Metabase
Open-source BI tool for asking questions of your databases and sharing dashboards.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Metabase
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence tool built so that people who don't write SQL can still answer questions from a company database. You point it at Postgres, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake or one of its other supported sources, then build questions by clicking through filters and summaries, or switch to a SQL editor when needed. Questions combine into dashboards, alerts and scheduled reports, and Metabase is also widely used to embed analytics inside other products. The Open Source edition is free under the AGPL with unlimited users and runs as a Java JAR or Docker container on your own server. Metabase Cloud and the paid Starter, Pro and Enterprise plans add hosting, permissions such as row-level security, SSO and support, priced per month with a set number of users included. It is simpler than Tableau or Power BI for heavy modelling, but quicker to set up for startups and product teams.
Best for: Startups and product teams wanting quick, self-hosted dashboards on top of their own database.
Pros and cons
What works
- 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
Why people leave
- 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
Top Metabase alternatives
See all 3- 1
Tableau62.6Far richer visual analysis for dedicated analysts, at enterprise prices.
- 2
Microsoft Power BI59.6Deeper modelling and Microsoft integration for a per-user fee.
- 3DaData Studio (Looker Studio)59.6
Free hosted dashboards with nothing to run, best for Google Analytics and Sheets data.
Why people left Metabase
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Metabase: common questions
Is Metabase free?
Yes. Metabase is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is Metabase open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at metabase/metabase. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does Metabase run on?
Metabase is available for Web and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Metabase?
The highest-ranked Metabase alternatives right now are Tableau, Microsoft Power BI and Data Studio (Looker Studio). See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.