How Qlik Cloud Pricing Works

TL;DR: Always ask your Qlik Cloud sales representative about extra capacity costs (reloads, storage, and compute) to avoid surprises.

Qlik Cloud offers three pricing tiers—Standard, Premium, and Enterprise—with starting points at $825/month, $2,500/month, and custom pricing, respectively. While the plans provide a range of analytics features, the true costs often extend far beyond these base rates.

Key Pricing Components to Watch

1. Data for Analysis Quota
   This refers to the data ingested into Qlik Cloud for analysis:
   • Data loaded into Qlik Cloud from external sources (e.g., Snowflake, databases).
   • Data created within Qlik Cloud (e.g., generated .qvd or .csv files).
2. App Size Limits
   • Standard: 5 GB
   • Premium & Enterprise: 10 GB
     Additional app capacity can be purchased, but it comes at an extra cost.
3. App Reloads
   • Standard: 48 reloads per app/day
   • Premium: 192 reloads per app/day
   • Enterprise: 192 reloads per app/day (additional reloads available at extra cost)
     If your data refresh needs exceed these limits, you’ll need to pay for dedicated reload capacity.

Key Considerations:

• • The quota is calculated based on the peak daily load during the month. For instance, if an app loads 2 GB of data from Snowflake on one day but only 1 GB on other days, the quota counts 2 GB for the entire month.
  • Data reloaded multiple times counts only if new data is added. The difference in size is added to the quota, not the duplicate data.
  • As data is deleted, the quota decreases.

You can monitor your usage on the Qlik Cloud platform, but the costs of exceeding quotas – whether for reloads, storage, or compute – can be a surprise if not accounted for upfront.

Hidden Costs to Be Aware Of

• Reload and Compute Costs: Exceeding reload limits requires additional capacity, adding to your costs.
• Storage Costs: Larger datasets or storing analysis-ready data for extended periods can inflate expenses.
• Enterprise Features: Features like SSO and larger app sizes may require moving to higher-priced plans or custom agreements.

Qlik Cloud additional capacity costs pricing from Q1 2023. Prices have likely increased since then.

• QSE SaaS Expanded Apps – 2 Apps (10 GB)              Price: 21,000 USD/year
• QSE SaaS Expanded Apps – 4 Apps (10 GB )             Price: 39,000 USD/year
• QSE SaaS Expanded Apps – 8 Apps (10 GB )             Price: 70,000 USD/year
• QSE Dedicated Capacity – 2x 120 GB                          Price: 83,000 USD/year
• QSE Additional Dedicated Capacity – 1x 120              Price: 42,000 USD/year
• QSE Dedicated Capacity – 2x 240 1                             Price: 76,000 USD/year
• QSE Additional Dedicated Capacity – 1x 240 GB        Price: 83,000 USD/year

Why Astrato is a Better Cloud-Native Alternative

While Qlik Cloud started as an on-premise tool and adapted for the cloud, Astrato was built with the cloud in mind. Its zero-copy, pushdown SQL architecture is designed for the modern analytics landscape, eliminating many of the pain points associated with Qlik Cloud.

Key Advantages of Astrato:

1. No Data Storage or Compute Costs
   Unlike Qlik Cloud, Astrato doesn’t store data. Instead, it directly queries your cloud data warehouse (CDWH) in real-time using live-query technology. All storage and compute are handled by the CDWH—whether Snowflake, Databricks, Dremio, or Clickhouse—meaning no hidden fees or surprises.
2. Scalable and Transparent Pricing
   Without reload limits or storage quotas, Astrato lets you scale analytics seamlessly without worrying about increasing costs for additional capacity.
3. Optimized for the Cloud
   Astrato is a cloud-native BI tool, purpose-built to leverage the flexibility and power of modern CDWHs. This contrasts with Qlik Cloud, which still carries legacy architecture limitations from its on-premise origins.
4. Simplicity
   Astrato simplifies analytics by removing unnecessary layers of cost and complexity, allowing businesses to focus on insights instead of infrastructure.

Final Thoughts

Qlik Cloud offers powerful analytics capabilities but comes with a complex and often costly pricing structure. If you’re considering Qlik Cloud, make sure to fully understand the additional charges for reloads, storage, and compute.

For businesses looking for a cost-effective, cloud-native solution, Astrato offers a modern alternative. With zero-copy architecture and live-query functionality, Astrato eliminates hidden fees and is designed to work seamlessly with your existing CDWH.

Why pay extra for storage and compute in the cloud when you don’t have to?