Our Recommended Metabase Alternatives in 2024
Metabase has quickly become a favourite for teams wanting an intuitive, open-source solution for business intelligence. Its easy setup and flexible approach make it the go-to for many organisations looking to explore and visualise their data with minimal hassle.
But Metabase isn’t the perfect fit for everyone. This guide looks at the best alternatives to Metabase, offering a detailed comparison of each tool’s unique features, strengths, and possible drawbacks. We’ll explore options like Microsoft Power BI, Embeddable, BlazeSQL, Holistics, Looker, and Google Data Studio, helping you find the right match for your organisation’s specific data needs.
Embeddable
Embeddable provides a powerful toolkit designed to seamlessly embed advanced analytics within your applications, redefining the user experience with a focus on flexibility and speed. Unlike traditional BI tools, Embeddable enables highly customised, user-focused analytics through a combination of a front-end SDK, a robust back-end engine, and an intuitive no-code builder. This approach offers designers creative control over interface elements while allowing developers to deploy and iterate quickly, achieving a tailored, feature-rich analytics environment much faster than building a custom solution from scratch.
Features
Semantic Layer for Simplified Data Management: Built-in semantic layer that simplifies handling and interpreting complex data.
High-Performance No-Code Builder: Speeds up analytics interface creation, making it easy to build intuitive dashboards.
Flexible Hosting Options: Offers self-hosting and Embeddable’s cloud-based service, accommodating diverse deployment needs.
Enhanced Data Security: Row-level security ensures fine-grained access control, keeping data securely segmented for different users.
Interactive Analytics Tools: Boosts user engagement with interactive features, allowing deeper exploration of data insights.
Full Customisation: Designers and developers can fully customise visual and functional components, enabling a tailored analytics experience.
Limitations
Requires Initial Integration Effort: Embedding analytics into custom platforms involves setup and integration work. While Embeddable provides a toolkit to streamline this, developers still need to configure elements within the application to ensure seamless functionality and alignment with existing systems.
BlazeSQL
BlazeSQL is a personal SQL AI data analyst built to make data analysis accessible for everyone in your business. You can ask questions in natural language without needing SQL or technical skills. Simply type your query as you would ask a colleague, and BlazeSQL will connect to your SQL databases, retrieve the data, and visualise it for you. It’s a no-code platform that helps teams save time and make smarter decisions. Perfect for product management, marketing, sales, and operations, BlazeSQL is a self-service BI tool that prioritises collaboration, privacy, and ease of use. We also have received numerous user reports suggesting that BlazeSQL makes an excellent InsightBase alternative and AskYourDatabase alternative.
Features
Data Visualization: Interactive dashboards make it easy to create visualisations, including line and bar charts, with minimal effort.
AI Analytics Chatbot: An AI-driven chatbot that transforms questions into SQL queries and generates easy-to-understand insights without needing technical skills.
Data Security: Maintains privacy by ensuring data security throughout the analysis process.
Quick Database Connection: Fast and straightforward database connections to popular SQL platforms like Snowflake, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and more.
Automated Reporting: Automatically generates weekly reports to save time and effort for your team.
Team Collaboration: Built-in tools for collaboration that help your team work on data projects in real time.
Supported Databases: Works with Snowflake, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, BigQuery, MySQL, MariaDB, and AWS Redshift.
Limitations
Subscription Requirement: BlazeSQL requires a paid subscription, which may be a drawback for organisations seeking a free or open-source solution.
Holistics
Holistics is a cloud-based BI tool designed to bring data insights within reach for everyone in your organisation. By allowing data teams to build reusable, logic-rich models, Holistics empowers non-technical users to explore data, run queries, and generate insights—all without needing SQL expertise. This means anyone, from executives to frontline teams, can access critical data in a straightforward, self-service environment. Holistics bridges the gap between data experts and everyday users, making it an intuitive yet powerful solution for data-driven teams of all backgrounds and skill levels.
