Software · head to head
Cyfe vs Lightdash
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cyfe dashboards are the billing unit, at 2 on the $29 Starter plan and 5 on the $39 Standard plan; Lightdash requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models
- They diverge on capability: Cyfe covers Pre-built Widgets, Lightdash covers dbt Integration.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cyfe and Lightdash actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Cyfe
- Pre-built Widgets
- Custom Metrics
- Historical Data
- White-labeling
- Embedding
- Google Analytics
Only in Lightdash
- dbt Integration
- Metrics Layer
- Dashboards
- Scheduling
- Version Control
- dbt
- BigQuery
- Snowflake
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cyfe
- Building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sourcesnot Lightdash
- Displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public URLsnot Lightdash
Lightdash
- Self-service analyticsnot Cyfe
- Data explorationnot Cyfe
- Ad-hoc reportingnot Cyfe
- Collaborative analysisnot Cyfe
- Embedded analyticsnot Cyfe
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cyfe
- Dashboards are the billing unit, at 2 on the $29 Starter plan and 5 on the $39 Standard plan
- Users are capped separately, at 1 on Starter and 2 on Standard, so a two person team needs the second tier for seats alone
- Unlimited users only appears on the $119 Premier plan
- Additional dashboards beyond a plan are $5 each
- The Agency plan includes 10 clients with further clients at $19 each
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
Cyfe
Free- FreeFree
- 5 Widgets
- Basic Features
- Community Support
- Solo$19/month
- 10 Dashboards
- Premium Widgets
- Email Support
Lightdash
Free- Open SourceFree
- MIT-licensed core
- Self-hostable
- dbt integration
- Cloud Managed$undefined/mo
- Managed hosting
- Premium features
- AI agent capabilities
Which should you pick?
Choose Cyfe if
- You need pre-built widgets.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Tv.
- You also want custom metrics.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Cyfe or Lightdash better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cyfe starts at Free and Lightdash at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cyfe or Lightdash?
- Cyfe starts at Free and Lightdash at Free.
- Does Cyfe or Lightdash run on more platforms?
- Cyfe runs on Web, Mobile, Tv. Lightdash runs on Web, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise).
- Can I use Cyfe for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cyfe best used for?
- Cyfe is most often used for building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sources, displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public urls. Of those, building business dashboards from marketing, sales and finance sources and displaying live metrics on office screens and shared public urls are not what Lightdash is typically brought in for.
- What can Cyfe do that Lightdash cannot?
- Cyfe covers Pre-built Widgets, Custom Metrics, Historical Data, White-labeling. Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling. Both handle Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceLightdash: 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.
SourceLightdash: 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.
SourceLightdash: 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.
SourceLightdash: 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