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Free Apache Zeppelin alternatives: 4 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

4 of the 5 Apache Zeppelin alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Hex, marimo and CoCalc rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

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
  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)