Softwr

Spreadsheets · head to head

Metabase vs Spring Cloud Gateway

Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheets

Fast analytics with the friendly UX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Metabase aI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included); Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Metabase and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Metabase and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeMetabaseSpring Cloud Gateway
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted cloudJava, Spring Boot
CategorySpreadsheetsAPIs
Founded20141998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Metabase

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

Only in Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Embedded analytics for SaaS applicationsnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Self-service reporting and dashboard creationnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Integration with 40+ data sources including cloud warehousesnot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Metabase
  • API Gatewaynot Metabase
  • API Testingnot Metabase
  • API Documentationnot Metabase
  • Microservicesnot 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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Metabase or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Metabase starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Metabase or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Metabase starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Metabase or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Metabase runs on Web, Self-hosted cloud. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
Can I use Metabase for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Metabase do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Metabase

More on Spring Cloud Gateway

Keep looking

Other head to heads