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Business Intelligence · head to head

Hebbia vs Lightdash

Hebbia logo

Hebbia

Business Intelligence

AI built for the rigor of finance

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: Hebbia no pricing published on website; prospects must book a demo; Lightdash requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hebbia and Lightdash actually diverge.

Attributes where Hebbia and Lightdash differ
AttributeHebbiaLightdash
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise)
FoundedUnknown2021

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).

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 Hebbia

Nothing recorded that Lightdash does not also cover.

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.

Hebbia

  • Enterprise search and AI research platformnot Lightdash

Lightdash

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hebbia

  • No pricing published on website; prospects must book a demo

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

Hebbia

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Hebbia review.

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 Hebbia if

Nothing in the data separates Hebbia from Lightdash on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Hebbia 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 Hebbia or Lightdash better?
Neither clearly leads. Hebbia 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, Hebbia or Lightdash?
Lightdash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Hebbia and Free for Lightdash.
Does Hebbia or Lightdash run on more platforms?
Hebbia runs on Web. 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. Hebbia starts at On request.
What is Hebbia best used for?
Hebbia is most often used for enterprise search and ai research platform. Of those, enterprise search and ai research platform is not what Lightdash is typically brought in for.
What can Hebbia do that Lightdash cannot?
Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hebbia: How much does Hebbia cost?

Hebbia does not publish pricing on its website. The company directs prospective customers to book a demo to discuss pricing and customization options.

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
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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