Softwr

HR · head to head

Culture Amp vs Lightdash

Culture Amp logo

Culture Amp

HR

Build a better workplace with employee experience data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lightdash logo

Lightdash

Business Intelligence

Open-source BI for dbt users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lightdash has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Culture Amp no price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier; Lightdash requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models
  • They diverge on capability: Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys, Lightdash covers dbt Integration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Culture Amp and Lightdash actually diverge.

Attributes where Culture Amp and Lightdash differ
AttributeCulture AmpLightdash
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise)
CategoryHRBusiness Intelligence
Founded20092021

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 Culture Amp

  • Employee engagement surveys
  • Pulse surveys
  • Performance management
  • Goal tracking
  • 360-degree feedback
  • Analytics & insights
  • Action planning
  • Manager effectiveness

Only in Lightdash

  • dbt Integration
  • Metrics Layer
  • Dashboards
  • Scheduling
  • Version Control
  • dbt
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake

What people use each for

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

Culture Amp

  • Employee engagement surveys and analysisnot Lightdash
  • Performance reviews and development planning across an organisationnot Lightdash

Lightdash

  • Self-service analyticsnot Culture Amp
  • Data explorationnot Culture Amp
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Culture Amp
  • Collaborative analysisnot Culture Amp
  • Embedded analyticsnot Culture Amp

Where each one falls short

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

Culture Amp

  • No price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier
  • All products are billed annually
  • Support level is banded by organisation size, with additional support starting at 200 employees and enterprise treatment at 1,000, so smaller customers get less for the same product

Lightdash

  • Requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models
  • Enterprise features and AI agents unavailable in open-source MIT-licensed core

Pricing, plan by plan

Culture Amp

On request
  • Engage$undefined/month
    • Engagement surveys
    • Pulse surveys
    • Action planning
  • Perform$undefined/month
    • Goal tracking
    • Performance reviews
    • 1-on-1 meetings
  • Develop$undefined/month
    • Skills development
    • Career paths
    • Learning integrations

Lightdash

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT-licensed core
    • Self-hostable
    • dbt integration
  • Cloud Managed$undefined/mo
    • Managed hosting
    • Premium features
    • AI agent capabilities

Which should you pick?

Choose Culture Amp if

  • You need employee engagement surveys.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want pulse surveys.
Culture Amp review

Choose Lightdash if

  • You need dbt integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise).
  • You also want metrics layer.
Lightdash review

Questions people ask

Is Culture Amp or Lightdash better?
Neither clearly leads. Culture Amp starts at On request and Lightdash at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Culture Amp or Lightdash?
Lightdash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Culture Amp and Free for Lightdash.
Does Culture Amp or Lightdash run on more platforms?
Culture Amp runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Lightdash runs on Web, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise).
Can I use Lightdash for free?
Yes. Lightdash has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Culture Amp starts at On request.
What is Culture Amp best used for?
Culture Amp is most often used for employee engagement surveys and analysis, performance reviews and development planning across an organisation. Of those, employee engagement surveys and analysis and performance reviews and development planning across an organisation are not what Lightdash is typically brought in for.
What can Culture Amp do that Lightdash cannot?
Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys, Pulse surveys, Performance management, Goal tracking. Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Culture Amp: How much does Culture Amp cost?

Culture Amp does not publish specific pricing. The vendor uses a custom pricing model based on the number of employees in your organization, the product chosen, and the service tier needed. Annual billing is required. Interested customers must request a quote to receive pricing details.

Source
Lightdash: Is Lightdash free?

Yes. Lightdash is free and open source under the MIT license. Self-hosting is completely free. Managed cloud services and enterprise features require separate licensing.

Source
Culture Amp: What factors determine Culture Amp pricing?

Culture Amp pricing depends on three factors: the number of employees, the specific product chosen, and the service tier. Organizations are typically categorized as small/medium (under 200 employees), mid-market (200-999 employees), or enterprise (1000+ employees). Annual prepayment is required.

Source
Lightdash: How does Lightdash integrate with dbt?

Lightdash reads dbt models and metric definitions directly. A team defines metrics once in dbt and reuses them across dashboards, exploration, and AI agents without redefinition.

Source
Lightdash: Does Lightdash support SQL queries?

Yes. As a modern BI platform for analysts, Lightdash supports full SQL capabilities alongside dbt model exploration and visual query builders.

Source
Lightdash: What are Lightdash AI agents?

Lightdash AI agents, available on paid plans, allow natural language queries against your data, generating SQL and visualizations automatically from questions.

Source
Lightdash: Can Lightdash be self-hosted?

Yes. Lightdash's MIT-licensed core is completely self-hostable and free. Enterprise features and AI agents ship under separate licensing.

Source
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