Heap vs Metabase — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Heap starts at $300/mo. Metabase starts at $100/mo. Metabase is $200/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Heap.
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.
- Heap (Unknown model) — Heap bills on a fixed plan from $300/mo, 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.
Product analytics that captures every click, tap, and swipe automatically — positioned as the alternative to Amplitude/Mixpanel for teams that don't want to define events upfront. Distinctive for autocapture (retroactive analysis of any user interaction). Acquired by Contentsquare in 2024. Free tier up to 10K sessions/mo; Growth ~$300/mo ($3,600/yr); Enterprise typically $30K-100K/yr. Popular with product teams who value 'ask any question later' over structured tracking.
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 | Heap monthly | Heap annual | Metabase monthly | Metabase annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / — | Free | Free | — | — |
| Entry paid | Growth / Starter | $300 | $300 | $100 | $90 |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $575 | $517.5 |
| 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
Heap is worth it if… product/growth teams (10-500 people) that want autocapture-based analytics — no manual event instrumentation — particularly if your engineering team is too busy to build tracking taxonomies. Growth covers small teams; Pro and Premier custom for larger orgs.
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: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Heap over Metabase if…
Choose Heap if…
- You're comfortable with Heap's from $300/mo entry point.
- You match the profile Heap is built for: product/growth teams (10-500 people) that want autocapture-based analytics — no manual event instrumentation — particularly if your engineering team is too busy to build tracking taxonomies.
- 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
| Heap | Metabase | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $300/mo | $100/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | — | Hybrid |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Checked October 3, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Tracked daily.