Is Metabase worth the price?
Metabase's pricing is generally fair, offering a generous Open Source tier for self-hosting.
The Starter tier at $100/month for the first 5 users is competitive for cloud-hosted BI. The Pro tier at $575/month for 10 users becomes quite expensive quickly with additional users.
It's best for small to medium businesses prioritizing self-hosting or a cost-effective cloud entry point.
Pricing Plans
Free TrialOpen Source
Free
Self-hosted
- Community support
- Unlimited queries
- 20+ database connectors
- Basic embedding
- AGPL license
Starter
$100/month
Cloud-hosted
- First 5 users included
- $6/additional user
- 3-day support
- SOC 2 Type II
- SAML & JWT auth
- Custom domains
Pro
$575/month
Advanced features
- First 10 users included
- $12/additional user
- Row/column permissions
- SSO & SCIM
- White-label embedding
- Usage analytics
Enterprise
null
Full support
- Dedicated success engineer
- 1-day email SLA
- Air-gapped hosting option
- Custom pricing
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Additional users quickly increase Starter/Pro costs
Metabot AI add-on is extra ($100-$500/mo)
Enterprise tier requires custom negotiation
Self-hosting incurs infrastructure costs
Which Plan Do You Need?
Startups needing free self-hosted BI
SMBs wanting affordable cloud BI
Teams requiring advanced embedding
How Metabase Compares to Competitors
Compared to Tableau Cloud, which starts around $75/user/month, Metabase's Starter tier at $100/month for 5 users ($20/user) is significantly more affordable.
Looker (Google Cloud) is typically much more expensive, often starting in the thousands per month, making Metabase a budget-friendly alternative for most use cases.
Metabase Pricing FAQ
How much does Metabase cost?
Metabase starts at $100/month on the Starter plan. It offers 2 paid tiers ranging from $100/month up to $575/month. A free plan is also available with limited features.
Does Metabase have a free plan?
Yes. Metabase offers a free plan called "Open Source". It includes: Community support, Unlimited queries, 20+ database connectors.
Does Metabase offer a free trial?
Yes, Metabase offers a free trial. No credit card is typically required to start the trial, though this may vary.
What is the cheapest Metabase paid plan?
The cheapest paid plan for Metabase is "Starter" at $100/month. Key features include: First 5 users included, $6/additional user, 3-day support.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Metabase?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Metabase include Tableau, Looker, Microsoft Power BI, ThoughtSpot. Free alternatives include Microsoft Power BI, ThoughtSpot, Grafana. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Metabase
3 of 5 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
