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Apache Superset

Open-source data exploration at scale

Open sourceBI & dashboards

Apache Superset is a bI & dashboards tool for Developers and Enterprise, offered as open source. Founded in United States in 2017.

About Apache Superset

Apache Superset is an open-source data exploration and visualization platform, originally created at Airbnb by Maxime Beauchemin in 2015 and graduated to a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation in 2021. It is used by data teams at many large companies as a self-hosted alternative to commercial business intelligence tools, and Preset, a company founded by Superset's creator, offers it as a managed cloud service.

Superset connects to almost any SQL-speaking database through SQLAlchemy, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, ClickHouse, Druid, Trino and Databricks. Analysts can write queries in SQL Lab, a browser-based SQL IDE, or use the no-code chart builder with more than 40 visualization types, from tables and time series to maps and Sankey diagrams. Charts are combined into interactive dashboards with cross-filters and native filters. A lightweight semantic layer defines datasets, metrics and calculated columns, and role-based access control, row-level security, caching, alerts and reports support production use. The software itself is free under the Apache 2.0 license; costs come from infrastructure and engineering time, or from Preset's paid plans.

Superset fits organizations with data engineers who want scalable, vendor-neutral BI without per-user licenses. Setup, upgrades and security configuration require technical skills, and the interface is less approachable for business users. Metabase is easier for non-technical teams, Looker and Power BI offer stronger governed modeling with commercial support.

Key features of Apache Superset

  • SQL Lab IDE
  • 40+ chart types
  • Dashboards
  • Semantic layer
  • RBAC
  • Many databases

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free and powerful
  • Scales to large data
  • Open source
  • Rich charts

Cons

  • Setup and maintenance
  • UX less friendly than Metabase
  • Learning curve
  • Requires data engineering

Apache Superset pricing

Apache Superset uses a open source model.

PlanPriceIncludes
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

Source: preset.io · checked on Oct 20, 2026

How Apache Superset compares in BI & dashboards

Rank by votes
#1 / 16

0 votes from members

Starting price
$0

Category median is $77/mo

Free alternatives
4

Free or open-source tools in BI & dashboards

Apache Superset ranks #1 of 16 bi & dashboards tools by community votes and is not directly comparable on price.

Common use cases

  1. 1Data team dashboards over ClickHouse
  2. 2Self-hosted BI
  3. 3Large-scale analytics
  4. 4Embedding charts

Best for

Data teams wanting open-source BI at scale.

Not ideal for

Non-technical small teams (Metabase).

Integrations

  • Postgres
  • MySQL
  • Snowflake
  • BigQuery
  • Druid
  • ClickHouse
  • Trino

Our take

Superset is the heavyweight open-source BI.

FAQ

What is Apache Superset?
Apache Superset is a BI & dashboards tool: Open-source data exploration at scale.
How much does Apache Superset cost?
Apache Superset is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.
What does Apache Superset integrate with?
Apache Superset integrates with Postgres, MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, Druid, ClickHouse and more.
Which platforms does Apache Superset support?
Apache Superset is available on web.
Who is Apache Superset for?
Data teams wanting open-source BI at scale.

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