CARTO vs Tulip (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
CARTO and Tulip both score 7.3/10 on our AI Software criteria, and our pick is CARTO. Its biggest advantage: higher Analytics score (9/10 vs 6/10). Neither CARTO nor Tulip lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
CARTO
7.3/10
CARTO is a cloud-native location intelligence platform that runs spatial analysis, mapping and geospatial apps directly in cloud data warehouses for enterprise data teams.
Tulip
7.3/10
Tulip is a no-code, app-based manufacturing execution and connected worker platform that lets manufacturers build shop-floor apps for work instructions, quality checks, and machine monitoring.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.3/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Integration | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $100/user/mo Essentials |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $1,000/mo Essentials |
| Features | ||
| GIS and Mapping | Not listed | |
| SCADA and IoT Integration | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| Inspection Checklists | Not listed | |
| Condition Monitoring | Not listed | |
CARTO vs Tulip cost by team size
| Team size | CARTO | Tulip |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $1,000/moEssentials |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $2,500/moEssentials |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $5,000/moEssentials |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who CARTO and Tulip suit
CARTO fits enterprise better than Tulip.
| Audience | CARTO | Tulip |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 9/10Committed tiers, self-hosting, SSO, audit logs and Elite support are aimed at large organizations. | 7/10The Enterprise and Regulated Industries plans add workspaces, approval workflows, GxP features, and GovCloud options. |
| Small Business | 3/10There are no published prices, the minimum contract is 12 months, and reviewers say the cost may be high for smaller teams. | 4/10The 10-interface minimum puts entry spend at about $12,000 a year. |
| Developers | 8/10Offers APIs, deck.gl support, coding agents and an MCP server for building geospatial apps. | Not rated |
| Manufacturing | Not rated | 10/10Tulip is built as an MES and connected worker platform for shop floors. |
| Operations Teams | Not rated | 8/10Operations engineers build and run frontline process apps without writing code. |
| Utilities | 6/10Suited to spatial analysis of network data held in a warehouse, but it has no asset maintenance or field tooling. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose CARTO
- Higher Analytics score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Tulip
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 8/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
CARTO
Pros
- Runs analysis directly inside BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift and Oracle without copying data, which reviewers say saves time and storage.
- Builder renders very large datasets, and reviewers rate it highly for mapping and visualization.
- The Data Observatory gives access to more than 12,000 datasets for enrichment.
- Can be bought through the Google Cloud, AWS, Azure and Snowflake marketplaces, and self-hosting is available on committed tiers.
- SoftwareReviews users report strong loyalty, with 98 percent planning to renew.
Cons
- Advanced analysis still requires SQL, so non-technical users face a learning curve.
- No public prices, and even Pay As You Go needs a 12-month contract.
- Warehouse query costs can be hard to predict at high usage.
- Reviewers give lower marks for mobile and web GIS, and there is no field or maintenance tooling.
- The trial lasts 30 days, cannot be extended and cannot be used in production.
Tulip
Pros
- The no-code drag-and-drop editor lets process engineers build shop-floor apps without developers.
- Billing per interface rather than per user can be cheaper for shop floors with many workers sharing stations.
- Connectors cover OPC UA, MQTT, HTTP, SQL, and USB devices such as scales and barcode scanners.
- The Regulated Industries plan includes 21 CFR Part 11 e-signatures and a validation pack for GxP manufacturers.
- Reviewers report better traceability and real-time visibility after replacing paper processes.
Cons
- The 10-interface minimum and paid add-ons for machine monitoring, vision, and premium support raise first-year cost.
- Reviewers find analytics and table joins limited compared with specialist tools.
- It is cloud SaaS, with no classic full on-premises deployment.
- Custom widgets support only a limited set of JavaScript libraries.
- Enterprise and regulated plan prices are not published.
Not sold on either?
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)Our product
Plans DJI drone inspection missions for power line towers from LiDAR scans: it finds the towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and splits the route into battery flights.
Made by the team behind b stack radar. Shown here because it fits this topic. It is not part of our rankings. How we rank tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Both score 7.3/10 on our AI Software criteria, and our pick is CARTO. The largest gap is in Analytics: 9/10 for CARTO and 6/10 for Tulip.
No, neither CARTO nor Tulip lists a free plan.
CARTO is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Tulip.
