History and Undo |
| Input table | No equivalent. Kater does not write to the warehouse. |

Ask your agent to migrate one dashboard. Kater rebuilds it as a private draft on your warehouse, and you compare the numbers before you publish. [How a switch works](https://kater.ai/switch-to-kater/#how)

## Questions

### Is Kater a Sigma alternative?

Yes, for teams that want BI as code. Kater gives you governed metrics, dashboards, apps and AI answers. Every layer is a file in git that your agent builds.

### Can business users still serve themselves?

Yes, in a different way. They select fields to build a query and a chart in the browser, or ask their own agent in Slack, Claude or ChatGPT. They do not get a spreadsheet grid.

### Can we keep Excel-style formulas?

Yes. Type a formula such as =B1/C1 over a query’s rows. Kater keeps it as a field, and the warehouse computes it.

### Does Kater support BigQuery or Databricks?

Not today. Kater connects to Snowflake and DuckDB. If you run something else, tell us.

### Can we keep Sigma and add Kater?

Yes, for as long as you want. Both read the same warehouse. Keep Sigma for its dashboards, and add Kater to give your team’s agent one definition for each metric, your context and your access rules. When you want, rebuild one dashboard in Kater, compare the numbers with Sigma, then move the next one.

## Compare another tool

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- [All comparisons](https://kater.ai/switch-to-kater.md)