AppBreakup
Submit an app

Apache Zeppelin alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rankAll data science notebooks

Top picks

  • Hex logo

    Best overall

    Hex

    Starting price: $36 per editor/month (Professional)

  • marimo logo

    Best free option

    marimo

    Open source

  • Jupyter Notebook logo

    Best open source

    Jupyter Notebook

    Open source

Common reasons people leave Apache Zeppelin: no hosted version; you install and run the server yourself, and large download (the full binary is around 700 MB). We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Apache Zeppelin, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Hex currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingVerified priceOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Hex logoHexFree plan + paid$36 per editor/month (Professional)NoWeb5 of 561.8
2marimo logomarimoOpen source—YesWindows, macOS, Linux +24 of 459.4
3CoCalc logoCoCalcFree plan + paid$8/month (Basic, monthly)NoWeb, Self-hosted5 of 557.5
4Jupyter Notebook logoJupyter NotebookOpen source—YesWeb, Windows, macOS +25 of 556.8
5Databricks logoDatabricksPaid—NoWeb4 of 449.0
  1. Hex logo

    1. HexTop pick

    Best for: Analytics teams on a cloud warehouse who want notebooks that become shareable data apps

    Free plan + paidWeb

    61.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from Apache Zeppelin

    Hosted SQL-and-Python notebooks that publish as polished data apps, with no servers to run.

    Pros

    • Notebooks publish as interactive apps for non-technical colleagues
    • Works with dbt, Airflow and Dagster
    • Free trial of the Team plan needs no payment card

    Cons

    • Community plan is limited to small compute and light AI use
    • Per-editor pricing is high compared with general notebook tools
    • Larger machines and GPUs are billed per minute on top of the plan
    Visit Hex Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Hex a good Apache Zeppelin alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Free plan
    Yes (Community)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026hex.tech(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    $36 per editor/month (Professional)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026hex.tech(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    14 days (Team), no card
    Checked Nov 8, 2026hex.tech(opens source in a new tab)
    Integrations
    Airflow, Dagster, dbt
    Checked Nov 8, 2026hex.tech(opens source in a new tab)
    Team plan
    $75 per editor/month
    Checked Nov 8, 2026hex.tech(opens source in a new tab)
  2. marimo logo

    2. marimo

    Best for: Python developers who want reproducible notebooks that live in Git as normal code

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWindows, macOS, Linux, Web, Self-hosted

    59.4

    score / 100

    Why switch from Apache Zeppelin

    Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

    Pros

    • Reactive execution removes stale or out-of-order state
    • Notebooks are plain .py files with readable Git diffs
    • Can run as a script or be served as an interactive app
    • Free and Apache-2.0 licensed

    Cons

    • Not compatible with Jupyter's .ipynb format without conversion
    • Python only, with no R or Julia kernels
    • Reactive model means reusing a variable name across cells is not allowed
    Visit marimo Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is marimo a good Apache Zeppelin alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0
    Checked Nov 2, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    File format
    Plain Python (.py)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026marimo.io(opens source in a new tab)
    SQL
    Built-in SQL cells
    Checked Nov 8, 2026marimo.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Sharing
    WebAssembly HTML or web app
    Checked Nov 8, 2026marimo.io(opens source in a new tab)
  3. CoCalc logo

    3. CoCalc

    Best for: Instructors, students and research groups sharing Jupyter notebooks and LaTeX papers

    Free plan + paidSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    57.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from Apache Zeppelin

    Hosted collaborative Jupyter, LaTeX and terminals, with a free self-hosted option.

    Pros

    • Jupyter, LaTeX, terminals and a Linux desktop in one shared project
    • TimeTravel history of every edit, plus cell- and line-level chat
    • Built-in course tools for handing out and grading assignments
    • Free self-managed option with CoCalc Star

    Cons

    • Free tier gets low-priority shared resources and no network access
    • Interface is busy compared with single-purpose notebook apps
    • Recent shift toward AI agents changes the product's focus
    Visit CoCalc Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.363
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is CoCalc a good Apache Zeppelin alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Free plan
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026cocalc.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    $8/month (Basic, monthly)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026cocalc.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    CoCalc Star, free
    Checked Nov 8, 2026cocalc.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Edit history
    TimeTravel
    Checked Nov 8, 2026cocalc.com(opens source in a new tab)
    LaTeX extras
    SageTeX, PythonTeX, Knitr
    Checked Nov 8, 2026cocalc.com(opens source in a new tab)
  4. Jupyter Notebook logo

    4. Jupyter Notebook

    Best for: Students, researchers and data analysts who want to explore data step by step in a shareable document

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted

    56.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from Apache Zeppelin

    The standard open-source notebook, with a far larger ecosystem of kernels and extensions.

