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Spreadsheets · head to head

Metabase vs Sigma Computing

Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheets

Fast analytics with the friendly UX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigma Computing logo

Sigma Computing

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet-style analytics that queries a cloud data warehouse directly with no extract layer

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Metabase has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Metabase aI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included); Sigma Computing every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • They diverge on capability: Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Metabase and Sigma Computing actually diverge.

Attributes where Metabase and Sigma Computing differ
AttributeMetabaseSigma Computing
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted cloudWeb
Founded2014Unknown

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

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 Metabase

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

Only in Sigma Computing

  • Spreadsheet interface over SQL
  • No extract layer
  • Input tables and write-back
  • Workbooks
  • Embedded analytics
  • Version control and dbt awareness

What people use each for

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

Metabase

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

Sigma Computing

  • A finance or operations team that lives in spreadsheets and needs warehouse-scale data without exporting CSVsnot Metabase
  • An organisation that has consolidated on Snowflake or Databricks and wants one governed access layer rather than several desktop toolsnot Metabase
  • Planning and scenario work where users need to type assumptions back into governed tables rather than into a local filenot Metabase
  • Embedding customer-facing analytics into a product where each tenant must only see their own rowsnot Metabase

Where each one falls short

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

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

Sigma Computing

  • Every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • It cannot work without a supported cloud data warehouse, so an organisation running analytics on an on-premises database or a plain application database has nothing to connect to.
  • Pricing is not published and seats are differentiated by capability, so budgeting requires a sales cycle and a headcount forecast before you can compare it with a tool you could simply buy.
  • Performance is only as good as the warehouse behind it, which means slow or badly modelled tables surface as a slow interface and the fix is a data engineering project, not a Sigma setting.
  • Statistical and scientific visualisation is limited compared with dedicated tools, so anything beyond standard business charting has to be done elsewhere and brought back in.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Sigma Computing

On request
  • Sigma Computing$undefined/year
    • Quoted per organisation
    • Seat types are differentiated by whether a user views, explores or authors
    • Warehouse compute is billed separately by your cloud data warehouse vendor

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Sigma Computing if

  • You need spreadsheet interface over sql.
  • You also want no extract layer.
Sigma Computing review

Questions people ask

Is Metabase or Sigma Computing better?
Neither clearly leads. Metabase starts at Free and Sigma Computing at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Metabase or Sigma Computing?
Metabase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Metabase and On request for Sigma Computing.
Does Metabase or Sigma Computing run on more platforms?
Metabase runs on Web, Self-hosted cloud. Sigma Computing runs on Web.
Can I use Metabase for free?
Yes. Metabase has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sigma Computing starts at On request.
What is Metabase best used for?
Metabase is most often used for business intelligence and data exploration for non-technical users, embedded analytics for saas applications, self-service reporting and dashboard creation, integration with 40+ data sources including cloud warehouses. Of those, business intelligence and data exploration for non-technical users and embedded analytics for saas applications are not what Sigma Computing is typically brought in for.
What can Metabase do that Sigma Computing cannot?
Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts. Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL, No extract layer, Input tables and write-back, Workbooks.

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
Sigma Computing: Does Sigma store a copy of my data?

No. Queries are executed on your warehouse and results are returned for display, which is why there is no extract refresh to manage.

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
Sigma Computing: What does it actually cost?

The vendor does not publish prices. Expect an annual contract priced by seat type, plus a warehouse compute increase you should model separately.

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
Sigma Computing: Can business users break the warehouse?

They can run expensive queries. Warehouse sizing, query limits and materialised tables are the controls, and they need configuring before a wide rollout.

Sigma Computing: Is it a replacement for a modelling layer like dbt?

No. Sigma works best on top of modelled tables and is usually deployed alongside dbt rather than instead of it.

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