Features
Intuitive Drag-and-Drop Interface: Holistics offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface that enables users to create and customise dashboards without extensive technical expertise.
Advanced SQL Capabilities: For power users and analysts, Holistics supports advanced SQL queries, allowing in-depth data analysis and customised metrics creation, ideal for more complex insights.
Reusable Data Models and Semantic Layer: Data teams can define reusable data models and business logic once in Holistics’ semantic layer, ensuring consistency across all reports and dashboards.
Flexible Filtering and Drill-Downs: Holistics provides advanced filtering, cross-filtering, and drill-down options, enabling users to slice and dice data on multiple dimensions, enhancing exploration and uncovering granular insights.
Customisable Dashboard Embedding: Dashboards and reports can be embedded directly into web and mobile applications, allowing seamless sharing with stakeholders while preserving the platform’s look and feel.
Automated Reporting and Multi-Channel Sharing: Holistics simplifies report distribution through scheduled email delivery and direct integration with Google Sheets, Slack, PDF exports, and shareable links, making it easy to keep all stakeholders informed.
Direct Database Integration and Secure Connections: It connects directly to SQL databases, ensuring real-time access to data, and leverages encrypted server connections for secure data handling without requiring data replication.
Limitations
Limited Visualisation Options: While Holistics covers essential visualisation needs, it lacks more intricate chart types and custom visualisation options in other Power BI alternatives, which may restrict its use in highly visual analytics environments.
Requires Basic Data Modelling Knowledge: To maximise Holistics, users benefit from a basic understanding of data modelling and metrics definitions. While the tool is user-friendly, effective use may require foundational knowledge of data structures and relationships.
Looker
Looker, part of Google Cloud, is a data-centric BI tool ideal for organisations with dedicated data teams prioritising consistency and governance. Its core strength lies in LookML, a SQL-based modelling language that allows data teams to create reusable, consistent data models. This unified structure not only enables real-time data exploration but ensures that all teams work from a centralised source of truth, reducing data silos and enhancing accuracy across reports.
Once these models are established, Looker’s interface empowers business users to explore data through intuitive filters, visualise key metrics, and generate insights with minimal technical effort. While its visualisation options are straightforward compared to Metabase, Looker shines in data integration and scalability, especially for companies within the Google Cloud ecosystem. With multi-cloud compatibility, embedded analytics, and API support, Looker is an excellent choice for organisations focused on deep data integration, governance, and enabling self-service BI.
Features
Real-Time Interactive Dashboards: Looker offers real-time reporting with interactive, customisable dashboards. Its interface supports drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to create tailored data views without deep technical skills.
Robust API Integrations: With API support, Looker connects seamlessly to custom or third-party applications, allowing teams to embed analytics within workflows or apps.
Scheduled Reporting and Flexible Sharing Options: Looker makes it simple to schedule and share insights through various channels, including email, links, Slack, Segment, and more.
Embedded Analytics: Dashboards can be embedded directly into third-party websites, apps, or internal portals, providing users with easy access to analytics in their everyday tools.
Workflow Automation: Looker’s integration capabilities extend to many third-party applications, supporting automation and efficient workflows across platforms.
Flexible Data Connections: Looker connects to both cloud and on-premises databases, allowing smooth access to data from diverse sources, whether local or remote.
Secure, Efficient Database Connection: Looker maintains a secure, single connection to your database, with caching capabilities that optimise performance while ensuring data security, avoiding long-term data storage within Looker itself.
Limitations
Steep Learning Curve with LookML: Looker’s LookML language is powerful but can be challenging to master, often requiring dedicated support from data analysts or technical training for practical use.
Performance Issues with Complex Queries: Loading and rendering highly complex or large-scale queries may lead to slower performance, particularly in visualisations or dashboards with intensive data processing needs.
