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 built around the conversation: you ask in plain English, Dataki writes and runs the SQL, and the answer lives on as a dashboard with 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. Everyone on your team builds, 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
Trade-offs to weigh
- 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
How each one works, what you keep, and where your data is queried.
| Row | DATAKI | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| How you ask a question | DATAKI Type a question in plain English. Dataki writes the SQL, runs it and charts the answer, with the SQL right there 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, SQL or no SQL. Viewers are free and unlimited. | 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 Live on your database or warehouse, read-only, every time a question is asked or a dashboard refreshes. CSV and Excel uploads update when you upload a new export. | 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 and start asking. Add metric definitions, joins and column notes per source whenever you like; Dataki reads them 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 shows the answers as charts. Credentials stay inside Dataki. | 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 seeing only their own data. | 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. Everyone on the team builds, and viewers are free. | Metabase Open source is free. Paid plans include a number of users and charge per user beyond that. |
Which one fits your team
Choose Metabase if…
- You want open-source software you can self-host and inspect.
- Your data is in Snowflake.
- Your people like building questions by clicking through a query builder.
- You need full-app embedding with SSO, or a query builder inside your own product.
Choose Dataki if…
- You want analytics with AI built in, hosted for you: no server to run, no AI provider key to bring.
- Your team wants to ask in plain English.
- You want to roll analytics out to everyone, with pricing that doesn't count users.
- Your sources are BigQuery, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon Redshift, Supabase or Google Sheets.
Questions about Metabase and Dataki
- Is Dataki a replacement for Metabase?
- Yes, for teams that ask questions and share dashboards. Dataki is hosted, starts every question in plain English and keeps answers as live dashboards on permanent links. Teams that need a graphical query builder or an open-source edition to self-host will find both in 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?
- 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 fully hosted, so there is no server to run or upgrade. 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 fits that need.
Ready to move on from Metabase?
Your first month is free. Connect a data source, ask a question in plain English and share the dashboard the same day.