Understand

Overview

Each story unfolds as readers scroll through a series of cards, combining visualizations with narrative annotations and a presentation flow. That format can help authors put data in context and lead readers toward a decision. Stories can be shared publicly or embedded; Growth adds email and Slack notifications.

Understand supports imports from files, Google, SQL databases, OLAP cubes, and APIs, though the specific connections depend on the plan. Scheduled story updates support recurring reporting, and the stories are designed to display well on mobile devices. White labeling, custom branding, and a custom domain make embedding more suitable for organizations presenting stories inside their own products.

Key features

Storytelling and AI

Interactive visualizations and narrative annotations give authors a way to explain what a chart means instead of leaving readers to infer it. Understand AI can analyze and summarize stories and find anomalies. Growth includes AI usage for 30 cards; additional usage costs $15 per 30 cards per month, so teams with larger or frequent AI workloads should account for that add-on.

Connections and sharing

Starter is limited to CSV uploads and manual data entry. Growth adds Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB, alongside unlimited viewers, custom themes, and email and Slack notifications. BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, and Snowflake are available through Advanced connectors at $99 per connector per month. The per-connector charge can add up for teams relying on several warehouse connections.

The Enterprise-ready offering adds OLAP connectors, custom API and connectors, custom charts, private cloud or single-tenant deployment, SSO, and access control. Those options suit organizations with deployment and access requirements beyond the standard plans, but require booking a call rather than selecting a published price.

Pricing

Understand uses a freemium model, with paid plans starting at $25/user/mo (annual). A 14-day trial is available. The plan structure makes the free tier a practical way for one person to publish basic stories, while multi-editor use, notifications, and expanded connectors bring added costs.

• Starter: Free, with one editor, unlimited stories, CSV upload and manual data entry, public sharing, and scrollytelling. It is a reasonable fit for an individual author working with simple inputs, but does not include the Growth connections, themes, or notifications.
• More Understand AI: $15 per month for an additional 30 cards of AI usage. This is an add-on for teams that exceed the 30-card AI allowance included in Growth.
• Growth: $25 per editor/month, billed annually, with unlimited viewers, custom themes, Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB connections, Understand AI for 30 cards, and email/Slack notifications. It is the relevant step up for teams publishing to a broad audience, but per-editor annual billing matters if the authoring group grows.
• Advanced connectors: $99 per connector/month for BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, or Snowflake. This is a substantial add-on for teams that need those sources, particularly when more than one connector is required.
• API: $199 per month to create stories at scale using the API. It targets workflows that need programmatic story creation rather than occasional manual publishing.
• Enterprise-ready: Custom pricing, with OLAP connectors, custom API, custom connectors and charts, private cloud or single-tenant deployment, SSO, and access control. It is aimed at organizations that need those enterprise deployment or governance options.

Platforms

Understand is available on web, Android, and iOS, and offers an API. That gives readers mobile access to stories while retaining a web option for authoring and sharing.

Who it's for

Understand is a good fit for analysts and teams that want to turn data into a guided narrative for colleagues, customers, or product users. Its free plan can serve a single editor with simple data inputs; teams needing multiple authors, database connections, or notifications should weigh Growth's annual per-editor pricing and the additional connector charges. Organizations requiring single-tenant deployment, SSO, or access control should consider the enterprise offering.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Scrolling cards combine charts and narrative, helping authors explain insights in sequence rather than presenting an undifferentiated dashboard.
• Pro: Public sharing is available on the free plan, and Growth supports unlimited viewers plus email and Slack notifications.
• Pro: White labeling and custom-domain embedding support branded stories inside another product.
• Con: Starter limits authors to one editor and data input to CSV or manual entry, restricting collaborative or connected-data workflows.
• Con: Advanced connectors are charged per connector per month, on top of Growth's annual per-editor price.
• Con: The 30-card AI allowance on Growth can require a $15-per-30-card monthly add-on for heavier use.

Alternatives

For a broader set of data-storytelling options, see Data Storytelling Tools.

• Datawrapper is worth considering when charts, maps, and tables with web publishing and embedding are the priority; its free plan includes those outputs and PNG downloads, with attribution shown.
• Graphtelling may suit a reader seeking a lower-cost Pro option: it charges €10.00 per month, while its free tier is limited to three charts, 50 one-time AI actions, JPEG export, and Graphtelling branding.
• Infogram is another freemium choice for interactive charts and online publishing, with a Basic plan that allows one user, up to 10 projects, and up to five pages per project.
• BStreams offers a web-based freemium alternative, with its free Basic plan limited to one collaborator and 50 MB of storage.
• Flourish is an option for readers who want unlimited projects and stories, a full template range, and public publishing and embeds on its free plan, with attribution.
• Mimasa AI is another freemium option, with a free plan offering five credits per day, one user, and 100 MB of data and file storage.
• ArcGIS StoryMaps is another web-based freemium alternative.
• Datastory may appeal to teams wanting a free plan with 10 visualizations, up to three team members, and 100 AI credits per month.

Verdict

Choose Understand if your priority is turning data into a guided, shareable story and you can work within its plan boundaries. The free plan is useful for an individual author, while Growth brings the team sharing and common database connections many organizations will need. Look elsewhere if you need advanced warehouse connectors without per-connector charges, or if the annual per-editor commitment does not suit your team.