Metabase vs Kibana

Metabase8.7Visit Kibana8.5Visit

Higher score Metabase #5 in Data Visualization Software 8.7/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 2 features Visit Metabase

vs

Kibana #7 in Data Visualization Software 8.5/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Kibana

• Metabase fits best

  Affordable self-hosted or embedded BI

• Kibana fits best

  Observability data visualization teams

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Side by side

Feature	Metabase 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Kibana 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.5
Ranking	#5 in Data Visualization Software	#7 in Data Visualization Software
Best for	Affordable self-hosted or embedded BI	Observability data visualization teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$65/user/yr	$99/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	14 days	14 days
Free trial length	14 days	14 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Tickets, Community	Community, Docs · 24/7
Integrations	237+ integrations	12 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Metabase 0/2 · Kibana 1/2
Scheduled refresh	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Embedded dashboards	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Dashboard type	Not checked yet	Interactive
Data sources	Not checked yet	Elasticsearch, Elastic Agent, Logstash, Beats, OpenTelemetry, APIs, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Amazon S3, Amazon ECS, web content, files, logs, metrics, traces, and events
Viewer limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Platform	Not checked yet	Web
Our review
Pros	Free open-source edition with unlimited questions and dashboards Visual query builder plus SQL editing and AI questions Embedding, alerts, subscriptions, and row-level security	Interactive dashboards combine charts, metrics, maps, tables, and filters. No-code anomaly detection, alerting, reporting, and dashboard embedding. Free self-managed option plus Elastic Cloud Hosted deployment choices.
Cons	Paid plans start at $100 per month before additional user fees Advanced permissions and SSO require the Pro plan Enterprise capabilities use custom pricing	Self-managed deployments require operating the Elastic Stack. Many advanced capabilities begin on higher paid tiers. Its strongest fit depends on Elasticsearch-centered data workflows.
Our verdict	Metabase is a business intelligence and embedded analytics platform for teams that need to connect databases, explore data, create charts and dashboards, and share results. Its visual query builder supports filtering, summarizing, joining,… Read the review →	Kibana is an open-source web interface for querying, analyzing, visualizing, and managing Elasticsearch data. It suits observability data visualization teams that need interactive dashboards, exploration tools, maps, alerts, reporting, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Metabase — where it wins

  • Free open-source edition with unlimited questions and dashboards
  • Visual query builder plus SQL editing and AI questions
  • Embedding, alerts, subscriptions, and row-level security

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid plans start at $100 per month before additional user fees
  • Advanced permissions and SSO require the Pro plan
  • Enterprise capabilities use custom pricing

• Kibana — where it wins

  • Interactive dashboards combine charts, metrics, maps, tables, and filters.
  • No-code anomaly detection, alerting, reporting, and dashboard embedding.
  • Free self-managed option plus Elastic Cloud Hosted deployment choices.

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-managed deployments require operating the Elastic Stack.
  • Many advanced capabilities begin on higher paid tiers.
  • Its strongest fit depends on Elasticsearch-centered data workflows.

• Metabase8.7/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A flexible BI option with free self-hosting, SQL, dashboards, and embedded analytics.

  Visit MetabaseFull verdict →
• Kibana8.5/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A strong choice for interactive observability dashboards, maps, alerts, and Elasticsearch exploration.

  Visit KibanaFull verdict →