Google Data Studio
Google Data Studio is a free, cloud-based tool for creating interactive dashboards and custom reports, ideal for teams already using the Google ecosystem. Its intuitive, drag-and-drop interface allows non-technical users to easily design visually engaging reports, connecting seamlessly to various Google services like Google Analytics, BigQuery, and Google Sheets. This integration makes it especially valuable for marketing and small business teams needing quick insights across multiple data sources.
Data Studio supports real-time data connections, allowing reports to refresh as data is updated, making monitoring metrics without manual updates possible. While it doesn’t match the customisation depth of more advanced BI tools, Data Studio’s accessibility and collaborative sharing options—through email, shareable links, and PDF downloads—make it a powerful entry-level alternative. For businesses focused on the Google ecosystem and simple reporting needs, Data Studio offers a reliable, no-cost solution for transforming data into meaningful insights quickly and effectively.
Features
Custom Metrics and Dimensions: Easily create new metrics and dimensions using custom formulas, allowing users to tailor data to specific analysis needs.
Flexible, Customisable Templates: Choose from built-in templates with robust visualisation options, making it easy to track and compare data trends over time.
No-Code Data Exploration: The Explorer feature quickly performs ad hoc queries, enabling non-technical users to gain insights without SQL knowledge.
Seamless Google and Third-Party Integration: Integrate with Google Analytics, Google Ads, BigQuery, and additional third-party connectors like Facebook Ads, allowing comprehensive data aggregation.
Extensive Database Support: Connect to multiple data sources, including Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, and MySQL, for versatile data access and analysis
Real-Time Sharing: Collaborate through Google Drive, with easy sharing via URL links, making it simple for teams to access and interact with reports
Community and Support Resources: Access extensive support through a dedicated Help Center and community resources, ensuring users can troubleshoot and expand their skills effectively.
Limitations
Limited Visualisation and Advanced Analysis Options: While it covers basic reporting needs, Google Data Studio lacks advanced visualisation and analytical depth in more robust BI tools, which may restrict its usefulness for in-depth analysis.
Learning Curve for Advanced Features: While the tool is user-friendly for simple reports, entirely using advanced features may require technical knowledge, often necessitating some in-house expertise to unlock its full potential.
No Direct Excel Integration: Data Studio doesn’t support direct Excel integration, which can be a limitation for users who rely heavily on Excel for data analysis. Workarounds like importing data via Google Sheets are available.
Power BI
Power BI, Microsoft’s flagship business intelligence tool, is designed for organisations deeply integrated within the Microsoft ecosystem. It delivers powerful, interactive data analytics with its proprietary language, DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), enabling users to create complex calculations and custom metrics beyond standard SQL capabilities. With seamless integration across Microsoft products like Azure, Excel, and SharePoint, Power BI offers robust, real-time data visualisation. It is ideal for teams needing high-quality, dynamic insights within a familiar environment.
This tool's flexibility and depth make it a leading choice for data-driven organisations seeking advanced analytics and customisable reports.
Features
Drag-and-drop interface: With intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, you can easily create reports and dashboards, ideal for users with varying technical skills.
Scalable dashboards: A unified and scalable interface allows the creation of complex dashboards, supporting large organisations and collaboration.
Advanced visualisations: Offers various visualisations, including customisable options with company branding and complex data insights.
Extensive integrations: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Teams, etc.) for streamlined sharing and collaboration.
Collaboration tools: Collaborative dashboards and reports enhance synergy across teams in larger organisations.
Data connectivity: Connects to numerous data sources for easy data import and analysis.
Limitations
Proprietary DAX language: Uses DAX, which may be difficult for unfamiliar users. Debugging DAX-based queries can also be challenging without expertise.
Data preparation: Requires clean, well-organized data. The tool does not work well with messy or unstructured data, so additional time and effort may be needed for data preparation.
Limited support for non-Windows platforms: While Power BI is primarily optimised for Windows users, some workarounds are available for Mac users but are less streamlined.