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Spreadsheets · head to head

Equals vs Lightdash

Equals logo

Equals

Spreadsheets

A real spreadsheet with SQL result sets landing in its cells, now sold only on annual contracts starting at 24,000 USD

From
$24000/year
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: Equals the price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.; Lightdash requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models
  • They diverge on capability: Equals covers Connected sheets, Lightdash covers dbt Integration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Equals and Lightdash actually diverge.

Attributes where Equals and Lightdash differ
AttributeEqualsLightdash
Starting price$24000/yearFree
Pricing modelPer year by connector count and refresh frequencyUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise)
CategorySpreadsheetsBusiness Intelligence
FoundedUnknown2021

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 Equals

  • Connected sheets
  • Real spreadsheet mechanics
  • Cell references into SQL
  • Equals Warehouse
  • Views
  • Writeback

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.

Equals

  • A revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a BI semantic layernot Lightdash
  • Analysts who need a SQL result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cellsnot Lightdash
  • Joining Stripe, Salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline firstnot Lightdash
  • Distributing a recurring numbers pack to Slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboardnot Lightdash

Lightdash

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

Where each one falls short

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

Equals

  • The price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.
  • Your data is copied out of your infrastructure by design, into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals operates, with Fivetran holding non-SQL source data in transit, and no self-hosted or bring-your-own-warehouse option is documented.
  • The financial function category contains only IRR, NPV and PMT, with no XIRR, XNPV, FV, PV, RATE or NPER, and there is no LAMBDA, LET, OFFSET or INDIRECT, so a substantial class of existing spreadsheet models cannot be ported without rework.
  • No documentation of importing or exporting Excel files exists anywhere in the docs index; the supported file sources are CSV and Google Sheets and the only documented export is dashboards as PDF, which is a notable gap for a product positioning itself as a successor to Excel.
  • Data freshness is a pricing lever rather than a setting, at six hours on Essential, one hour on Business and fifteen minutes on Enterprise, and the feature that removes row limits is itself gated above the entry tier, so the Essential row ceiling is neither published nor unlimited.

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

Equals

$24000/year
  • Essential$24000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 3 connectors
    • Data sync every 6 hours
  • Business$36000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 5 connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every hour
  • Enterprise$60000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • Unlimited connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every 15 minutes
  • Connector add-ons$199/month
    • 199 USD per month for each additional database or import script connector
    • 699 USD per month for each additional connector of any other type
    • Available on Business and Enterprise

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 Equals if

  • You need connected sheets.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want real spreadsheet mechanics.
Equals 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 Equals or Lightdash better?
Neither clearly leads. Equals starts at $24000/year and Lightdash at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Equals or Lightdash?
Lightdash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $24000/year for Equals and Free for Lightdash.
Does Equals or Lightdash run on more platforms?
Equals runs on Web, 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. Equals starts at $24000/year.
What is Equals best used for?
Equals is most often used for a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer, analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells, joining stripe, salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline first, distributing a recurring numbers pack to slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboard. Of those, a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer and analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells are not what Lightdash is typically brought in for.
What can Equals do that Lightdash cannot?
Equals covers Connected sheets, Real spreadsheet mechanics, Cell references into SQL, Equals Warehouse. Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Equals: Is it a real spreadsheet or a modelling tool with a grid?

A real spreadsheet. A1 references, absolute reference locking, pivot tables and spilling array formulas all work, and SQL results land in ranges that ordinary cells reference.

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
Equals: What does it actually cost?

24,000 USD a year for Essential, 36,000 for Business and 60,000 for Enterprise, billed annually. There is no monthly option and no self-serve signup; the trial is negotiated per customer.

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
Equals: Are seats charged?

No. Viewers and editors are unlimited on every plan. The meters are connector count, refresh frequency and AI spend, with additional connectors at 199 or 699 USD a month.

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
Equals: Does my data stay in my own warehouse?

No. Connecting more than one source syncs data into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals runs, and non-SQL sources pass through Fivetran. There is no documented self-hosted option.

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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