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Business Intelligence · head to head

Lightdash vs Pigment

Lightdash logo

Lightdash

Business Intelligence

Open-source BI for dbt users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pigment logo

Pigment

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business planning platform for finance, sales and workforce modelling

From
On request
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; Pigment no pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • They diverge on capability: Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Pigment covers Dimensional modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightdash and Pigment actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightdash and Pigment differ
AttributeLightdashPigment
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise)Web
Founded2021Unknown

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 Lightdash

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

Only in Pigment

  • Dimensional modelling
  • Scenario planning
  • Data connectors
  • Application blocks
  • Reporting and boards
  • Access control
  • Audit trail
  • AI assistance

What people use each for

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

Lightdash

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

Pigment

  • A finance team retiring a fragile Excel consolidation that no one can audit and only one person can runnot Lightdash
  • Sales operations modelling quota, territory and headcount capacity against a revenue plan in the same system finance usesnot Lightdash
  • A company that needs monthly re-forecasting fast enough to run scenarios live in the leadership meetingnot Lightdash
  • Replacing an ageing Anaplan estate where the model has become unmaintainable and per-workspace costs have crept upnot 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

Pigment

  • No pricing is published and the structure has three moving parts, platform fee, use-case fees and tiered seats, so two companies of the same size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark the other.
  • Cost scales with planning processes rather than with company size, so a successful first deployment creates internal demand that directly increases the bill at renewal.
  • It requires a modelling owner. Without a person who understands dimensional design, teams rebuild spreadsheet patterns in Pigment and inherit all the maintenance problems they were trying to escape.
  • Implementation is partner-led and measured in months, so the payback horizon is long compared with lighter FP&A tools that a controller can configure alone.
  • The connector library covers major systems well but the long tail is thinner than the incumbents, and industry-specific source systems often need a warehouse or a file drop in between.

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

Pigment

On request
  • Pigment platform$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per use-case fees
    • Licences tiered as editor, contributor and explorer
    • No free tier and no self-service signup

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 Pigment if

  • You need dimensional modelling.
  • You also want scenario planning.
Pigment review

Questions people ask

Is Lightdash or Pigment better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightdash starts at Free and Pigment at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightdash or Pigment?
Lightdash has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lightdash and On request for Pigment.
Does Lightdash or Pigment run on more platforms?
Lightdash runs on Web, Cloud (managed), Self-hosted (on-premise). Pigment runs on Web.
Can I use Lightdash for free?
Yes. Lightdash has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Pigment starts at On request.
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 Pigment is typically brought in for.
What can Lightdash do that Pigment cannot?
Lightdash covers dbt Integration, Metrics Layer, Dashboards, Scheduling. Pigment covers Dimensional modelling, Scenario planning, Data connectors, Application blocks.

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
Pigment: Does Pigment publish prices?

No. Expect a quote combining a platform fee, fees per planning use case, and seat licences split into editor, contributor and explorer tiers.

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
Pigment: Is Pigment an alternative to Anaplan?

It is positioned directly against Anaplan and much of its customer base is migrating from it, mainly citing modelling readability and recalculation speed.

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
Pigment: Can we use it without consultants?

In practice most deployments use Pigment or a partner for the initial build. Ongoing model changes can be handled in-house once someone owns the modelling discipline.

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
Pigment: Where is data hosted?

Pigment is a European vendor with regional hosting options, which is often the deciding factor for EU buyers with data residency requirements.

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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