Happy CMDB vs Hornbill CMDB

Happy CMDB8.8Visit Hornbill CMDB8.4Visit

Higher score Happy CMDB #4 in CMDB Software 8.8/10 Open source ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Happy CMDB

vs

Hornbill CMDB #8 in CMDB Software 8.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Hornbill

• Happy CMDB fits best

  Open-source teams needing advanced CMDB discovery

• Hornbill CMDB fits best

  Cloud CMDB teams focused on relationship accuracy

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Side by side

Feature	Happy CMDB 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Hornbill CMDB 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.4
Ranking	#4 in CMDB Software	#8 in CMDB Software
Best for	Open-source teams needing advanced CMDB discovery	Cloud CMDB teams focused on relationship accuracy
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Open source	Pricing on request
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Happy CMDB 4/4 · Hornbill CMDB 4/4
Service mapping	✓	✓
Dependency mapping	✓	✓
Discovery imports	✓	✓
Ownership tracking	✓	✓
Specs
Configuration item limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Deployment options	Hybrid	Cloud
Relationship types	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Graph-based relationships support dependency and impact analysis AI discovery with 43 connectors across cloud and infrastructure tools REST, GraphQL, analytics, and Kafka event streaming are included	Graphical exploration of configuration items and service relationships Bidirectional dependency and impact mapping for change visibility Scheduled refreshes and automatic reconciliation across data sources
Cons	Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure and operational ownership The feature set may exceed the needs of smaller CMDB projects Hybrid discovery depends on tools such as NMAP, SSH, SNMP, and Active Directory	Pricing is personalized through contact with sales No CMDB-specific free plan is described Listed platform support is limited to web
Our verdict	Happy CMDB is an open-source configuration management database for enterprise infrastructure teams. It discovers, maps, and tracks configuration items across multi-cloud and on-premise environments, with graph-based relationship modeling… Read the review →	Hornbill CMDB is a service-oriented configuration management database for IT teams managing physical assets, cloud assets, software, services, users, requests, and related records. Its shared data model connects these records so teams can… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Happy CMDB — where it wins

  • Graph-based relationships support dependency and impact analysis
  • AI discovery with 43 connectors across cloud and infrastructure tools
  • REST, GraphQL, analytics, and Kafka event streaming are included

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure and operational ownership
  • The feature set may exceed the needs of smaller CMDB projects
  • Hybrid discovery depends on tools such as NMAP, SSH, SNMP, and Active Directory

• Hornbill CMDB — where it wins

  • Graphical exploration of configuration items and service relationships
  • Bidirectional dependency and impact mapping for change visibility
  • Scheduled refreshes and automatic reconciliation across data sources

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is personalized through contact with sales
  • No CMDB-specific free plan is described
  • Listed platform support is limited to web

• Happy CMDB8.8/10 · Open source

  An open-source CMDB for teams mapping complex hybrid infrastructure.

  Visit Happy CMDBFull verdict →
• Hornbill CMDB8.4/10 · Pricing on request

  A mature cloud CMDB for teams that need accurate service and relationship mapping.

  Visit HornbillFull verdict →