Metabase vs Microsoft Power BI pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
Microsoft Power BI's cheapest paid tier (Pro) lists at $14/month, which beats the other on entry pricing. Mid-tier and enterprise math can flip the answer — use the per-tier table below to see the real cost for your team size at each tier.
Calculate the cost for your team
Metabase pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source | $0 | $0 | month | Self-hosted, unlimited questions and dashboards |
| Starter | $100 | $90 | month | $100/mo + $6/user/mo; 5 users included; 3-day support SLA |
| Pro | $575 | $518 | month | $575/mo + $12/user/mo; 10 users; SSO, row-level perms, embedding |
| Enterprise | Custom | $1667 | month | Custom; starts at $20K/year, dedicated success engineer |
Microsoft Power BI pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | user/month | 1GB model, 10GB storage, no sharing |
| Pro | $14 | $14 | user/month | 100GB model, 100TB storage, 48 refreshes/day |
| Premium Per User | $24 | $24 | user/month | Includes Pro plus larger models and dataflows |
| Embedded / Fabric Capacity | Custom | Custom | month | Variable capacity-based pricing |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | Metabase | Microsoft Power BI |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Base fee plus per-user with usage extras | Per-user plus capacity |
| Cheapest paid tier | Starter at $90/month | Pro at $14/user/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | Pro at $518/month | Premium Per User at $24/user/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 3 | 2 |
| Last verified | 2026-05-17 | 2026-05-17 |
Best for…
Hand-picked use cases mapped to the winner.
| Use case | Winner |
|---|---|
| Lowest entry price (10-person team) | Microsoft Power BI Pro |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | Metabase (3 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | Metabase |
Choose Metabase when
- Open-source BI with a hosted tier under $200 and a Pro jump to $575/mo.
- Entry tier (Starter) at $90/month is your budget ceiling.
- Enterprise starts at $20K/year and adds dedicated success engineer, 1-day SLA, air-gap option and procurement support.
Choose Microsoft Power BI when
- Per-user BI with low headline prices that hide a steep climb to Premium capacity and Fabric.
- Entry tier (Pro) at $14/user/month is your budget ceiling.
- Premium capacity and Fabric SKUs sold separately; quoted via Microsoft sales or Azure pricing calculator.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. Metabase: Pro transform runs $0.01 each after 1K/month Microsoft Power BI: Pro license required even with Fabric capacity to publish Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, Metabase or Microsoft Power BI?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: Metabase Starter comes to $90/mo; Microsoft Power BI Pro comes to $140/mo. Microsoft Power BI is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does Metabase have more pricing tiers than Microsoft Power BI?
Metabase publishes more paid tiers (3 vs 2). More tiers usually means more granular ways to grow without re-platforming.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
Metabase's pricing was last verified 2026-05-17; Microsoft Power BI's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.