Free Qlik Sense alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 7 Qlik Sense alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Metabase, Data Studio (Looker Studio) and Apache Superset rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Metabase	Open source	$100/month (Starter)	Yes	Web, Self-hosted	5 of 5	79.8
2	DaData Studio (Looker Studio)	Free plan + paid	$9 per user per project/month	No	Web	4 of 4	61.8
3	Apache Superset	Open source	—	Yes	Web, Self-hosted	4 of 4	59.4
4	Microsoft Power BI	Free plan + paid	$14 per user/month (Pro, paid yearly)	No	Web, Windows, iOS +1	5 of 5	57.5
5	Tableau	Free plan + paid	—	No	Web, Windows, macOS +1	5 of 5	53.6

1. MetabaseTop pick
Best for: Startups and product teams wanting quick, self-hosted dashboards on top of their own database
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted
79.8
score / 100
Why switch from Qlik Sense
Free open-source BI for teams that don't need enterprise governance.
Pros
Free open-source edition with unlimited users
Point-and-click question builder plus a SQL editor
Easy to self-host with Docker or a single JAR file
Popular choice for embedding analytics in a product
Cons
Row-level permissions and SSO need a paid plan
Lighter data modelling than Tableau or Power BI
Paid cloud plans start at a noticeable monthly base price
Visit Metabase Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Metabase a good Qlik Sense alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
AGPL (Open Source Edition)
Checked Nov 8, 2026metabase.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Open Source, unlimited users
Checked Nov 8, 2026metabase.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$100/month (Starter)
Checked Nov 8, 2026metabase.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
14 days
Checked Nov 8, 2026metabase.com(opens source in a new tab)
Self-hosting
Docker or JAR
Checked Nov 8, 2026metabase.com(opens source in a new tab)
Da
2. Data Studio (Looker Studio)
Best for: Marketers and small teams reporting on Google Analytics, Ads and Sheets data
Free plan + paidWeb
61.8
score / 100
Why switch from Qlik Sense
Free hosted dashboards for straightforward reporting needs.
Pros
Free self-service tier
Native connectors for Google Analytics, Ads, Sheets and BigQuery
Shares and collaborates like a Google Doc
Reports can be embedded on any web page
Cons
Can get slow with large or blended datasets
Basic data modelling compared with Power BI
Many third-party connectors charge separately
Visit Data Studio (Looker Studio) Compare with Qlik Sense Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Data Studio (Looker Studio) a good Qlik Sense alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Free tier
Self-service tier at no cost
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloud.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pro price
$9 per user per project/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloud.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
Community connectors
1,300+
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloud.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
Embedding
Embed reports on any web page
Checked Nov 8, 2026lookerstudio.google.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Apache Superset
Best for: Data teams comfortable with SQL who want a free, self-hosted Tableau-style platform
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted
59.4
score / 100
Why switch from Qlik Sense
Open-source and self-hosted, avoiding licence costs for large user counts.
Pros
Completely free under the Apache 2.0 licence
40+ built-in chart types, including geospatial maps
Built-in SQL Lab editor alongside a no-code chart builder
Cons
You must deploy and maintain it yourself, or pay a third-party host
Less approachable for non-technical users than Metabase
No official vendor support from the project itself
Visit Apache Superset Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Apache Superset a good Qlik Sense alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
License
Apache-2.0
Checked Nov 3, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Chart types
40+ built-in visualizations
Checked Nov 8, 2026superset.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
SQL editor
Yes (SQL Lab)
Checked Nov 8, 2026superset.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
Data sources
Any SQL-based database
Checked Nov 8, 2026superset.apache.org(opens source in a new tab)
4. Microsoft Power BI
Best for: Organisations on Microsoft 365 that want affordable, full-featured dashboards and reports
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, iOS, Android
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from Qlik Sense
Microsoft's BI tool, cheaper per user than Qlik and built into Microsoft 365 and Azure.
Pros
Free Desktop authoring app with strong data modelling
Lower per-user price than most enterprise BI tools
Fits closely with Excel, Teams and Microsoft Fabric
Cons
Desktop authoring app runs only on Windows
Sharing reports requires paid per-user or capacity licences
Licensing tiers and Fabric capacity options are hard to follow
Visit Microsoft Power BI Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Microsoft Power BI a good Qlik Sense alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Starting price
$14 per user/month (Pro, paid yearly)
Checked Nov 8, 2026microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Premium Per User
$24 per user/month (paid yearly)
Checked Nov 8, 2026microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free desktop app
Power BI Desktop
Checked Nov 8, 2026microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Platforms
Windows desktop app, web, mobile apps
Checked Nov 8, 2026learn.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Premium Per User plan
$24 per user/month (paid yearly)
Checked Nov 8, 2026microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
5. Tableau
Best for: Analyst teams that want polished, interactive dashboards and can budget for per-user licences
Free plan + paidSelf-hostableWeb, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted
53.6
score / 100
Why switch from Qlik Sense
The other big enterprise BI suite, known for its drag-and-drop visual analysis and a large user community.
Pros
Drag-and-drop canvas makes rich, interactive charts without code
Choice of hosted Tableau Cloud or self-managed Tableau Server
Free Tableau Public for learning and sharing public visualizations
Large community gallery and plenty of training material
Cons
Per-user licensing gets expensive as more people need access
Free Tableau Public workbooks are visible to anyone
Desktop authoring app has no Linux version
Visit Tableau Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.357
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Tableau a good Qlik Sense alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Free option
Tableau Public (public workbooks only)
Checked Nov 8, 2026help.tableau.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free desktop app
Tableau Desktop Public Edition
Checked Nov 8, 2026help.tableau.com(opens source in a new tab)
Hosted version
Tableau Cloud
Checked Nov 8, 2026help.tableau.com(opens source in a new tab)
Self-hosting
Tableau Server on Windows or Linux
Checked Nov 8, 2026help.tableau.com(opens source in a new tab)
API
REST API
Checked Nov 8, 2026help.tableau.com(opens source in a new tab)

Quick comparison

1. MetabaseTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. Data Studio (Looker Studio)

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Apache Superset

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Microsoft Power BI

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

5. Tableau

Pros

Cons

Verified facts