# Metabase

Metabase is an open-source business intelligence tool rated 4.4/5 on G2 from 500+ reviews. Profile: pricing, self-hosted option, features, and how it compares to Looker.

**Category:** Open-source business intelligence tool  
**Vendor:** Metabase, Inc.  
**Founded:** 2014  
**HQ:** San Francisco, California, US  
**Website:** https://www.metabase.com  


## About

Metabase is a San Francisco-based open-source business intelligence tool founded in 2014 by Sameer Al-Sakran and Jason Liu. Designed to make data analytics accessible to non-technical business users, Metabase lets anyone ask data questions in plain English or using its visual query builder without writing SQL. The platform is particularly popular with startups and SMBs that want a simple BI tool their whole team can use without data analyst intervention. Metabase can be self-hosted for free or used as a managed cloud service. The company raised $30M in Series B funding in 2019 and has over 50,000 companies using the platform globally.

## Ratings

| Source | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.4/5 | ~500 |
| Capterra | 4.5/5 | ~200 |

## Funding

$30M+

| Round | Amount | Date | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | $15M | 2018 | Index Ventures |
| Series B | $30M | 2019 | Benchmark |

## Viability

Stable with strong open-source community. 50K+ companies provides solid revenue base. Self-hosted option adds enterprise stickiness. Good long-term choice for data-curious teams.

## Pricing

Metabase OSS (self-hosted) is always free. Metabase Cloud: Starter free (no SLA). Pro: $500/month (up to 5 destinations). Business: custom. A self-hosted deployment for 20 users can run on a $10/month VPS with zero licensing cost.

| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source (self-hosted) | Free | Teams that can manage infrastructure |
| Starter (Cloud) | Free | Small teams, no SLA needed |
| Pro (Cloud) | $500/mo | Larger cloud deployments with support |
| Business | Custom | Enterprise needs, SLAs, advanced permissions |

## What reviewers say

_~700 G2 and Capterra reviews, 2025-2026_

**Praised:**
- Non-technical team members can query data without SQL or analyst help
- Self-hosted option is genuinely free with full features for smaller teams
- Question builder is one of the most intuitive visual query interfaces available
- Embedding Metabase dashboards in your product is straightforward

**Complaints:**
- Complex analysis requiring advanced SQL still needs a technical user
- Dashboard performance degrades with large datasets without optimization
- Cloud pricing is less competitive than self-hosting for budget-sensitive teams

## Compliance

- **SOC 2:** Yes (Pro+)
- **GDPR:** Yes
- **HIPAA:** Yes (Pro with BAA)
- **SSO:** Yes (Pro+)

## Integrations

- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- BigQuery
- Snowflake
- Redshift
- MongoDB
- SQLite
- Druid
- Presto
- Athena
- Databricks
- Google Analytics

## FAQs

### Is Metabase really free?

Yes, the open-source self-hosted version is free with full features. You pay only for the cloud-hosted version or for Enterprise features like SSO, advanced permissions, and HIPAA compliance.

### Can non-technical users use Metabase?

Yes, that's Metabase's core design goal. The visual question builder lets business users ask data questions like 'Show me sales by region last month' without touching SQL. Power users can also write custom SQL.


## Sources

- [Metabase website](https://www.metabase.com): Product and pricing
- [G2 Metabase reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/metabase/reviews): User reviews