Metabase
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform serving 90,000+ companies across 200 countries with self-service dashboards, AI-powered querying via Metabot, a semantic-layer Data Studio, and an Embedded Analytics SDK for SaaS products.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Metabase does
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco. The product enables non-technical users to explore data and build dashboards through a visual query builder while giving analysts a full SQL editor, with results delivered via drill-through charts, scheduled email reports, and Slack alerts. The platform connects to 20+ data sources including PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, ClickHouse, Databricks, Redshift, and MongoDB, and is offered as a self-hosted open-source distribution, a managed cloud SaaS, and embedded analytics SDKs for integration into third-party SaaS products. Technology is built on a Clojure backend and a JavaScript/React frontend, with a public REST API, an Agent API for programmatic semantic-layer access, and an MCP server connecting Metabase to AI clients such as Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
The product portfolio spans two commercial lines: Business Intelligence (internal self-service analytics for data teams and business users) and Embedded Analytics (white-label, customer-facing analytics for SaaS applications with multi-tenant data segregation and granular permissions). Newer modules include Data Studio (a semantic-layer workbench with SQL/Python transforms and a curated metrics Library), Metabase AI / Metabot (natural language querying, AI SQL generation, and AI governance), CSV Upload, and the React-based Embedded Analytics SDK. The user base spans 90,000+ companies across 200 countries, anchored by 47.9k GitHub stars and named customers including McDonald's, Capital One, Deutsche Telekom, Hugging Face, Mistral AI, Linear, Kong, and Huma.
Metabase monetizes through a freemium model: a free Starter/Open Source tier, a Pro plan at $85/month per workspace (adding AI governance, Remote Sync, Data Studio, priority support), and an Enterprise plan (custom pricing with SSO/SAML/LDAP, advanced permissions, SLA, professional services). Go-to-market combines product-led growth via free self-serve deployment, community-led growth through open-source channels and the Metabase Experts partner network, and enterprise field sales for large organizations. The company is venture-backed, having raised a $30 million Series B led by Insight Partners in August 2021, and operates as a private company with 101-250 employees and a continuous major-release cadence (v55 through v62 between June 2025 and June 2026).
Metabase firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Metabase
- Legal name
- Metabase
- Website
- https://metabase.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform serving 90,000+ companies across 200 countries with self-service dashboards, AI-powered querying via Metabot, a semantic-layer Data Studio, and an Embedded Analytics SDK for SaaS products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Metabase industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Intelligence and Analytics Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Meta-Search & Search Aggregators (BPAMAAAC)
Keywords
Where Metabase is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Metabase business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Cloud Subscription (Pro/Enterprise): SaaS cloud-hosted subscription tiers with automatic upgrades, technical support, and access to advanced features. Pro includes AI governance, token limits, custom prompts, usage analytics; Enterprise adds advanced permissions, SLA, and professional services.
- Open Source (Free): Free open-source version with core analytics features, AI SQL generation, and unlimited usage. Serves as a free tier that drives adoption and community growth, with conversion path to paid plans for advanced governance features.
- Professional Services: Extra help from Metabase team including onboarding, training, and implementation support. Available alongside all plans for teams needing hands-on assistance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Starter and Open Source - Free forever |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro - $85/month per workspace |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise - Contact sales |
| Subscription | Monthly | Development Instance - Flat fee add-on |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Metabase product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform that enables teams to explore data, build dashboards, query databases via a visual query builder or SQL editor, and ask questions in natural language through its Metabot AI assistant. It is offered as a free self-hosted open-source product, a hosted Metabase Cloud SaaS subscription, and an embedded analytics SDK for SaaS companies to integrate customer-facing analytics into their applications.
Product overview
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform offered in two primary product lines — Business Intelligence (self-service analytics for internal teams) and Embedded Analytics (customer-facing analytics for SaaS products). The platform is available as a self-hosted open-source offering, Metabase Cloud (SaaS), and three commercial plan tiers (Starter/Open Source, Pro, Enterprise). Key modules include Data Studio (semantic layer and analyst workbench for curating tables, metrics, and transforms), the Embedded Analytics SDK (React-based for embedding in SaaS apps), CSV Upload, and Metabase AI (Metabot conversational querying and MCP server for AI agent integration). The product supports 20+ built-in database connectors plus community drivers, and ships with a public REST API and Agent API.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Metabot: AI-powered data assistant for conversational querying and natural language data exploration
- Data Studio
- Embedded Analytics SDK
Products and services
- Metabase Business Intelligence Self-service analytics platform for internal teams, enabling users to explore data, build dashboards, and generate reports without SQL knowledge. Features include a visual query builder, drill-through analytics, AI-powered conversational querying via Metabot, and a SQL editor for power users.
