Dataki vs Metabase
A Metabase alternative where every chart starts as a question
Metabase is an open-source BI tool: a graphical query builder and a SQL editor, dashboards, models and metrics, and an AI assistant, Metabot, in every edition. Dataki is narrower. The conversation is the interface: you ask in plain English, Dataki writes and runs the SQL, and what you keep is a live dashboard on a permanent link.
Why Dataki?
- Every question starts in plain English. The SQL Dataki wrote comes with the answer, and you can edit and re-run it.
- Hosted, with AI included: no server to run or upgrade, and no AI provider key to bring.
- Read-only connections, with credentials encrypted and never sent to the model.
- Priced on data sources and AI messages, not per user. Everyone on your team can build, and viewers are free.
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Where Metabase stands
What it does well
- Open-source edition, free to self-host with unlimited users
- A graphical query builder for questions without SQL
- Metabot and an MCP server in every plan, including open source
- Embedding and public links on every plan
Where it gets in the way
- Self-hosting the open-source edition means running and upgrading a server yourself
- Metabot on a self-hosted instance needs your own AI provider key
- Paid plans include a set number of users and charge per user beyond it
- SSO-authenticated components and full-app embedding need Pro or Enterprise
Dataki and Metabase at a glance
What each one asks of you, what it keeps, and where your data is queried.
| Row | DATAKI | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| How you ask a question | DATAKI Type the question in plain English. Dataki writes the SQL, runs it and draws the chart, and the SQL is shown with the answer for you to edit and re-run. | Metabase Click through the graphical query builder, write SQL, or ask Metabot in plain English. |
| Who can build | DATAKI Everyone on the team, whether or not they write SQL. Anyone can view a dashboard for free. | Metabase Anyone given access. Paid plans count users beyond those included. |
| What you keep | DATAKI A live dashboard on a permanent link that refreshes on its own, with filters and a date range. | Metabase Questions, models and dashboards, organised in collections. |
| Where the data is queried | DATAKI On your database or warehouse, through a read-only connection, when the question is asked or the dashboard refreshes. Uploaded CSV and Excel files are snapshots. | Metabase On your database, through official drivers for PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Redshift, Snowflake and more. |
| Setup before the first chart | DATAKI Connect a source with a read-only user. No modelling layer: optional notes per source (metric definitions, joins, column warnings) that the model reads before it writes SQL. | Metabase Self-host it or use Metabase Cloud, then connect a database. Models and metrics are optional. |
| AI assistants and MCP | DATAKI A remote MCP server on every plan: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code query your sources and save dashboards, and Claude draws the answers as charts. Credentials never reach the model. | Metabase Metabot answers questions, builds charts and writes or fixes SQL. An MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code is in every plan. |
| Embedding | DATAKI A <dataki-dashboard> web component, a React component or an iframe, with each of your customers limited to their own rows. | Metabase Modular embedding and public links on every plan; SSO-based and full-app embedding on Pro and Enterprise. |
| Pricing model | DATAKI By data sources and AI messages, not seats. Everyone on the team can build, and viewers are free. | Metabase Open source is free. Paid plans include a number of users and charge per user beyond that. |
Which one to choose
Choose Metabase if…
- You want open-source software you can self-host and inspect.
- Your data is in a database Dataki does not connect to, such as Snowflake.
- People would rather build questions by clicking through a query builder than by typing.
- You need full-app embedding with SSO, or a query builder inside your own product.
Choose Dataki if…
- You don't want to run a BI server, or to bring your own AI provider key.
- Your team would rather ask in plain English than learn a query builder.
- Per-user pricing is what stops you from rolling analytics out to everyone.
- Your sources are BigQuery, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon Redshift, Supabase or Google Sheets.
Questions about Metabase and Dataki
- Is Dataki a replacement for Metabase?
- It can be, for teams that mainly ask questions and share dashboards. Dataki is hosted, starts every question in plain English and keeps answers as live dashboards on permanent links. It has no graphical query builder and no open-source edition, so teams that rely on either are better served by Metabase.
- Does Metabase have AI?
- Yes. Metabot, included in every Metabase edition including open source, answers natural-language questions, builds charts with the query builder, generates SQL in the native editor and fixes SQL errors. A self-hosted instance needs your own AI provider key. Metabase also runs an MCP server that Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code can connect to.
- Can Dataki connect to the same databases as Metabase?
- Partly. Dataki connects to Google BigQuery, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon Redshift, Supabase, Google Sheets and uploaded CSV or Excel files. Metabase has official drivers for more databases, including Snowflake. Both query the database directly; Dataki always through a read-only connection.
- Is Dataki open source?
- No. Dataki is a hosted service. Database credentials are encrypted at rest with Cloud KMS, every query runs read-only, and every query an AI agent runs is logged with the SQL, the row count and the key that ran it. If self-hosting open-source software is a requirement, Metabase's open-source edition is the better fit.
Ready to move on from Metabase?
Connect a data source, ask a question in plain English, and share the dashboard. No modelling layer to build first.