    Pros

    • Free and open source with no paid tier
    • Supports many languages through separate kernels
    • Notebooks render on GitHub and are easy to share
    • Can be run for a whole class or team with JupyterHub

    Cons

    • Needs a local Python setup or a server; no official desktop installer
    • Out-of-order cell execution makes results easy to break
    • Old v6 extensions don't work in Notebook 7
    • Weak fit for large codebases, refactoring and debugging
    Visit Jupyter Notebook Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.360
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Jupyter Notebook a good Apache Zeppelin alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    BSD-3-Clause
    Checked Nov 1, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Languages
    40+, incl. Python, R, Julia
    Checked Nov 8, 2026jupyter.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Install
    pip install notebook
    Checked Nov 8, 2026jupyter.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Origin
    IPython project, 2014
    Checked Nov 8, 2026jupyter.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Notebook format
    Open, JSON-based
    Checked Nov 8, 2026jupyter.org(opens source in a new tab)
  5. Databricks logo

    5. Databricks

    Best for: Data engineering and ML teams that want SQL, Spark and model training on one platform

    PaidWeb

    49.0

    score / 100

    Why switch from Apache Zeppelin

    Managed Spark platform whose collaborative notebooks replace Zeppelin's Spark interpreter with no server to run.

    Pros

    • Data stays in open formats in your own cloud storage
    • Covers ETL, SQL analytics and machine learning in one place
    • Available on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud

    Cons

    • Billing in DBUs plus separate cloud compute charges is hard to predict
    • Steeper learning curve than a pure SQL warehouse
    • Overkill for teams that only need BI dashboards
    Visit Databricks Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.334
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.15100
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Databricks a good Apache Zeppelin alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Pricing model
    Pay as you go, no up-front cost
    Checked Nov 8, 2026databricks.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Billing unit
    Databricks Unit (DBU)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026databricks.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026databricks.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cloud charges
    Billed separately by your cloud provider
    Checked Nov 8, 2026databricks.com(opens source in a new tab)

The best Apache Zeppelin alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Hex logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for most people

Hex

Hosted SQL-and-Python notebooks that publish as polished data apps, with no servers to run.

marimo logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for a free option

marimo

Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

CoCalc logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

CoCalc

Hosted collaborative Jupyter, LaTeX and terminals, with a free self-hosted option.

Jupyter Notebook logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for open source

Jupyter Notebook

The standard open-source notebook, with a far larger ecosystem of kernels and extensions.

marimo logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for self-hosting

marimo

Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

marimo logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for Mac

marimo

Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

marimo logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for Windows

marimo

Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

marimo logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for Linux

marimo

Modern open-source reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files.

Databricks logo

Best Apache Zeppelin alternative for working in the browser

Databricks

Managed Spark platform whose collaborative notebooks replace Zeppelin's Spark interpreter with no server to run.

Apache Zeppelin alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Apache Zeppelin?

Hex ranks first right now. Hosted SQL-and-Python notebooks that publish as polished data apps, with no servers to run. marimo and CoCalc follow it in our ranking.

Apache Zeppelin vs Hex: what's the difference?

Apache Zeppelin is free and open source; Hex is free with paid plans. Apache Zeppelin is open source and Hex is not. Only Apache Zeppelin runs on Linux and macOS.

Is Apache Zeppelin free?

Apache Zeppelin is free and open source.

How much do Apache Zeppelin alternatives cost?

Verified prices for the top-ranked Apache Zeppelin alternatives: Hex, $36 per editor/month (Professional); CoCalc, $8/month (Basic, monthly). Each price was checked on the app's own site; see each card below for the date and source.

Is there a free alternative to Apache Zeppelin?

Yes. Hex (free plan + paid), marimo (open source), CoCalc (free plan + paid) and Jupyter Notebook (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Apache Zeppelin?

Yes: marimo and Jupyter Notebook. marimo and Jupyter Notebook can also be self-hosted.

Which Apache Zeppelin alternatives work on Linux?

marimo and Jupyter Notebook run on Linux.

Why do people switch from Apache Zeppelin?

The complaints we hear most: no hosted version; you install and run the server yourself; large download (the full binary is around 700 MB); smaller ecosystem and fewer extensions than Jupyter.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Apache Zeppelin, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.