- Metabase Embedded Analytics Customer-facing embedded analytics solution for SaaS products, supporting iframe and React SDK embedding, white-label customization, multi-tenant data segregation, and granular permissions. Allows data teams to manage dashboards without developer involvement.
Quantifiable outcome
- Deploy in minutes with Docker or cloud setup
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Metabase
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Metabase technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability9 records
Feature7 records
Metabase partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Metabase competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tableau (Salesforce): Tableau is the leading enterprise BI and data visualization platform, now owned by Salesforce. It directly competes with Metabase in the same product category (dashboards, self-service analytics, visual query builder) targeting similar customers, but typically at much higher price points and with deeper enterprise sales coverage.
- Looker (Google Cloud): Looker is a Google-owned BI platform built on a modeling language (LookML) for defining business logic. It competes directly with Metabase on enterprise analytics, semantic layer functionality, and embedded analytics, with a particular strength in Google Cloud-centric deployments.
- Apache Superset: Apache Superset is an open-source data visualization and exploration platform maintained by the Apache Foundation. It is the most direct open-source competitor to Metabase, with similar product capabilities (visual query builder, dashboards, SQL editor) and a comparable target market of data teams seeking self-hosted BI.
- Preset: Preset is a managed cloud version of Apache Superset, offering hosted Superset with enterprise features. It is a direct competitor to Metabase Cloud in the open-source BI space, targeting similar data teams with a comparable product offering differentiated by the underlying open-source project.
- Sigma Computing: Sigma Computing is a cloud-native BI platform that combines spreadsheet interface with data warehouse querying. It directly competes with Metabase in the self-service analytics and embedded analytics categories, particularly for SaaS companies embedding customer-facing analytics.
- Mode Analytics: Mode Analytics is a collaborative analytics platform combining SQL, Python, R, and visual reporting. It competes directly with Metabase for data analyst teams seeking SQL-first BI with dashboarding capabilities, with stronger positioning in data science workflows.
- ThoughtSpot: ThoughtSpot is an AI-powered analytics platform emphasizing natural language search and AI-driven insights for business users. It competes with Metabase's Metabot AI capabilities in the AI-first BI category, with a stronger emphasis on natural language search as the primary interface.
Broad incumbents
- Microsoft Power BI: Power BI is Microsoft's enterprise BI platform bundled within the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystems. It competes with Metabase as a broader incumbent with massive distribution advantages, particularly among existing Microsoft enterprise customers, and offers AI features through Copilot integration.
- Domo: Domo is a cloud-based BI and data visualization platform with broad business intelligence capabilities spanning dashboards, ETL, and embedded analytics. It competes with Metabase across multiple BI use cases as a broader incumbent with established enterprise presence.
Emerging players
- Hex: Hex is a modern data workspace combining notebooks, data apps, and BI capabilities for analytics teams. It represents an emerging player in the analytics space with a focus on collaborative data science workflows that overlaps with Metabase's data analyst segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Metabase social profiles
Digital presenceMetabase compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Metabase financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Metabase leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Metabase funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Metabase M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Metabase
What does Metabase do?
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics platform that enables teams to explore data, build dashboards, query databases via a visual query builder or SQL editor, and ask questions in natural language through its Metabot AI assistant. It is offered as a free self-hosted open-source product, a hosted Metabase Cloud SaaS subscription, and an embedded analytics SDK for SaaS companies to integrate customer-facing analytics into their applications.
Is Metabase a public or private company?
Metabase is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Metabase founded?
Metabase was founded in 2014. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Metabase based?
Metabase is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Metabase make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cloud Subscription (Pro/Enterprise) is the primary driver. The others are open Source (Free) and professional Services.
Who are Metabase's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tableau (Salesforce), Looker (Google Cloud), Apache Superset, Preset, Sigma Computing, Mode Analytics and ThoughtSpot. Broad incumbents are Microsoft Power BI and Domo. Hex is listed as an emerging player.
Does Metabase have an API?
Yes. Metabase provides a public REST API for programmatic access to its analytics platform, as well as an Agent API (introduced in v59) that exposes the semantic layer (tables, metrics, etc.) for external systems to discover data, write and execute queries programmatically for headless BI apps and non-Metabot AI agents. The platform also offers an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects Metabase to AI clients (Claude, Cursor, VS Code), allowing AI tools to query data, run SQL, update questions and dashboards, and create collections from within the AI client. The MCP server was extended in v62 to return interactive charts in AI chats. Additionally, the Embedded Analytics SDK (React-based) provides a component API for embedding analytics in SaaS applications. Developer documentation is at www.metabase.com/docs/latest/api.
What industry is Metabase in?
Metabase's product category is Business Intelligence and Analytics Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAC, Meta-Search & Search Aggregators. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.