--- title: "3 Best Metabase Alternatives in 2026 (Compared)" description: "Looking for a Metabase alternative? Compare the best BI & Dashboards alternatives to Metabase by pricing, free tiers, and features — find the right fit for your startup." source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/metabase retrieved: 2026-10-22 --- BI & Dashboards # The 3 Best Metabase Alternatives in 2026 Looking for an alternative to [Metabase](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/metabase)? Below we compare the best bi & dashboards alternatives by pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for — so you can pick the right fit for your budget and stack. Category BI & Dashboards Metabase pricing Free tier available Free tier Yes Alternatives 3 compared ## Why look for a Metabase alternative? Metabase is a solid bi & dashboards choice, but it isn't the right fit for everyone. The most common reasons teams evaluate alternatives: * −Row-level permissions and SSO need Pro at $575/month * −Self-hosting means running and upgrading it yourself * −Less suited to heavy modelling than code-first tools ## Metabase vs Alternatives — Quick Comparison | Tool | Pricing | Free tier | Rating | Best for | | ------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | --------- | ------ | -------------------------------- | | [Metabase](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/metabase)You searched | Free · paid from $100/user/mo | ✓ | 4.6 | BI & Dashboards — bi, dashboards | | 1.[Apache Superset](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apache-superset) | Free · paid from $20/user/mo | ✓ | 4.4 | BI & Dashboards — bi, dashboards | | 2.[Google Data Studio](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/google-data-studio) | Free · paid from $9/user/mo | ✓ | 4.3 | BI & Dashboards — bi, dashboards | | 3.[Hex](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/hex) | Free · paid from $36/mo | ✓ | 4.6 | BI & Dashboards — bi, notebooks | ## Top Metabase Alternatives, Explained ![Apache Superset](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=superset.apache.org&sz=128) ### 1. Apache Superset Free tier4.4· Free · paid from $20/user/mo Superset started at Airbnb and is now an Apache project with around 75,000 GitHub stars. It is built for data teams: a SQL editor, a semantic layer of datasets and metrics, 40+ visualization types, and it pushes queries down to your warehouse so it scales to very large data. It is Apache-2.0 with no feature gates, which makes it the usual choice for embedding analytics without a per-viewer bill. Preset, from Superset's creator, runs it as a managed service. Starter is free forever for up to 5 users. Professional is $20 per user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) with unlimited users, role-based access, scheduled reports and alerts. Embedded dashboards are an add-on ($500 a month for 50 viewers), and Enterprise adds SSO with SCIM, dbt integration and private cloud. As of October 2026. * ✓Fully open source under Apache-2.0 * ✓Scales to very large warehouses * ✓Hosted free for up to 5 users on Preset [Apache Superset pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apache-superset)[Metabase vs Apache Superset ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/apache-superset-vs-metabase) ![Google Data Studio](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=datastudio.google.com&sz=128) ### 2. Google Data Studio Free tier4.3· Free · paid from $9/user/mo Data Studio, called Looker Studio until 2026, is the free way to turn Google data into shareable reports. A drag-and-drop editor builds charts from prebuilt connectors to Google Analytics, Google Ads, Search Console, Sheets and BigQuery, plus partner connectors for other sources. Reports are shared like Google Docs, which is why marketing and agency teams use it so widely. Creating and viewing reports is free. Data Studio Pro is $9 per user per project a month and adds team workspaces, organization ownership of content, Google Cloud support and admin controls such as customer-managed encryption keys. As of October 2026. * ✓Free, with no user or report limits * ✓Best connectors for Google Analytics, Ads and Search Console * ✓Easy sharing for clients and teams [Google Data Studio pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/google-data-studio)[Metabase vs Google Data Studio ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/google-data-studio-vs-metabase) ![Hex](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=hex.tech&sz=128) ### 3. Hex Free tier4.6· Free · paid from $36/mo Hex sits between a notebook and a BI tool. Analysts work in cells that mix SQL, Python, charts and no-code exploration, then publish the result as an interactive app or dashboard for the rest of the company. The Hex agent writes and edits cells for you and runs on monthly credits per seat. Community is free with limited credits, 7-day version history and up to 5 published apps. Professional is $36 per editor a month with the Hex agent and 30-day history. Team is $75 per editor a month with unlimited published apps, scheduled runs, alerts and drill-down exploration. Enterprise adds SSO, audit logs, HIPAA, single tenancy and embedding. Bigger compute is billed per minute from $0.32 an hour. As of October 2026. * ✓SQL, Python and no-code in one notebook * ✓Publishes analysis as an interactive app * ✓Strong AI agent for analysts [Hex pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/hex)[Metabase vs Hex ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/hex-vs-metabase) ## Frequently Asked Questions What are the best alternatives to Metabase in 2026?⌄ The best Metabase alternatives in 2026 are Apache Superset, Google Data Studio, Hex. Each is a bi & dashboards option you can compare on pricing, free tiers, and features in the table above. Is there a free alternative to Metabase?⌄ Yes — Apache Superset, Google Data Studio, Hex offer free tiers, making them strong free Metabase alternatives for bootstrapped startups. Why look for a Metabase alternative?⌄ A common reason teams switch is row-level permissions and sso need pro at $575/month. Beyond that, people compare bi & dashboards tools on pricing, specific feature gaps, ease of use, and whether an open-source or free-tier option exists — so they can pick the best fit for their stack and budget. What is the cheapest Metabase alternative?⌄ Apache Superset is among the most affordable Metabase alternatives — free · paid from $20/user/mo. Check the comparison table above for the full pricing breakdown. Which Metabase alternative is rated highest?⌄ Hex is the highest-rated Metabase alternative in our catalog at 4.6 out of 5, making it a strong pick if you want a well-reviewed option. ## Find your perfect bi & dashboards tool Skip the research. 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