Definite vs Metabase — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Metabase starts at $100/mo. Definite uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Definite (Tiered) — Definite bills on a fixed plan, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
- Metabase (Hybrid) — Metabase is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $100/mo plus metered usage on top (User seats). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
AI-native BI — connect your data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift), ask questions in natural language, get dashboards. Pricing: Team $500/mo (up to 10 users), Business $2,000/mo (unlimited users + governance), Enterprise custom. Popular with mid-market data teams that want a modern BI layer without Looker's cost or complexity.
Open-source business intelligence tool positioned as the alternative to Tableau and Looker for engineering-led teams. Distinctive for its free self-hosted tier that runs on Docker — the go-to "first BI tool" for startups before they can justify a data team. Cloud version priced from $85/mo. Acquired minority stake by Insight Partners; still open-source. Popular with technical founders who want SQL access to their Postgres/BigQuery data.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Definite monthly | Definite annual | Metabase monthly | Metabase annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | Business / Starter | $2000 | $1600 | $100 | $90 |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $575 | $517.5 |
| Teams | Team / — | $500 | $400 | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Definite is worth it if… mid-market companies that have a data warehouse and want an AI-native BI tool without Looker's implementation overhead. Team ($500/mo) suits early-stage; Business ($2K/mo) suits scale-ups.
Metabase is worth it if… teams (5-200) that want business intelligence + dashboards + ad-hoc SQL queries — particularly if you value open-source flexibility over Looker/Tableau enterprise sales. Starter covers small teams (self-hosted free); Pro adds Cloud hosting + row-level permissions; Enterprise adds advanced auditing.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Definite is tiered, Metabase is hybrid.
Choose Definite over Metabase if…
Choose Definite if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (tiered, custom pricing).
- You match the profile Definite is built for: mid-market companies that have a data warehouse and want an AI-native BI tool without Looker's implementation overhead.
- You need a general-purpose analytics & data option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Metabase if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $100/mo).
- You match the profile Metabase is built for: teams (5-200) that want business intelligence + dashboards + ad-hoc SQL queries — particularly if you value open-source flexibility over Looker/Tableau enterprise sales.
- You need a general-purpose analytics & data option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Definite | Metabase | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | Custom | $100/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Hybrid |
| Last verified | — | September 11, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 11, 2026. Tracked daily.