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Metabase vs Redash(2026)

Metabase is better for teams that need free open source. Redash is the stronger choice if sql-native. Metabase is open-source (from $0) and Redash is open-source (from $0).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

By Bikram Nath

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Metabase logo

Metabase

open-source

Metabase is an open-source BI tool that lets anyone in your company — not just analysts — ask questions of your database and build dashboards with a no-SQL query builder.

Starting at $0

Visit Metabase
Redash logo

Redash

open-source

Redash is an open-source BI tool for teams who prefer SQL — connect to any database, write queries, visualize results, and share dashboards without a no-code abstraction layer.

Starting at $0

Visit Redash

How Do Metabase and Redash Compare on Features?

FeatureMetabaseRedash
Pricing modelopen-sourceopen-source
Starting price$0$0
No-SQL question builder✓—
Dashboards✓✓
Scheduled reports✓—
Embedding✓—
SQL editor✓—
Caching✓—
Self-hosted or cloud✓—
SQL-first—✓
Multiple data source connectors—✓
Scheduled queries—✓
Alerts—✓
API—✓
Self-hostable—✓

Metabase Pros and Cons vs Redash

M

Metabase

+Free open source
+Non-technical user friendly
+Easy embedding
+Active community
−Performance on large datasets
−Complex permissions in OSS
−Limited advanced analytics
R

Redash

+SQL-native
+Free open source
+Simple concept
+Good connector support
−Development slowed (Databricks acquisition)
−No no-code query builder
−UI dated vs modern alternatives

Should You Use Metabase or Redash?

For most teams, Metabase is the better default: it offers free open source and is open-source (from $0). Choose Redash instead if sql-native matters more than performance on large datasets. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value free open source or sql-native more.

Choose Metabase if…

  • •Free open source
  • •Non-technical user friendly
  • •Easy embedding

Choose Redash if…

  • •SQL-native
  • •Free open source
  • •Simple concept

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