What is Metabase?
A business intelligence and analytics tool for querying databases, building charts and dashboards, and embedding analytics in other apps, with an AI agent called Metabot. It runs as a free self-hosted open source app (Docker or JAR) or as Metabase Cloud.
Who it's for
Teams that want people to explore company data with a query builder, a SQL editor or AI chat, and that may want to self-host or embed dashboards in their own product. The pricing page points small teams to Starter, and to Pro or Enterprise for row and column permissions, advanced SSO and full embedding.
Pros & cons
Strengths
- The data sources page lists 29 databases and warehouses: 18 official connectors (including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, ClickHouse, MongoDB, SQL Server and Oracle) and 11 community connectors that work only when self-hosting.
- The pricing page lists an Open Source edition that is free, self-hosted and unlimited in users, and says dashboards, charts, queries and data sources are unlimited on all plans.
- The docs say Metabot is available on all plans, can answer data questions, create queries, generate SQL, explain charts and create Documents, and only sees what the person using it can see.
- The docs list an MCP server (available on all plans) that lets tools such as Claude or Codex query Metabase within the logged-in user's permissions; admins can turn it off for everyone.
- The pricing page says Cloud Starter and Pro include a 14-day free trial with self-service sign-up, and that credit cards are charged only when the trial ends.
- The pricing page lists SOC 2 Type II and Google Auth with managed cloud on Starter, and SAML, JWT, OIDC, SCIM, usage analytics, white-label branding and modular embedding on Pro and Enterprise.
Limitations
- Pricing is per seat on top of a base fee: Starter includes 5 users and Pro includes 10, with extra users at $6 or $12 a month (monthly billing) per the pricing page; Starter has no invoice billing and lacks custom domains, custom SMTP and Pro-tier permissions.
- The pricing page lists usage-metered add-ons: Metabase's managed AI service (first 1M tokens free, then $3.75 per 1M tokens, Cloud only), transforms runs billed per run beyond 1,000 free, and built-in storage beyond the first 1M rows (from $2 a month).
- The pricing page says the Open Source edition lacks row and column permissions, SAML/OIDC/JWT/SCIM, usage analytics, modular embedding and white-labeling, and alerts are branded; guest embeds on Open Source and Starter show a 'Powered by Metabase' badge.
- Modular SDK and full-app embedding require sign-in, so embedded viewers are billed as users, and the pricing page says these are available only on Pro and Enterprise. Enterprise has a $20,000 a year minimum, and single-tenant hosting and air-gapped deployment carry extra fees.
- The AI privacy page says table and field names and sample field values may be sent to the AI provider, and that feedback submissions may include prompts and conversation context. It does not say whether providers or Metabase use data for model training, and the pages read do not state refund or cancellation terms.
- The vendor's pages differ on support: the Open Source page says all plans include support from its success team, while the pricing page lists community forums for Open Source and a 3-day SLA starting at Starter.
Plans and pricing
- Open Source: Free. Self-hosted, AGPL license per the pricing page, unlimited users, community forums for support; bring your own AI model.
- Starter: $1,080 a year billed annually (about $90 a month), or $100 monthly. Cloud only, 5 users included, extra users $65 a year or $6 a month each, 3-day support SLA, 14-day trial.
- Pro: $6,210 a year billed annually (about $517.50 a month), or $575 monthly. Cloud or self-hosted, 10 users included, extra users $130 a year or $12 a month each, invoice billing available, full permissions, SSO and embedding features, 14-day trial.
- Enterprise: Custom, minimum $20,000 a year. Cloud or self-hosted, same features as Pro per the pricing page, plus 1-day SLA, dedicated success engineer, priority support and procurement help; trials through sales.
- Add-ons: Usage-based. Managed AI service $3.75 per 1M tokens after the first 1M free; transforms $0.01 or $0.02 per run after 1,000 free (Cloud Starter/Pro); built-in storage from $2 a month beyond 1M rows; development instance $100 a month or $1,080 a year on Pro and Enterprise.
Prices were read from the vendor's machine-readable pricing page (metabase.com/pricing.md), in USD and excluding tax; the regular pricing page was not fetched directly. Starter and Pro list about a 10% discount for annual billing, and the page's text did not show any sign of conflicting figures. Confirm on the live pricing page.
Details checked October 2026 against the vendor's own pages. Prices and limits change, so confirm before you buy. Official pricing page ↗
Sources
This profile was compiled from these public pages. We have not run hands-on tests.
Metabase — at a glance
A business intelligence and analytics tool for querying databases, building charts and dashboards, and embedding analytics in other apps, with an AI agent called Metabot. It runs as a free self-hosted open source app (Docker or JAR) or as Metabase Cloud.
Try Metabase →