Qlik Sense vs Apache Superset
Qlik Sense and Apache Superset are both BI & dashboards tools. Qlik Sense is aimed at enterprise and small businesses, while Apache Superset is aimed at developers and enterprise. Only Apache Superset has a free plan.
Enterprise BI with an associative engine and AI answers on top
Open-source data exploration at scale
| Pricing | Paid · $300 | Open source |
| Starting price | $300/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | — |
| Built for | Enterprise, Small businesses | Developers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, windows, ios, android | web |
| Country | US · 1993 | US · 2017 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Qlik Sense if
Mid-size and large companies with complex, multi-source data that want governed self-service analytics for many users.
- Associative exploration surfaces gaps that query-based BI tools hide
- Capacity pricing means adding viewers on Standard costs nothing extra
- Strong data integration heritage, including SAP and Talend connectors
Look elsewhere if: Small teams on a tight budget or Microsoft-centric companies that only need standard reports (Power BI, Looker Studio, Metabase).
Choose Apache Superset if
Data teams wanting open-source BI at scale.
- Free and powerful
- Scales to large data
- Open source
Look elsewhere if: Non-technical small teams (Metabase).
Qlik Sense vs Apache Superset pricing
Qlik Sense
- Starter$300/moBilled annually; 10 users, fixed 10 GB of data for analysis
- Standard$825/moBilled annually; 25 GB data, no charge for extra users
- Premium$2,750/moBilled annually; 50 GB data, AutoML predictions, public access
- EnterpriseCustomFrom 250 GB of data, multi-region tenants, quote only
Apache Superset
- Open source$0Apache 2.0, self-hosted
- Preset Starter$0Managed cloud, up to 5 users
- Preset Professional$25/user/mo$20/user/mo billed annually; 14-day trial
- Preset EnterpriseCustomDeployment at scale, AI agent access
Qlik Sense · Key features
- Associative engine that shows related and unrelated values on every selection
- Qlik Answers chat over dashboards, data models and unstructured documents
- Discovery Agent that monitors key measures and surfaces anomalies
- MCP server so third-party assistants can query governed Qlik data
- Qlik Predict AutoML for forecasting and what-if analysis
- Load script and data manager for joining SAP, cloud warehouses and files
Cons
- Entry price of $300 per month billed annually is high for small teams
- Load scripting and data modeling take real training to master
- Visual customization is less flexible than Tableau
Apache Superset · Key features
- SQL Lab IDE
- 40+ chart types
- Dashboards
- Semantic layer
- RBAC
- Many databases
Cons
- Setup and maintenance
- UX less friendly than Metabase
- Learning curve
Qlik Sense vs Apache Superset: FAQ
Do Qlik Sense and Apache Superset have a free plan?
Qlik Sense has no free plan, a 30-day free trial. Apache Superset has a free plan.
Which is better for small businesses, Qlik Sense or Apache Superset?
Qlik Sense lists small businesses as a core audience, while Apache Superset is aimed more at developers and enterprise.