How Much Does
Metabase Cost in 2026?
Metabase is the open-source SMB BI leader. Open Source self-hosted free forever. Starter at $100/month + $6/user (first 5 included) = cheapest cloud-hosted BI at $130/month for 10 users. Pro at $575/month + $12/user (first 10 included) adds row/column permissions + white-label. Enterprise starts at $20k/year with dedicated success engineer.
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Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
Plans & Pricing
Open Source (Self-Hosted)
- scope Free forever self-hosted. Community support forum. No Metabot AI (requires paid).
Starter (Monthly)
- basePerMonth 100
- perUserAdditional $6/user/month after first 5 included
- scope Cloud-hosted, managed instance. 3-day support via Slack/Teams/email.
Starter (Annual)
$1080/mo billed annually
- baseAnnual 1080
- perUserAnnual $65/year per user after first 5
- scope ~10% annual savings vs monthly
Pro (Monthly)
- basePerMonth 575
- perUserAdditional $12/user/month after first 10 included
- scope Cloud or self-hosted. + Row/column-level permissions + usage analytics + white-label support
Pro (Annual)
$6210/mo billed annually
- baseAnnual 6210
- perUserAnnual $130/year per user after first 10
Enterprise
- startsAtAnnual 20000
- scope Priority support + dedicated success engineer + 1-day email SLA + optional air-gapping + single-tenant hosting
Advanced Transforms Add-on
- scope $250/month. Advanced data transformation pipelines.
Built-in Storage Add-on
- scope From $40/month. Managed database storage for Metabase-owned data.
From the StackScored blog
Features
Our Verdict
Metabase's competitive position in 2026 is 'the practical SMB BI choice.' Open-source self-hosted is genuinely free — deploy on your AWS/GCP/Docker, connect your database, share dashboards. Most startups and SMBs can run Open Source forever without paying. Starter at $100/month + $6/user/month (first 5 users included) shifts you to Metabase's managed cloud: $100 + $6×0 = $100/month for 5 users, $100 + $6×5 = $130/month for 10 users, $100 + $6×15 = $190/month for 20 users. Annual saves ~10%: $1,080/year + $65/user for each user beyond 5. For a 20-person startup, annual cost is ~$2,055 vs monthly $2,280 — 10% savings. Pro at $575/month + $12/user/month (first 10 users included) is the jump tier: $575 + $12×0 = $575/month for 10 users, $575 + $12×10 = $695/month for 20 users. Pro adds row/column-level permissions (critical for multi-tenant apps), usage analytics, white-label support, and embedded analytics with per-view licensing. Annual at $6,210 + $130/user after first 10 saves ~10%. Enterprise starts at $20,000/year with priority support, dedicated success engineer, 1-day email SLA, optional air-gapping, single-tenant hosting — appropriate for regulated industries (healthcare, finance) or high-security requirements. Add-ons are separate: Metabot AI from $100/month (AI natural language queries), Advanced Transforms $250/month (data transformation pipelines), Built-in Storage from $40/month (Metabase-owned database). Where Metabase wins: Open Source genuinely free forever for self-hosters — SMBs can build serious BI without paying, Starter at $100/month + $6/user is cheapest cloud BI in category, 20+ database connectors including PostgreSQL/MySQL natively, clean UI that non-data-analysts can navigate without training. Where it loses: Pro $575/month base + $12/user is meaningful jump from Starter (required for embedded analytics, row/column permissions), Metabot AI is $100/month add-on, not bundled, less enterprise-mature than Tableau/Looker for large deployments, smaller brand recognition than Tableau/Power BI in enterprise sales cycles.
Pros
- Open Source self-hosted genuinely free forever — SMBs can build serious BI without paying
- Starter at $100/month + $6/user is cheapest cloud BI in category — 10 users = $130/month
- 20+ database connectors natively — PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, SQL Server
- Clean UI for non-data-analysts — lower learning curve than Tableau Desktop
- 14-day free trial enables real evaluation of cloud tiers
Cons
- Pro $575/month base + $12/user is meaningful jump from Starter for embedded analytics + permissions
- Metabot AI is $100/month add-on — not bundled into any tier
- Less enterprise-mature than Tableau/Looker for 500+ user deployments
- Smaller brand recognition than Tableau/Power BI in enterprise sales cycles
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Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does Metabase cost per month?
- Metabase plans start at $40/mo. They offer 9 plans total.
- Does Metabase offer a free trial?
- Yes, Metabase offers a free trial for 14 days. No credit card is typically required to start.
- Does Metabase have a free plan?
- Yes, Metabase offers a free plan. See the feature comparison above for what's included and the limits.
- Is Metabase worth the price?
- With a score of 9/10 and plans from $40/mo, Metabase delivers strong value for the price.
- What are cheaper alternatives to Metabase?
- Cheaper data visualization & bi alternatives include Microsoft Power BI ($14/mo), Preset (Apache Superset) ($20/mo). See all options on our [Data Visualization & BI pricing comparison](/pricing/data-viz/) page.