Metabase Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Metabase costs Free to $575 per user/month as of May 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Metabase offers a forever free plan as of May 2026. The free tier includes 5 features with limits on support and embedding. Paid plans start at $100/month (Cloud Starter). Pricing verified from 6 sources by CostBench.
Metabase's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Free forever, self-hosted
- Unlimited queries, charts, and dashboards
- Basic embedding (with 'Powered by Metabase' branding)
- Community support only
- All core BI features included
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Managed cloud hosting
- First 5 users included
- $6/month per additional user
- Automatic upgrades and monitoring
- 3-day email support SLA
- Managed AI service ($3.75/1M tokens; first 1M tokens/month free)
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| support | Community only | Unlimited/Higher |
| embedding | With Metabase branding | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Managed cloud hosting or First 5 users included
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Metabase branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Cloud Starter Plan Comparison
| Open Source $0 | Cloud Starter $100/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 5 included | 6+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Metabase branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Developers and data teams who can self-host and maintain the instance | Small teams wanting managed cloud without infrastructure overhead |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Metabase free?
Yes, Metabase offers a forever free plan with 5 core features included. However, there are limits on support, embedding that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Metabase's free plan?
Metabase's free plan includes: Free forever, self-hosted, Unlimited queries, charts, and dashboards, Basic embedding (with 'Powered by Metabase' branding), Community support only, All core BI features included. Key limits include support: Community only, embedding: With Metabase branding.
03 What's NOT included in Metabase's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Managed cloud hosting, First 5 users included, $6/month per additional user, Automatic upgrades and monitoring, 3-day email support SLA. You'll also have Metabase branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Metabase's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Managed cloud hosting or First 5 users included, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $100/month.
05 Is Metabase's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Metabase's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.