kitio.aiTableau vs Metabase
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Tableau has the lower starting price: about $15 a month, against $100 for Metabase.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Drag-and-drop visualizations
- Tableau Agent
- Tableau Pulse metrics
- Data preparation
- Wide connector support
- Visual query builder
- SQL editor
- Metabot AI assistant
- Dashboards and alerts
- Embedded analytics
| Feature | Tableau | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Salesforce's BI and visual analytics platform with AI agents | Open-source BI with a simple query builder and AI help |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Free trial | Freemium |
| Starting price | $15/mo | $100/mo |
| Free plan | No, 14-day trial | Yes |
| Made by | Salesforce | Metabase |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Tableau has the lower starting price: about $15 a month, against $100 for Metabase.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Viewer
$15/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- View and interact with dashboards
Explorer
$42/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- Self-service analytics on existing data
Creator
$75/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- Tableau Desktop and Prep
- At least one required per deployment
Tableau Cloud+
Contact sales
- Tableau Agent and Pulse
- Premier Success, 50 sites
4 plans
Open Source
Free
- Self-hosted
- Free unlimited users
Starter
$100/mo
- First 5 users, then $6/user
- AI questions and MCP server
- 14-day free trial
Pro
$575/mo
- First 10 users, then $12/user
- Row and column permissions
- SSO, caching, usage analytics
Enterprise
From $20,000/yr
- Dedicated success engineer
- Air gap available
- 1-day support SLA
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Tableau
- Excellent visualization depth
- Large user community
- Works with many data sources
- Costly per-user licenses
- Takes time to master
Metabase
- Free open-source edition
- Easy for non-analysts
- Quick to set up
- Less advanced modeling than enterprise BI
- Some features locked to paid plans
Which one should you choose?
Choose Tableau if you want:
- Excellent visualization depth
- Large user community
- Works with many data sources
Watch out: costly per-user licenses.
Choose Metabase if you want:
- Free open-source edition
- Easy for non-analysts
- Quick to set up
Watch out: less advanced modeling than enterprise bi.
Tableau vs Metabase FAQ
What is the difference between Tableau and Metabase?
Tableau: Salesforce's BI and visual analytics platform with AI agents. Metabase: Open-source BI with a simple query builder and AI help. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Tableau or Metabase cheaper?
Tableau has the lower starting price: about $15 a month, against $100 for Metabase.
Do Tableau and Metabase have free plans?
Tableau: No, 14-day trial. Metabase: Yes.
Who makes Tableau?
Tableau is made by Salesforce, based in United States.
Who makes Metabase?
Metabase is made by Metabase, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Tableau or Metabase?
Choose Tableau if you value excellent visualization depth and large user community. Choose Metabase if you value free open-source edition and easy for non-analysts.