Free BI and Dashboard Tools
Which BI and dashboard tools a startup can track its metrics with for free today, how many users and dashboards the free plan allows, its data source and refresh limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . BI tools change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
BI and dashboard tools a startup can use for free today include Databox (Free forever: 1 user, 3 data sources), Metabase (Free open source, unlimited users), Looker Studio (Free to build dashboards and reports), Lightdash (Open source, self-hosted), and Microsoft Power BI (Free account: build reports). Each of the 11 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, its data source and refresh limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Revenue, signups and churn on one screen is what a BI tool gives you: connect your database, warehouse or SaaS apps and build dashboards your team can read. Several hosted BI tools have a free plan, and the open-source ones are free to self-host.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free plans cap users, dashboards or data sources and keep sharing for paid plans, and open-source tools leave hosting to you. Each tool below shows what is free, its main limit, its data source and refresh limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which tools we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which tools are listed or where.
BI and dashboard tools with a free plan
Connect your data and build dashboards on a hosted platform, free to start.
- 1
Databox
One person tracking a few KPIs on a free plan
Databox's Free plan is free forever for 1 user with 3 data sources and 1 dashboard or report. The first paid plan, Analyst, is $71 a month billed annually.
- Data and refresh
- 3 data sources included (source: databox.com)
- First paid plan
- Analyst: $71 a month, billed annually (source: databox.com)
Start free at DataboxReferral linkTerms read on databox.com on Databox: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Looker Studio
Free dashboards and reports on connected data
Google's Looker Studio page says it is easy and free to build interactive dashboards and reports. Free-tier limits and the Pro price are not stated on the pages read.
Start free at GoogleTerms read on datastudio.google.com on Looker Studio: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Microsoft Power BI
Building reports yourself, with no card
The Power BI free account, included in Microsoft Fabric, lets you create interactive reports with no credit card. Sharing needs Pro, which is $14.00 per user a month, paid yearly.
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: microsoft.com)
Start free at MicrosoftTerms read on microsoft.com on Microsoft Power BI: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Hex
Hobbyists and solo analysts on small projects
Hex's Community plan is free for hobbyists completing small projects, with any data source and small compute. The first paid plan, Professional, is $36 per editor a month.
- Data and refresh
- Any data source connection (source: hex.tech)
- First paid plan
- Professional: $36 per editor a month (source: hex.tech)
- 5
Mode
Individual analysts who need a free workspace
Mode's free Studio plan is for individual analysts, with private database connections and up to 3 users. Its main limit is 10 MB per query.
- Data and refresh
- Private database connections (source: mode.com)
- 6
Preset
Small teams who want Superset in the cloud for free
Preset's Starter plan is free forever for small teams, with one workspace and up to 5 users. The first paid plan, Professional, is $20 per user a month billed annually.
Open-source BI tools
BI tools you can self-host for free, some with a free cloud tier.
- 1
Metabase
Teams that will self-host and want unlimited users
Metabase Open Source is free, with free unlimited users and unlimited questions and dashboards. Its Cloud Starter plan is $100 or $90 a month.
- Data and refresh
- 20+ supported data sources (source: metabase.com)
- First paid plan
- Cloud Starter: $100 or $90 a month (source: metabase.com)
- 2
Lightdash
Teams that will host open source BI themselves
Lightdash Open Source is core BI for teams that self-host, with unlimited seats. Its first paid plan, Cloud Pro, is $3000 a month.
- Data and refresh
- Nine warehouses, including Postgres (source: lightdash.com)
- First paid plan
- Cloud Pro: $3,000 a month (source: lightdash.com)
Start free at LightdashTerms read on lightdash.com on Lightdash: the free allowance and how to start Lightdash for Startups: what startups get - 3
Evidence
Analysts who write reports in SQL and Markdown
Evidence Core is an MIT-licensed framework for building data apps from SQL and Markdown, queried against your own warehouse. The hosted Team plan is $2,500 a month.
- First paid plan
- Team: $2,500 a month (source: evidence.dev)
Start free at EvidenceTerms read on docs.evidence.dev on Evidence: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Apache Superset
Engineers who want self-hosted dashboards
Apache Superset is licensed under the Apache License and can connect to any SQL-based database.
- Data and refresh
- Any SQL-based database (source: superset.apache.org)
Start free at Apache SupersetTerms read on superset.apache.org on Apache Superset: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Redash
Teams that want an open-source SQL dashboard tool
Redash is a popular Open Source project. It supports SQL, NoSQL, Big Data and API data sources.
- What's free
- Open source, self-hosted (source: redash.io)
- Data and refresh
- SQL, NoSQL, big data and API sources (source: redash.io)
Data startup programs
Programs from data companies that give startups credits or discounts on paid plans.
Also useful for founders
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
ScraperAPIScraping API that handles proxies, browsers and CAPTCHAs for you1,000 API creditsReferral link
Parallel AIAutonomous AI agents for sales, marketing and support50 free credits, no cardReferral link
ColdIQOne API and MCP server for B2B sales data from 40+ providers300 free creditsReferral linkCompare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers BI and dashboard tools a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each tool's terms. Every term comes from the tool's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on users, dashboards or data sources, slower data refresh, a free tier only when you self-host can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these tools pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a tool appears, and no tool pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free BI tool?
It depends on your data and team. By the terms each provider states, Metabase is free and open source with unlimited users, Preset is free forever for up to 5 users, Databox is free forever for 1 user and 3 data sources, and Looker Studio is free to build dashboards and reports.
Is Power BI free?
Power BI has a free account to build reports, but you can't share reports without Pro, which is $14.00 a user a month, paid yearly.
Is Metabase free?
Metabase's open-source edition is free with unlimited users, questions and dashboards when you host it yourself; its hosted Cloud Starter plan is listed at $100 or $90 a month.
Is there a free open-source BI tool?
Yes. Metabase, Apache Superset, Redash, Lightdash and Evidence are open source and free to self-host.
More best-of guides
New startup perks, in your inbox
Get an email when a new credit, discount, or deal for founders is added. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.