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Business Intelligence · head to head

Lightdash vs Lytics

Lightdash logo

Lightdash

Business Intelligence

Open-source BI for dbt users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
L

Lytics

Automation Integration

The customer data platform for personalization

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lightdash has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Lightdash requires existing dbt infrastructure, not suitable for teams without data models; Lytics billed in credits where one credit is an update to a user profile, so the bill tracks how often profiles change rather than how many exist
  • They diverge on capability: Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Lytics covers Data collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightdash and Lytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightdash and Lytics differ
AttributeLightdashLytics
Starting priceFree$400/month
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise)Web
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceAutomation Integration
Founded20212013

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 Lightdash

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

Only in Lytics

  • Data collection
  • Audience segmentation
  • Predictive analytics
  • Personalization
  • Real-time activation
  • Analytics
  • API access
  • 100+ integrations

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Lightdash

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

Lytics

  • Building unified customer profiles from behavioural and marketing datanot Lightdash
  • Segmenting audiences and syncing them to marketing destinationsnot Lightdash

Where each one falls short

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

Lightdash

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

Lytics

  • Billed in credits where one credit is an update to a user profile, so the bill tracks how often profiles change rather than how many exist
  • Most inbound events consume a full credit each, and Cloud Connect sync events consume half a credit per updated row
  • The free Developer tier is capped at 2M monthly credits and 10 domains
  • The Growth plan is $500 a month for 5M credits, with additional credits at $500 per 10M
  • Enterprise begins above 10M credits and is quoted rather than published

Pricing, plan by plan

Lightdash

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

Lytics

$400/month
  • Professional$400/month
    • Core CDP features
  • Advanced$1200/month
    • Advanced personalization
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$3000/month
    • Custom solutions
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Lytics if

  • You need data collection.
  • You also want audience segmentation.
Lytics review

Questions people ask

Is Lightdash or Lytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightdash starts at Free and Lytics at $400/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightdash or Lytics?
Lightdash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lightdash and $400/month for Lytics.
Does Lightdash or Lytics run on more platforms?
Lightdash runs on Web, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise). Lytics runs on Web.
Can I use Lightdash for free?
Yes. Lightdash has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lytics starts at $400/month.
What is Lightdash best used for?
Lightdash 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 Lytics is typically brought in for.
What can Lightdash do that Lytics cannot?
Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling. Lytics covers Data collection, Audience segmentation, Predictive analytics, Personalization. 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.

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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