Hex is made to show your analysis. Count uses it to show your people what to do next.

The Canvas Difference

Count: Figma Meets Your Data

An infinite, collaborative workspace where SQL, Python, and visualizations live together. Build metric trees, process flows, and narrative reports that show relationships between metrics—not just the metrics themselves.

Think:

• Place a chart next to the SQL that powers it
• Map your entire customer journey with live data
• Create a metric tree showing how revenue breaks down
• Add screenshots of your app next to usage analytics
• Collaborate in real-time like Google Docs, but for data

Hex: Jupyter Notebooks, Elevated

Polished notebooks that combine SQL, Python, and interactive visualizations in a top-to-bottom document format. Excellent for analysis workflows, but constrained by notebook linearity.

Reality:

• Cells flow vertically in document format
• Analysis locked into sequential narrative
• Can't show metric relationships spatially
• Branching explorations require duplicate notebooks
• Great for storytelling, less flexible for exploration
• Beautiful output, but constrained canvas

Real-Time Collaboration: Built for How Teams Actually Work

Count's Multiplayer Analytics

Everyone in the canvas at once:

• See teammates' cursors as they work
• Comment directly on cells, visuals, or anywhere on the canvas
• Add sticky notes for context
• @mention colleagues to pull them into the conversation
• Watch queries update live as your team explores together

Role flexibility that makes sense:

• Analysts write SQL/Python and build complex analyses
• Explorers use low-code tools to dig deeper without SQL
• Members can adjust filters and explore without editing queries
• Viewers see everything, can comment, and use interactive filters

The result: Your CFO can explore revenue breakdowns alongside your analyst, in real-time, without needing to know SQL or DAX

Hex's Collaboration

What Hex does well:

• Real-time "Realtime Cells" feature for simultaneous editing
• Comments on cells and outputs
• Share notebooks with interactive filters
• Publish as apps for stakeholders
• Version history

The constraints:

• Collaboration happens in notebook format (linear flow)
• Everyone who edits pays per seat
• Stakeholders consume apps, don't co-explore
• Can't visually show relationships between metrics
• Browser-only (no desktop option)

Hex Team Plan (~$19/user/month):

• Real-time collaboration on notebooks
• Publish interactive apps
• SQL + Python integration
• But: Everyone who needs to build or edit pays
• And: Viewers can interact with apps but can't truly co-explore

What's Possible: Use Cases That Shine on Canvas

1. Metric Trees: Show What Drives Growth

With Count: Create a visual hierarchy showing how your North Star metric breaks down. Revenue → Products → Channels → Campaigns, with live data at every node. Your CEO sees the whole picture, then drills into any branch.

With Hex: Create separate notebook sections for each level. Metrics exist in linear sequence. Relationships explained in markdown, not shown spatially.

2. Product Analytics Meets Product Screenshots

With Count: Place your app's onboarding flow screenshots directly next to the funnel analytics. Drop-off at step 3? The product screenshot is right there. Your PM, designer, and analyst see the same view.

With Hex: Add images to notebook cells. Everything flows top-to-bottom. Can't place screenshot next to the chart—only above or below.

3. Customer Journey Mapping

With Count: Map the entire journey—ads, website visits, signups, activation, retention—in a single canvas with real data flowing through it. Sales, marketing, and product see how their work connects.

With Hex: Build comprehensive notebook with sections. Journey exists as sequential cells. Read top-to-bottom to understand the flow.

4. Deep-Dive Analysis That Tells a Story

With Count: Break complex SQL into connected cells that flow visually. Show your thinking, not just your charts. Stakeholders follow the logic from raw data to insight without a separate deck.

With Hex: This is Hex's strength! Notebooks naturally tell analytical stories. Mix SQL, Python, markdown, and viz. Linear narrative works beautifully here.

5. Branching Analysis: Multiple Paths from Same Data

With Count: Start with a base query. Branch it into 5 different explorations spatially on the canvas. Compare approaches side-by-side. All connected visually to the source.

With Hex: Duplicate cells or create new notebooks. Can't show multiple analytical branches spatially. Everything is linear.

Quick Decision Framework

Choose Hex if:

• You love Jupyter-style notebooks and want them elevated
• Your work is primarily Python data science
• You need formal analytical documentation
• Linear narrative fits your analytical style
• App publishing for stakeholders is your primary distribution

Choose Count if:

• You need to show how metrics relate spatially
• Analysis involves branching exploration, not linear flow
• You want true co-creation, not just app consumption
• Budget needs to support broad collaboration (not just analysts)
• Your team deserves a workspace, not just a notebook