Ultimate Metabase Pricing Breakdown: 5 Things You Should Know

Most business owners get this dead wrong.

They see “free” on Metabase’s pricing page and think they hacked the system. 

They didn’t. They just signed up for hidden costs they can’t see yet.

Here’s the truth nobody tells you:

• Free software isn’t free. It’s servers, DevOps, and the hidden payroll hours keeping it alive..
  
  

• Cloud tiers feel cheap until your headcount triples.
  
  

• Enterprise? Great for corporations. Completely overkill for most startups.
  
  

• Getting extra support usually means paying more. The same goes for added reliability. And even then, your team’s time is still heavily involved.

And this is the trap: most business owners optimize for cost per month, not cost to value.

Metabase has real appeal: open-source roots, flexibility, and credibility in the business intelligence space.

But if you don’t do the math beyond the sticker price, you’ll pay for it late, in delays, frustration, and opportunity cost.

Now, for some teams, that trade-off works.

For others, especially those without armies of engineers, the smarter move is a platform built to deliver speed and adoption out of the box.

This isn’t about “free vs. paid.” It’s about picking the tool that matches your resources, goals, and team reality.

How much does Metabase cost? 

Here’s a quick comparison table of all Metabase pricing plans to help you understand better.

• Go with Open Source if you’re a developer or a small team that can handle hosting, upgrades, and server management on your own. It’s free forever but comes with extra engineering overhead.
  
  

• Pick Starter if you want a fully managed cloud setup without worrying about infrastructure. 
  
  

• Choose Pro if you need compliance, granular permissions, white-labeling, and staging environments.
  
  

• Opt for Enterprise if your organization requires priority support, advanced deployment (single-tenant/air-gapped), or procurement assistance.
  
  

• Add “Metabase Without a Database” if you just want to upload CSVs or spreadsheets and start exploring data quickly without connecting an external database.

What You Won’t Find on the Metabase Pricing Page

Metabase’s pricing page looks simple at first glance - free, Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. 

But if you’ve spent time in community forums or Reddit threads, you’ll notice users raise questions that go beyond just numbers.

Here are the realities worth knowing before you decide:

1. The Free Version Isn’t Really Free

• Yes, the Open Source plan is free forever.
  
  

• But you’ll need your own infrastructure to host it. That means server costs, developer time for upgrades, and ongoing maintenance.
  
  

• For small teams without in-house engineers, this “free” plan can quickly become expensive due to hidden costs.

2. The Enterprise Jump Feels Steep

• Pro costs $500/month, but Enterprise starts at $15,000 per year.
  
  

• Many users feel this jump is too big for what you actually get — mostly priority support, procurement help, and advanced deployment options.
  
  

• If your team is mid-sized, you may feel stuck: Pro might not give you enough governance features or advanced data visualization options, but Enterprise can feel overkill for the price.

3. Limited Advanced Features

• Several users mention hitting a wall with basic functionality, crashes, slow dashboards, and limited visualization types.
  
  

• Features like code versioning, multi-tab dashboards, and deep customization aren’t as strong as in other BI platforms.
  
  

• Even Pro and Enterprise don’t fully address these gaps, which is why some teams move away once they outgrow simple dashboards.
  
  

4. Support Isn’t Always Smooth

• Community edition relies on forums, but even paid users sometimes feel support is “slow and ticket-based.”
  
  

• The 3-day SLA on Starter and Pro means urgent issues can drag. Enterprise offers better support, but only if you’re ready to pay the premium.
  
  

• For teams relying on BI every day, this can create bottlenecks.

5. Compliance and Scalability Questions

• Metabase is SOC 2 and GDPR compliant, but advanced compliance features like SCIM or air-gapped hosting only come with higher tiers.
  
  

• Teams that start on Starter or Pro often realize they need an upgrade just to meet security or enterprise IT requirements.
  
  

• At scale, managing permissions and user access also gets tricky, another area where users have reported frustration.

Metabase is a good entry point for BI, but once your team grows, pricing and feature limitations can become real pain points. 

It’s not just about the monthly cost; it’s also about hidden infrastructure expenses, missing functionality, and support trade-offs.

Pros & Cons of Metabase Pricing

Final Verdict: Is Metabase Pricing Worth It?

Metabase has built its reputation as one of the easiest entry points into business intelligence.

The free open-source plan is attractive if you have developers who can handle infrastructure, while the Starter plan makes sense for small teams that just want managed hosting.

The Pro plan is where real governance features kick in SSO, permissions, white-labeling, but at $500/month + $10/user, costs can climb quickly. 

And the Enterprise tier, starting at $15k per year, often feels like too steep a jump for what’s added beyond Pro.

The truth is, Metabase works well for simple dashboards and quick queries, but many teams hit a ceiling. Common pain points include:

• Crashes and performance bottlenecks at scale
  
  

• Limited customization and visualization options
  
  

• Expensive Enterprise features that don’t always justify the price
  
  

• Gaps in team workflows, like version control and advanced collaboration

So, is it worth it? Yes, if you’re early-stage and need something quick. 

No, if you’re scaling and need a long-term solution that balances cost and capability.

This is where Upsolve.ai offers better value.

Instead of forcing you into a $15k+ jump for Enterprise features, Upsolve provides:

• Turnkey embedded user-facing analytics that can be white-labeled without extra fees
  
  

• Multi-stakeholder usability  built for both technical and non-technical users
  
  

• Lower engineering overhead, no need for constant infra management
  
  

• Cost efficiency pricing scales more predictably with usage, not sudden tier jumps

You can book a quick demo to see how it works. 

FAQS

1. What is the main cost factor in Metabase pricing?

Metabase pricing mainly depends on hosting choice, team size, and advanced features.

Costs rise quickly when scaling users or datasets, making long-term planning essential.

2. Is Metabase free or paid?

Metabase has a free open-source version, but scaling to enterprise features requires a paid plan.

Upsolve, on the other hand, keeps pricing predictable with turnkey analytics.

3. How does Metabase Enterprise pricing work?

Enterprise pricing charges per user and advanced features, which can add up fast.

Upsolve offers a simplified structure, avoiding hidden costs and reducing engineering workload for growing teams.

4. Who benefits most from Metabase?

Metabase is best for developer-heavy teams comfortable with infrastructure management.

Non-technical teams often prefer simpler analytics solutions like Upsolve that deliver insights without engineering complexity.

5. Which is better for fast-growing SaaS businesses?

For SaaS, pay-as-you-go tools like Metabase Embedded can work, but Upsolve helps founders embed analytics faster, scale without surprise bills, and focus on customer experience instead of infrastructure.