Understand

Overview

Authors arrange data and narrative into cards that appear as a viewer scrolls. That presentation flow can give charts context and steer attention toward an insight, making Understand a better fit for guided updates and explanations than for publishing isolated visualizations.

Stories can be shared publicly or embedded, and scheduled updates support recurring reporting. The format is designed to work on mobile, which helps when readers are following a story away from a desktop. Understand also offers white labeling, including custom branding and a custom domain, for teams embedding stories in another product.

Key features

Connections and AI

Data can be imported from files, Google, SQL databases, OLAP cubes, or APIs, but the practical choice of sources depends on paid tiers and add-ons. Starter limits authors to CSV uploads and manual entry. Growth adds Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB; BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, and Snowflake cost extra per connector. Understand AI can analyze and summarize stories and identify anomalies, but Growth's included allowance is 30 cards per month, so heavier use carries a recurring surcharge.

Sharing and administration

Starter supports public sharing. Growth adds unlimited viewers, custom themes, and email and Slack notifications, useful for distributing ongoing work without adding viewer seats. Enterprise-ready adds OLAP connectors, custom API and connectors, custom charts, and deployment and access controls for organizations with more specialized requirements. The privacy policy says the company does not sell or rent user data, users own their data, and personal information is encrypted; it also describes regular penetration testing and physical security measures. Users can request account deletion and access, correction, erasure, or portability of personal information. The terms require users to be at least 13 years old.

Pricing

Starter is free and includes one editor, unlimited stories, CSV upload and manual entry, public sharing, and scrollytelling. It is a credible way for an individual to publish basic stories, but it excludes the named Growth data connections, custom themes, and notifications.

Growth costs $25.00 USD per editor/month with annual billing (save 20%). It includes unlimited viewers, custom themes, Google Sheets and three SQL databases, Understand AI for 30 cards, and email/Slack notifications. This is the sensible tier for teams distributing stories and using those sources; the per-editor charge means author seats, unlike viewers, affect the bill.

More Understand AI costs $15.00 USD per 30 cards/month. Advanced connectors cost $99.00 USD per connector/month for BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, or Snowflake. The API plan costs $199.00 USD per month to create stories at scale using the API. These additions can make a technically capable workflow substantially more expensive than Growth alone. Enterprise-ready has custom pricing and is booked through a call; it is for organizations needing custom integrations, deployment, or access controls.

A 14-day trial is offered. The listed Growth price is annual-billing pricing; no separate monthly Growth term is given.

Platforms

Understand supports Android, iOS, web, and API. The mobile-friendly story format is useful for readers on phones, while the API option serves teams creating stories programmatically at scale.

Who it's for

Choose Understand if your work depends on explaining data in sequence, sharing stories with a broad audience, or embedding branded reporting in a product. It is less compelling for a solo author who only needs simple public charts, or for teams whose required connectors and AI volume would make the add-ons costly.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Scroll-through cards combine visualizations and narrative, giving authors control over how readers encounter an insight.
• Pros: Starter offers unlimited stories and public sharing at no charge, while Growth allows unlimited viewers and adds notifications.
• Pros: White labeling and Enterprise-ready deployment and access options support product embedding and organizational requirements.
• Cons: Starter's data input is restricted to CSV and manual entry; useful named integrations begin on paid plans or as connector add-ons.
• Cons: Growth is priced per editor on annual billing, and extra AI usage and connectors carry recurring charges.

Alternatives

For chart, map, and table publishing with web embeds and PNG downloads, consider Datawrapper. If you want interactive charts and online publishing in a project-based format, Infogram is another option. BStreams offers a free tier with one collaborator, 50 MB storage, and a watermark, making its limits worth weighing against Understand's unlimited Starter stories.

Flourish provides unlimited projects and stories on its free plan, with public publishing and embeds carrying attribution. Observable is worth considering for notebook-style work where its free tier's token and attachment limits fit. For map-centered narrative work, ArcGIS StoryMaps offers a free public account with usage limits. Datastory has a free Starter tier with 10 visualizations, up to three team members, and 100 AI credits monthly. Storyline JS is an open-source alternative with no paid plan. See the Data Storytelling Tools list for more options.

Verdict

Understand is a strong fit for teams that need to turn data into a guided, shareable story, especially when mobile reading, notifications, or branded embedding matter. Its central advantage is the narrative card flow; look elsewhere if you need a low-cost authoring setup with richer connectors or high AI usage, since those needs push costs beyond the free tier and Growth price.