FME vs Knime (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Knime grades higher than FME: 3.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Knime grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Knime
Open-source visual workflows for data analysis and automation
Free plan · from €99/mo
Which one is for you
Pick FME if
- Fits if you convert or move map and geographic data between formats
- Works for teams that buy through a sales call
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price on the page, as none is shown
- Not for you if you want something free, since there is no free plan or trial listed
- Watch out: subscriptions are tailored per customer, so costs vary
- Too heavy for a one-off file conversion, since the plans are sold by quote
Pick Knime if
- Fits if you're an analyst who wants a free visual tool for cleaning data
- Works for teams automating recurring data jobs
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want hosted execution, billed per started minute on top of €99
- Watch out: the Team plan is priced in euros
- Watch out: executors use 2, 4 or 8 credits a minute depending on size
- Skip it if you need a published Business Hub price, as it's quote only
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAFMEWeak | 3.2GPAKnimeVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. The pricing page says each subscription is tailored and sends you to sales. | AThe Analytics Platform is free to download and run. The Team plan is €99 a month for 3 seats, with execution at €0.025 per credit per started minute on top. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on the pages read; the site offers free workshops. | AFree open-source desktop program with no cap, plus a 1-month trial of the Team plan with 1,000 credits. |
| Features | CNo-code workflows, hosted or self-hosted deployment, and many data types. The vendor says it has unlimited web users and system connections. | BVisual workflows for data cleaning and reporting, with Snowflake, Amazon S3, Azure, Google Cloud and Power BI connections. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Building workflows in the authoring tool has a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record. You build workflows node by node, so there's a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | CDownloads for Windows, macOS, Linux and Docker, plus a web option. No phone app and no integrations list on record. | BWindows, macOS, Linux and web, with cloud and Power BI connections. No phone apps. |
| Best for | moving and converting data, spatial data especially | free visual data cleaning and reporting |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FME and Knime. How we grade
Where they differ
- Knime is open source, according to its own site.
In commonWindowsmacOSLinuxWebAI featuresWorkflow automationNo-code
At a glance
| FME | Knime | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | €99 per month for 3 seats and 120 execution credits |
| Free plan | None | KNIME Analytics Platform is free and open source for Windows, macOS and Linux; the paid plans add hosted collaboration and execution. |
| Free trial | None listed | 1-month free trial of the Team plan with 1,000 execution credits |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Safe Software | KNIME |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | knime.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FME
- No prices are published; the pricing page says each subscription is tailored and directs buyers to sales.
- The vendor says its subscription includes unlimited web users and unlimited system connections.
- Downloads are offered for Windows, macOS, Linux and Docker.
Knime
- The Team plan is priced in euros; execution is billed on top at €0.025 per credit, per started minute.
- Executors use 2, 4 or 8 credits per minute for the small, medium and large sizes.
- Business Hub has no published price; the pricing page offers a quote form with no per-seat licensing.
Key features
FME
- No-code workflow authoring
- FME Form is a no-code environment for building data transformation workflows, with data inspection partway through a run to avoid reruns.
- Deployment with FME Flow
- FME Flow deploys workflows as automations, no-code web apps and event-triggered or real-time jobs.
- Hosted option
- FME Flow Hosted is a self-serve hosted deployment of FME Flow, so teams do not run the server themselves.
- Spatial and many other data types
- The vendor positions FME for spatial data as well as other formats, covering ETL, replication and synchronization.
- AI in workflows
- The platform page says any AI can be integrated into workflows and describes a real-time authoring assistant.
- Component library
- Pre-built transformations from Safe Software and the FME community can be added to workflows.
Knime
- Visual workflows
- Analyses are built in a low-code, no-code interface for data prep, analysis, machine learning and LLM work.
- K-AI assistant
- KNIME's AI assistant, K-AI, helps build workflows, generate scripts and create visualizations.
- Scheduled runs
- Team plan workflows can be run ad hoc or on a schedule, from every minute to monthly, in the vendor's hosted cloud.
- Data apps and REST APIs
- Workflows can be deployed as browser-based data apps or REST APIs that others use without installing the desktop software.
- Version control and sharing
- Spaces on KNIME Hub store workflows privately, with a team, or publicly, and track changes.
- Credential handling
- The Team plan page describes central, encrypted handling of credentials for automated runs.
Plans
FME
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fme.safe.com.
Knime
Analytics Platform$0
Free open-source desktop software for building workflows; runs on your own machine.
Team plan€99
per month for 3 seats, with 120 execution credits
Private spaces, scheduled runs and data apps. Extra execution is billed at €0.025 per credit.
Business HubCustom
Private environment for larger organizations with governance and the K-AI assistant; sold by quote.
Ways to pay less
FME
- Nonprofit
Free licenses through the FME Grant Program
Qualifying non-profit organizations, instructors and students can apply for free charitable licenses through the vendor's grant program.
Knime
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FME or Knime?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FME has no price we could confirm, and Knime starts at €99 per month for 3 seats and 120 execution credits.
Which has a free plan, FME or Knime?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Knime has a free plan. FME does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.