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KNIME vs MathWorks Matlab comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

KNIME
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (1st)
MathWorks Matlab
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
17th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of KNIME is 11.9%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MathWorks Matlab is 0.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Laurence Moseley - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a drag-and-drop interface and AI capabilities
It's difficult to pinpoint one single feature because KNIME has so many. For starters, it's very easy to learn. You can get started with just a one-hour video. The drag-and-drop interface makes it user-friendly. For example, if you want to read an Excel file, drag the "read Excel file" node from the repository, configure it by specifying the file location, and run it. This gives you a table with all your data. Next, you can clean the data by handling missing values, selecting specific columns you want to analyze, and then proceeding with your analysis, such as regression or correlation. KNIME has over 4,500 nodes available for download. In addition, KNIME offers various extensions. For instance, the text processing extension allows you to process text data efficiently. It's more powerful than other tools like NVivo and Palantir. KNIME also has AI capabilities. If you're unsure about the next step, the AI assistant can suggest the most frequently used nodes based on your previous work. Another valuable feature is the integration with Python. If you need to perform a task that requires Python, you can simply add a Python node, write the necessary code,
Neha Wanjari - PeerSpot reviewer
Has Simulink feature which helps with visual representations
The tool's most valuable feature is the Simulink environment. This feature provides an incredible capability to visually represent the system behavior before creating the code. It allows you to see the flow and interactions of the system, which is extremely beneficial for software development. With this visual representation, you can better understand the system's behavior, make necessary adjustments, and ensure maintenance and updates. This capability is why I love working with the product. The solution's UI has greatly supported my development process. I would rate it an eight point five out of ten for its user interface. It's easy to explain how a system works, especially if I've created a model in the Simulink environment. Integrating it with other languages or tools has always benefited my projects. Even though I've only used two languages, it has been advantageous overall.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Stability is excellent. I would give it a nine out of ten."
"KNIME is very easy to handle and use. Anyone can use it, and it's easy to learn."
"I know I don't use it to its full capacity, but I love the Rule Engine feature. It has allowed me to create lookup tables on the fly and break down text fields into quantifiable data."
"The product is user-friendly."
"It is very fast to develop solutions."
"Valuable features include visual workflow creation, workflow variables (parameterisation), automatic caching of all intermediate data sets in the workflow, scheduling with the server."
"KNIME is quite scalable, which is one of the most important features that we found."
"We have found KNIME valuable when it comes to its visualization."
"Personally for me, because I do a lot of development, I like that it is easy to test mathematical algorithms with several matrix calculations. It's perfect for that."
"The platform's most valuable feature is its field-specific packages, which make it very easy to use."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the Simulink environment. This feature provides an incredible capability to visually represent the system behavior before creating the code. It allows you to see the flow and interactions of the system, which is extremely beneficial for software development. With this visual representation, you can better understand the system's behavior, make necessary adjustments, and ensure maintenance and updates. This capability is why I love working with the product."
 

Cons

"It's difficult to provide input on the improvement area because it's more of self-learning. However, there are times when I am not able to do certain things. I don't know if it's because the solution doesn't allow me or if it's because of the lack of knowledge."
"The predefined workflows could use a bit of improvement."
"Sometimes, we needed more space to handle larger operations, especially since our machines had limited space and memory due to Kubernetes clusters."
"It's difficult to pinpoint one single feature because KNIME has so many. For starters, it's very easy to learn. You can get started with just a one-hour video. The drag-and-drop interface makes it user-friendly. For example, if you want to read an Excel file, drag the "read Excel file" node from the repository, configure it by specifying the file location, and run it. This gives you a table with all your data."
"It needs more examples, use cases, and MOOC to learn, especially with respect to the algorithms and how to practically create a flow from end-to-end."
"The visualization functionalities are not good (cannot be compared to, for instance, the possibilities in R)."
"System resource usage. Knime will occupy total system RAM size and other applications will hang."
"The program is not fit for handling very large files or databases (greater than 1GB); it gets too slow and has a tendency to crash easily."
"One area where the product could improve is in the ease of learning."
"To make use of the GPU, you have to have an Nvidia card. What I would want it to do is to run in Next Generation with Intel or AMD, and not just with Nvidia."
"In the area of improvement, sometimes there are issues with the speed of MathWorks Matlab, particularly in the Simulink environment. The tool's latest versions can be slow to open, taking significant time to load. Additionally, saving data and integrating models can also be time-consuming processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"KNIME offers a free version"
"The client versions are mostly free, and we pay only for the KNIME server version. It's not a cheap solution."
"They have different versions, but I am using the open-source one."
"I use the open-source version."
"For beginners, the free desktop version is very attractive, but the full server version can be more expensive. I have only used the free version and it offers a fair pricing system. I have been promoting it to others without any compensation or request from the company, simply because I am enthusiastic about it. I am not aware of the pricing for the server version, but it seems to be widely used."
"KNIME is a cheap product. I currently use KNIME's open-source version."
"With KNIME, you can use the desktop version free of charge as much as you like. I've yet to hit its limits. If I did, I'd have to go to the server version, and for that you have to pay. Fortunately, I don't have to at the moment."
"There is a Community Edition and paid versions available."
"We have a single user license. Support and add-ons are an extra fee."
"The pricing for the software itself is reasonable, and I didn't encounter any additional costs beyond the initial purchase or license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
11%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about KNIME?
Since KNIME is a no-code platform, it is easy to work with.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KNIME?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with KNIME?
I have seen the potential to interact with Python, which is currently a bit limited. I am interested in the newer version, 5.4, when it becomes available. The machine learning and profileration asp...
What do you like most about MathWorks Matlab?
The tool's most valuable feature is the Simulink environment. This feature provides an incredible capability to visually represent the system behavior before creating the code. It allows you to see...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MathWorks Matlab?
The pricing for the software itself is reasonable, and I didn't encounter any additional costs beyond the initial purchase or license.
What needs improvement with MathWorks Matlab?
One area where the product could improve is in the ease of learning. The syntax can be challenging for first-time programmers or those unfamiliar with specialized languages. Also, while the communi...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

KNIME Analytics Platform
No data available
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Infocom Corporation, Dymatrix Consulting Group, Soluzione Informatiche, MMI Agency, Estanislao Training and Solutions, Vialis AG
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about KNIME vs. MathWorks Matlab and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.