Metabase Embedded Analytics
Embedded analytics platform
Embed customer-facing analytics in your app, no BI build required
Reviewed by The Desk · Last verified July 2026
“One of the most credible ways to add customer-facing analytics without building BI from scratch: the open-source core is free to self-host, embedding is genuinely quick, and multi-tenant security is solid. Just budget carefully, because meaningful interactive embedding starts at the Pro tier and cloud seats are billed per viewer.”
Skip it ifYou need to embed dashboards for thousands of external customers on a tight budget. Metabase Cloud's per-seat pricing counts every interactive viewer, and true interactive embedding requires the $575/month Pro plan, so a usage- or viewer-priced embedded BI tool will be cheaper at scale.
What it is
Metabase Embedded Analytics is the customer-facing side of Metabase, the widely used open-source business intelligence platform founded in 2014. It lets product teams drop charts, dashboards, and full self-serve reporting into their own applications so end users can explore their data without the company building an analytics layer from scratch. Embedding ranges from simple no-code iframes to interactive dashboards with drill-down and filters, up to a Modular Embedding SDK for React that supports deeper, fully branded experiences.
The platform's strengths for embedding are its data governance and customization. Granular permissions at the organization, user, table, row, and column levels, plus native tenant isolation, make multi-tenant SaaS scenarios workable, while white-labeling covers colors, fonts, and branding to match the host product. It connects directly to 20-plus databases with live queries rather than ETL, and non-technical users can lean on Metabot, an AI assistant that answers plain-English questions and helps generate SQL.
The main trade-off is commercial. The open-source edition is free to self-host and excellent for internal reporting, but genuine interactive, customer-facing embedding is gated behind the Pro plan at $575/month base, and Metabase Cloud bills every interactive viewer as a seat. For B2B products embedding analytics for many external customers, that per-seat model can scale expensively, making self-hosting or a viewer-priced alternative worth weighing.
Key features
- No-code iframe embedding of charts and dashboards
- Interactive embedding with drill-down and filters (Pro and up)
- Modular Embedding SDK for React
- White-label theming for colors, fonts, and branding
- Row-, column-, and tenant-level data permissions
- Metabot AI assistant for natural-language questions
- SQL editor with AI-assisted query generation
- Connects to 20+ databases with live queries, no ETL required
- Self-hosted open-source edition or managed Metabase Cloud
Who it’s for
Embed customer-facing dashboards inside a SaaS product
Give end users self-serve, drill-down reporting without building it
Serve multi-tenant analytics with row-, column-, and tenant-level security
Ship white-labeled in-product reporting that matches your brand
Pros & cons
The good
- Mature, widely adopted open-source BI with a genuinely fast path from database to embedded dashboard
- Strong multi-tenant controls (row, column, and tenant isolation) plus full white-labeling for customer-facing embeds
- Free self-hosted edition lets teams prototype and run internal analytics at no license cost
The catch
- Interactive, customer-facing embedding is gated behind the Pro plan at $575/month base
- Cloud per-seat pricing counts every embedded viewer, so costs scale poorly for large B2B audiences
- Metabot AI is a lightweight assistant, not the core of the product
Pricing
| Tier | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free | Self-hosted · Unlimited users · AI questions and SQL generation · 20+ data sources · Basic (branded) embedding |
| Starter | $100/mo | Metabase Cloud · 5 users included, +$6/user/month · Branded, non-interactive embeds · Email/Slack support |
| Pro | $575/mo | Interactive and advanced embedding · 10 users included, +$12/user/month · SSO · Row/column-level permissions and multi-tenancy · Usage analytics and caching controls |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom pricing (min ~$20,000/year) · All Pro features · Dedicated success engineer · 1-day support SLA |
Free tier — Open-source edition is free and self-hosted with unlimited users, but interactive customer-facing embedding and white-labeling require paid tiers
Alternatives to Metabase Embedded Analytics
More Data & Analytics →
Questions people ask
Does Metabase have a free plan for embedded analytics?
Yes. The open-source edition is free to self-host with unlimited users, but customer-facing interactive embedding and white-labeling require the paid Pro or Enterprise tiers. Starter offers only branded, non-interactive embeds.
How much does embedded analytics cost on Metabase Cloud?
Interactive embedding requires the Pro plan at $575/month base (10 users included) plus $12/month per additional user. Starter ($100/month) provides only branded, non-interactive embeds, and Enterprise starts around $20,000/year.
Does Metabase count embedded viewers as billable users?
On Metabase Cloud, every interactive viewer counts as a paid seat, so costs can grow with your customer base. Self-hosting the open-source edition avoids per-seat billing.
What AI features does Metabase include?
Metabot, an AI assistant that answers questions in plain English and helps generate SQL. It is a supporting feature rather than the product's core.
Can I self-host Metabase for embedding?
Yes. The AGPL open-source edition is self-hostable via Java or Docker and free to run, though advanced embedding and white-labeling features live in the paid editions.