Looker vs Metabase
Looker is a Google Cloud product sold by quote, built around metric definitions that engineers keep under review. Metabase is quicker to start with, has a free open source edition and publishes its paid prices. The choice is governed metrics against fast self-service.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Looker ifyou have engineers, want metric definitions kept in code, and can live with quote-based pricing for the platform and each user.
Choose Metabase ifyou want non-analysts querying a database soon, want published prices, or want a free self-hosted edition to start from.
Looker and Metabase side by side
| Looker | Metabase | |
|---|---|---|
| Our business intelligence rank | #8 of 13 | #3 of 13 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 5 November 2026 | Quoted: platform edition (Standard, Enterprise, Embed) plus user licences, annual terms of 1 to 3 years | Open Source free; Starter USD 100 a month plus USD 6 per extra user; Pro USD 575 a month plus USD 12 per extra user; Enterprise from USD 20,000 a year |
| Free tier | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Self-hostable | — | Yes |
| Built for | An organisation tired of two dashboards disagreeing | A company that wants self-service querying without a data team |
| Not for | A small team with no data engineering | An organisation that needs governed, versioned metrics |
Both are reviewed in full in our business intelligence ranking: Looker and Metabase.
Where they differ
Looker 1 · Metabase 2 · open 1- 01
Cost to start
Metabase Open Source is free, Starter is USD 100 a month with 5 users included, and Pro is USD 575 a month with 10 users included. Looker's Standard, Enterprise and Embed editions show Call sales with no price on the page. Metabase is easier to budget.
Edge: Metabase
- 02
What a plan includes
Each Looker edition includes 1 production instance, 10 Standard Users and 2 Developer Users, with API call limits rising from 1,000 to 100,000 to 500,000 query calls a month. Metabase prices extra users at USD 6 or 12 each per month and adds usage fees for transforms, storage and AI tokens.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Governed metrics
Looker's pitch is LookML, where metric definitions sit in version control and under review, so two dashboards stop disagreeing. Metabase has added a semantic layer, Data Studio, but our data rates its modelling and governance as thinner. Where one revenue number matters most, Looker is the safer base.
Edge: Looker
- 04
Staffing and trials
Engineers have to build and maintain Looker. Metabase can be pointed at a database and used the same afternoon, and its Starter and Pro plans have a 14-day free trial. No free trial is stated for Looker in the pages read.
Edge: Metabase
When neither fits
If you want a spreadsheet-style interface or a Microsoft stack, neither is the obvious fit. Sigma and Microsoft Power BI are worth a look in our category.
Looker or Metabase: questions
3 answersDoes Looker publish its prices?
No. The editions show Call sales instead of amounts, and licences come in Developer, Standard and Viewer User types.
Is Metabase really free?
The Open Source edition is free and self-hosted, with unlimited users, questions and dashboards. Paid cloud and self-hosted plans start at USD 100 a month.
Which one is better for consistent metrics?
Looker, because LookML keeps definitions under version review. Metabase has a semantic layer, but our data describes its governance as thinner.
Sources
Checked 5 November 2026- Looker pricing page: Call sales editions, included users, API call limits, licence types, annual terms.
- Metabase pricing page: free open source edition, Starter and Pro prices, included users, add-on usage fees, 14-day trials, Enterprise from USD 20,000.