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Business Intelligence · head to head

IBM Cognos Analytics vs Metabase

IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Business Intelligence

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheets

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: IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter; Metabase aI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • They diverge on capability: IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Metabase covers No-code Query Builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IBM Cognos Analytics and Metabase actually diverge.

Attributes where IBM Cognos Analytics and Metabase differ
AttributeIBM Cognos AnalyticsMetabase
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, Mobile, CloudWeb, Self-hosted cloud
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceSpreadsheets
Founded19112014

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 IBM Cognos Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Automated Insights
  • Story Telling
  • Mobile Analytics
  • IBM Db2
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server

Only in Metabase

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

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Cloud support

What people use each for

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

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

Metabase

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

Where each one falls short

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter

Metabase

  • AI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • Transforms cost $0.01 per run after 1,000 included runs per month
  • Advanced Transforms cost $0.02 per run after included allocation
  • Storage overages start at $2 per 1M rows (1M rows free)
  • All yearly plans offer 10% discount versus monthly, incentivizing annual commitment

Pricing, plan by plan

IBM Cognos Analytics

$15/month
  • Standard$15/month
    • Dashboards
    • Reporting
    • AI Insights
  • Plus$35/month
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Planning
    • Premium Support

Metabase

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited questions and dashboards
    • AI-powered query generation
  • Starter$90/month
    • Email and chat support
    • $100/month standard monthly billing
    • 20+ data connectors
  • Pro$517.5/month
    • $575/month standard monthly
    • Row/column-level permissions
    • SSO
  • Enterprise$20000/year
    • Dedicated success engineer
    • 1-day support response SLA
    • Air-gapped deployment

Which should you pick?

Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.
IBM Cognos Analytics 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 IBM Cognos Analytics or Metabase better?
Neither clearly leads. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month and Metabase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IBM Cognos Analytics or Metabase?
Metabase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for IBM Cognos Analytics and Free for Metabase.
Does IBM Cognos Analytics or Metabase run on more platforms?
IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud. 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. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month.
What is IBM Cognos Analytics best used for?
IBM Cognos Analytics is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what Metabase is typically brought in for.
What can IBM Cognos Analytics do that Metabase cannot?
IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling. Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts. Both handle Web support, Cloud support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Metabase: How much does Metabase cost?

Metabase Open Source is free for self-hosted deployments with unlimited users and dashboards. Cloud-hosted Starter tier costs $90/month annually ($100/month monthly) with Pro at $517.50/month annually ($575/month monthly). Enterprise plans start at $20,000 per year.

Source
Metabase: Does Metabase charge for additional users?

Yes, Metabase charges per-user fees beyond included users. Starter includes 5 users at $6 per additional user per month. Pro includes 10 users at $12 per additional user per month. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Source
Metabase: What usage-based fees does Metabase charge?

Metabase charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens for AI services (after 1M free tokens), $0.01 per transform run after 1,000 included per month, $0.02 for advanced transforms, and storage overages at $2 per 1M rows beyond the included 1M rows.

Source
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