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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs Metabase

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month per user
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheet & Data

Fast analytics with the friendly UX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Metabase has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; Metabase row and column level permissions and SSO available only in Pro tier and above
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, Metabase covers No-code Query Builder.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and Metabase actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and Metabase differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightMetabase
Starting price$3/month per userFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWSWeb, Self-hosted cloud
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceSpreadsheet & Data
Founded20062014

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • S3
  • Athena
  • Aurora

Only in Metabase

  • No-code Query Builder
  • SQL Editor
  • Interactive Dashboards
  • Alerts
  • Embedding
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB

Both cover

  • Redshift
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligence dashboards and analyticsnot Metabase
  • Scalable embedded analytics for applicationsnot Metabase

Metabase

  • Business intelligence and data exploration for non-technical usersnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Embedded analytics for SaaS applicationsnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Self-service reporting and dashboard creationnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Integration with 40+ data sources including cloud warehousesnot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

Metabase

  • Row and column level permissions and SSO available only in Pro tier and above
  • Advanced analytics features like multi-tenant embedded analytics require Pro tier or higher
  • AI-powered features incur additional usage-based costs: $3.75 per 1M tokens
  • Self-hosted deployment on Free/Open Source tier requires infrastructure management

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month per user

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon QuickSight review.

Metabase

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Metabase review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose Metabase if

  • You need no-code query builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
  • You also want sql editor.
Metabase review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or Metabase better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user and Metabase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or Metabase?
Metabase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month per user for Amazon QuickSight and Free for Metabase.
Does Amazon QuickSight or Metabase run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. Metabase runs on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
Can I use Metabase for free?
Yes. Metabase has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence dashboards and analytics, scalable embedded analytics for applications. Of those, business intelligence dashboards and analytics and scalable embedded analytics for applications are not what Metabase is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that Metabase cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts. Both handle Redshift, Web support.
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