Google Colab vs SageMath
Google Colab
colab.research.google.comSageMath
sagemath.orgSide by side
| Figure | Google Colab | SageMath |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8.33/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 1 |
| Spec score · Coding Playgrounds | 9.3 (#4) | 8.3 (#40) |
| Spec score · Notebook Software | 9.2 (#2) | 7.6 (#18) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Users can import data from Google Drive, spreadsheets, GitHub, and other sources, and the site lists Google Cloud Storage, Sheets, and BigQuery resources. | SageMath combines open-source packages including NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib, SymPy, Maxima, GAP, FLINT, and R through a common Python-based language or interfaces and wrappers. |
| Support | Users can report bugs or ask questions through Help > Send feedback in any Colab notebook. | The project lists documentation, support and discussion groups, ask.sagemath.org, and Zulip chat as support resources. |
Plans
Google Colab
- Colab Pro$8.33 a month
- Colab Pro+$41.66 a month
- ColabFree
- Colab freeFree
- Colab EnterprisePriced on request
- Colab ProPrice not published
- Colab Pro+Price not published
- Colab Pro / Pro+ / Pay As You GoPriced on request
- Pay As You GoPrice not published
In their own words
Google Colab
Google Colab lets users write and run Python in a browser without configuring a local environment, with access to GPUs and notebook sharing. Its hosted Jupyter notebooks combine executable code with rich text, images, HTML, and LaTeX. Data can come from Google Drive, spreadsheets, GitHub, and other sources, with Google Cloud Storage, Sheets, and BigQuery resources listed for integration. Colab AI can generate or transform code, explain Python libraries, suggest fixes, and perform multi-step data-analysis workflows. By default, it does not access Drive files or user secrets, though it can generate code to access them when explicitly requested. Google says generative-AI features collect prompts, related code, outputs, usage information, and feedback; human reviewers may process that data for up to 18 months. Free notebooks can run for at most 12 hours, depending on availability and usage. Pro+ supports continuous execution up to 24 hours when enough compute units are available. Colab also has a Visual Studio Code extension and a beta, allowlist-gated API. Paid plans start at 8.33 USD/user/mo (annual).
SageMath
SageMath is free, open-source mathematics software for calculations across algebra, calculus, number theory, cryptography, numerical computation, commutative algebra, group theory, combinatorics and graph theory. It is aimed at mathematicians, researchers and students, and the project identifies education and research as suitable uses. You can work in a browser notebook, at the command line or through a Python library; SageMath can also be embedded in LaTeX documents. It brings together packages including NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib, SymPy, Maxima, GAP, FLINT and R through a common Python-based language, interfaces or wrappers. The software runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, web and self-hosted setups. Windows users are directed to Windows Subsystem for Linux, while the download page points Linux users to installation alternatives because Linux binaries have been discontinued. macOS binaries and Docker images are also listed. SageMath is licensed under GPLv2+ and is listed at free, with installation on unlimited computers and permission to download and redistribute copies.