SteamStats vs SteamDB: public Steam data or your own Steamworks reports
SteamDB is an independent site that tracks public data on Steam apps: player counts, price history, app changes, sales and patch notes. SteamStats reads one studio's own Steamworks reports with its key, so it shows that studio's wishlists, sales, refunds and payouts, refreshing sales every 4 h on Indie and every 60 min on Studio and Publisher.
Last reviewed · SteamStats team
What each one does
| Question | SteamDB | SteamStats |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data comes from | The Steam network through SteamKit and Steam's update system, store pages, and some outside sources for history | The studio's own Steamworks reports through Valve's partner API, plus public Steam pages, on Indie, Studio, and Publisher |
| Which games | Apps and packages across Steam | The studio's own games, plus comparable games' public figures in Market |
| Concurrent players | From Steam's API, with charts | For the studio's games every 15 min on Indie and every 5 min on Studio and Publisher, against the usual range for that weekday and hour |
| Prices and sales | A price table and price graph on every app page, sale pages and upcoming sale dates | The game's own discounts next to Steam's seasonal sales and the cooldown before the next discount |
| Reviews | The SteamDB rating, which pulls games with few reviews toward the middle | Store label, buffer before the label drops and the SteamDB rating, every 45 min on Indie and every 10 min on Studio and Publisher |
| Wishlists, units sold, refunds, payouts | Not in Steam's public data | From the studio's Steamworks reports: wishlists every 60 min on Indie, Studio, and Publisher, sales and refunds, net to studio and payout dates |
| Affiliation | Not affiliated with Valve or Steam | Not affiliated with Valve or Steam |
| Price | Not listed in the pages checked | Radar is free for one game; Indie is $29.00 per game a month; Studio is $79.00 per game a month |
The SteamDB column comes from SteamDB's own FAQ and rating article. Steamworks sales and wishlist reports belong to the partner account, which is why a public tracker does not show them.
When SteamDB is the better choice
- Looking at any game on Steam, including competitors, without connecting an account.
- Price history and past discounts of other games, which helps set a price or a discount depth.
- App and package change history, patch notes and the release calendar.
- Player count charts for games a studio does not own.
When SteamStats is the better fit
- Questions only a studio's own reports answer: wishlists today, units and refunds, what reaches the studio after Steam's share and withholding, and when the next payout lands.
- A forecast of the game's net revenue to year end and over its first year, checked against actual sales every day.
- Alerts for the studio's own games: wishlist spikes, sales outside the expected range, review labels close to changing.
- A team view of several games, with every day counted in the organization's own time zone.
Using both
The two answer different questions. SteamDB shows what anyone can see about any game; SteamStats shows what only the studio can see about its own. SteamStats also shows the SteamDB rating next to the store score, using SteamDB's published formula, so the two review numbers can be compared on one screen.
Sources
- SteamDB: Frequently asked questions · checked November 1, 2026
- SteamDB: SteamDB rating · checked November 1, 2026
- Steamworks: Payments and sales reporting · checked November 1, 2026