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AskYourDatabase vs Shape

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Entry price
AskYourDatabase from $49/seat/mo, Shape from $49/mo — different billing units, so no direct winner
Free plan
Neither — AskYourDatabase has paid plans only, Shape has paid plans only
Public API
Shape has one; not confirmed by us for AskYourDatabase
Best fit
AskYourDatabase: Ops and support staff who need ad-hoc answers from production databases · Shape: Startups whose analysts are buried under ad-hoc data questions
Platforms
AskYourDatabase: Web, macOS, Windows · Shape: Web, Slack app

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

AskYourDatabaseChat interface over SQL and NoSQL databases — query, chart and manage data without writing SQLShapeAI analyst that answers plain-English questions against your database, in a web workspace or straight from Slack

Side by side

FactAskYourDatabaseShape
CategorySQL & Database AssistantsData Analysis Assistants
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starts at$49/seat/mo$49/mo
Public APINot confirmedYes
Trust score92 / 10094 / 100
PlatformsWeb, macOS, WindowsWeb, API, Slack app
CompanyChatWithData Inc.Teamspace Inc
Launched2023—
Last verifiedOct 16, 2026Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

AskYourDatabase

Wide database coverage and the split between an internal desktop app and an embeddable customer-facing chatbot make it more of a product line than a toy. Pricing is the friction: $49 per seat each month for the desktop app is steep next to copilots bundled into BI stacks, and the chatbot plans meter questions with paid overage. The free quota mentioned earlier no longer appears on the pricing page, so budget for a paid seat from day one.

Pros

  • Connects to eight mainstream SQL and NoSQL engines
  • Desktop and embedded-chatbot form factors from one vendor
  • Pricing page shows worked cost examples, including overage
  • On-premise option for regulated environments, with a local-model path

Cons

  • No free plan on the pricing page
  • Desktop is billed per seat, so team rollouts multiply quickly
  • Chatbot plans meter questions per month and charge $0.15 for each extra one
  • No public API documentation found

Shape

The Slack delivery is the point: answers arrive where the question was asked, with stated assumptions instead of a bare number. Text-to-SQL still misfires on messy schemas, so keep an analyst in the loop for decisions that matter.

Pros

  • Surfaces its assumptions alongside answers instead of implying false certainty
  • Slack bot plus embeddable API covers internal and customer-facing use from one product
  • Flat per-tier pricing is easy to budget
  • 30-day money-back guarantee lowers pilot risk

Cons

  • No free tier and a comparatively high entry price
  • Generated SQL needs human review on complex or poorly named schemas

Which one fits

Choose AskYourDatabase if you need

  • Ops and support staff who need ad-hoc answers from production databases
  • SaaS teams embedding a data chatbot into their own product
  • Companies that require on-premise deployment for data access

Choose Shape if you need

  • Startups whose analysts are buried under ad-hoc data questions
  • Product teams embedding natural-language analytics via the API and React components
  • Slack-centric companies that want answers without opening a BI tool

AskYourDatabase vs Shape: the questions people ask

Is AskYourDatabase cheaper than Shape?

They charge in different units, so there is no like-for-like answer: AskYourDatabase starts at $49/seat/mo, Shape at $49/mo. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it.

Which has a public API, AskYourDatabase or Shape?

Shape ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for AskYourDatabase is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.

More comparisons

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