Metabase is a BI & dashboards tool: Open-source BI anyone can use.

How much does Metabase cost?

Metabase is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.

What are the best alternatives to Metabase?

Community-listed alternatives to Metabase include Domo, Qlik Sense, Querri, Apache Superset.

Does Metabase have a free trial?

Yes, Metabase offers a 14-day free trial.

What does Metabase integrate with?

Metabase integrates with Postgres, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, MongoDB and more.

Metabase

Open-source BI anyone can use

Open source · $100BI & dashboards

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Metabase is a BI & dashboards tool for Small businesses and Developers, offered as open source ($100/mo). Based in United States, founded in 2015. Popular alternatives include Domo, Qlik Sense, Querri.

About Metabase

Metabase is the most widely used open-source business intelligence tool, built by a San Francisco-based company founded in 2015. Its core job is to let everyone in a company ask questions of data: non-technical users build queries with a point-and-click builder, analysts write SQL, and teams share the results as dashboards, alerts and scheduled reports.

Metabase connects to Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks and many other databases. Dashboards support filters, drill-through and cross-filtering, and subscriptions deliver them by email or Slack. Models, metrics and segments create a light semantic layer for governed self-service. Embedding ranges from public links and static embeds to an interactive embedding SDK for React, which lets SaaS products offer customer-facing analytics. The open-source edition is free to self-host under the AGPL license; Metabase Cloud (Starter) adds hosting and upgrades, while Pro and Enterprise add SSO, row and column-level permissions, white labeling, advanced embedding and support. Metabot brings natural language questions into the product.

Metabase fits startups and mid-size companies that want useful dashboards quickly and cheaply, and developers embedding analytics. Visualizations are simpler than Tableau or Power BI, query speed depends on your database, and modeling is lighter than Looker or Lightdash. Apache Superset is the other popular open-source option, with more chart types but a steeper learning curve.

Key features of Metabase

Visual query builder plus native SQL editor
Dashboards with filters, drill-through and subscriptions
Alerts and scheduled email/Slack reports
Models and metrics for governed self-serve
Embedding (public, static, interactive SDK)
Open source self-hosting or managed cloud

Pros and cons

Pros

Free open-source edition is genuinely usable
Easy for non-analysts
Wide database support
Embedding is affordable compared with enterprise BI

Cons

Visualization options are basic
Performance depends on your database
Advanced permissions need Pro
Semantic layer is lighter than Looker or Lightdash

Metabase pricing

Metabase uses a open source model. A 14-day free trial is available.

Plan	Price	Includes
Open Source	$0	Self-hosted, unlimited users
Starter	$100 / mo	$90/mo billed annually; 5 users, +$6/user
Pro	$575 / mo	$517.50/mo billed annually; 10 users, +$12/user; SSO, embedding
Enterprise	Custom	From $20,000/yr; dedicated success engineer

Source: www.metabase.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026

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How Metabase compares in BI & dashboards

Rank by votes: #1 / 19
Starting price: $100
Free alternatives: 4

Metabase ranks #1 of 19 bi & dashboards tools by community votes and is priced above most tools in the category.

Common use cases

1Startup dashboards over the production Postgres replica
2Embedded customer-facing analytics in a SaaS
3Weekly KPI emails to leadership
4Self-serve exploration for ops and sales teams

Best for

Startups and mid-size companies wanting quick, affordable BI; developers embedding analytics.

Not ideal for

Enterprises needing advanced modeling and governance (Looker, Power BI).

Integrations

Postgres
MySQL
BigQuery
Snowflake
Redshift
MongoDB
Slack
Google Sheets (export)
Embedding SDK

Our take

Metabase is the first BI tool most companies should install. Self-host for free; move to Pro when you need SSO and embedding.

FAQ

What is Metabase?: Metabase is a BI & dashboards tool: Open-source BI anyone can use.
How much does Metabase cost?: Metabase is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.
What are the best alternatives to Metabase?: Community-listed alternatives to Metabase include Domo, Qlik Sense, Querri, Apache Superset.
Does Metabase have a free trial?: Yes, Metabase offers a 14-day free trial.
What does Metabase integrate with?: Metabase integrates with Postgres, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, MongoDB and more.
Which platforms does Metabase support?: Metabase is available on web.
Who is Metabase for?: Startups and mid-size companies wanting quick, affordable BI; developers embedding analytics.

Alternatives to Metabase

See all 10

Domo
▲ 0
Cloud BI platform with data integration, apps and AI agents
PaidEnterprise
checked Oct 20
Qlik Sense
▲ 0
Enterprise BI with an associative engine and AI answers on top
Paid · $300Enterprise
checked Oct 20
Querri
▲ 0
AI data analyst that answers business questions with traceable math
Freemium · $119Small businesses
checked Oct 22
Apache Superset
▲ 0
Open-source data exploration at scale
Open sourceDevelopers
checked Oct 20
Basedash
▲ 0
AI-native BI that builds dashboards and reports from plain English
Paid · $1000Small businesses
checked Oct 25
Evidence
▲ 0
BI as code: Markdown + SQL to reports
Open source · $2500Developers
checked Oct 20

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