Free Sisense alternatives: 4 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

4 of the 7 Sisense alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Metabase, Microsoft Power BI and Zoho Analytics 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	Microsoft Power BI	Free plan + paid	$14 per user/month (Pro, paid yearly)	No	Web, Windows, iOS +1	5 of 5	61.8
3	Zoho Analytics	Free plan + paid	$60 a month for 5 users, billed monthly	No	Web, iOS, Android +1	7 of 7	57.5
4	Tableau	Free plan + paid	—	No	Web, Windows, macOS +1	5 of 5	57.2

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 Sisense
Open source with embedding support, far cheaper for smaller products.
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 Sisense 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)
2. Microsoft Power BI
Best for: Organisations on Microsoft 365 that want affordable, full-featured dashboards and reports
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, iOS, Android
61.8
score / 100
Why switch from Sisense
Power BI Embedded is a common lower-cost route for teams already on 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 Compare with Sisense 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 Microsoft Power BI a good Sisense 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)
3. Zoho Analytics
Best for: Small and mid-size businesses, especially Zoho users, wanting affordable self-service BI
Free plan + paidSelf-hostableWeb, iOS, Android, Self-hosted
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from Sisense
Published pricing and a free plan, with embedded BI on paid tiers.
Pros
Free plan and published, user-based pricing
Hundreds of connectors with ready-made dashboards for common business apps
Cloud or on-premises deployment
Cons
Free plan is capped at 2 users and 10K rows
Paid tiers also cap data rows, with more rows sold as add-ons
Busy interface with many settings to learn
Visit Zoho Analytics 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 Zoho Analytics a good Sisense alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Free plan
Yes, 2 users and 10,000 rows
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
15 days, no card
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Data sources
500+
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Deployment
Cloud or on-premise
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Standard plan
$60 a month for 5 users, billed monthly
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Premium plan
$145 a month, billed monthly
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
Extra users
From $8 per user/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026zoho.com(opens source in a new tab)
4. 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
57.2
score / 100
Why switch from Sisense
Better for analyst-built internal dashboards with heavy visual customisation.
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 Compare with Sisense Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
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 Sisense 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. Microsoft Power BI

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Zoho Analytics

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Tableau

Pros

Cons

Verified facts