Open Analytics
With Clear Pricing
Sigma doesn't publish pricing anywhere — you go through a sales conversation to get a quote, and third-party procurement data puts typical annual contracts in the tens of thousands of dollars. Preset costs $20 a user, has a free tier for teams up to five, and lets you try the full platform before anyone from our team calls you.
Enterprise BI with transparent pricing
Pricing you don't have to negotiate
Sigma doesn't publish pricing anywhere on its site. Third-party procurement data puts typical annual Sigma contracts anywhere from $17,500 to over $130,000, with a reported median around $61,000/year, but you won't see a number without a sales conversation. Preset posts its pricing publicly: free for up to five users, $20/user/month on the Professional plan, no capacity fees, and no procurement process required to get started.
Open-source foundation, no proprietary lock-in
Preset runs on Apache Superset, which has over 70,000 GitHub stars and a global contributor community independent of any single vendor. Sigma is a fully proprietary platform. If Preset stopped existing tomorrow, your dashboards would still run on standard Apache Superset. That's not true of Sigma.
SQL-first without a proprietary formula layer
Preset's SQL Lab gives analysts a full environment for exploration, virtual datasets, and Jinja-templated dynamic queries. Sigma's core workflow is a spreadsheet-style grid built on its own formula language, with SQL and Python available only to its top-tier Build license. If your team thinks in SQL rather than spreadsheet formulas, Preset doesn't ask you to change how you work.
dbt Core and dbt Cloud, not just Cloud
Preset connects to dbt semantic models whether you run dbt Core or dbt Cloud. Sigma's dbt Semantic Layer integration requires dbt Cloud specifically — teams running dbt Core on their own infrastructure don't get the same connection.
40+ database connections, including real-time OLAP
Preset connects natively to Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, and more than 40 other databases, including real-time OLAP engines like Apache Druid and Apache Pinot. Sigma's own documentation lists 11 named connectors, centered on the major cloud warehouses. If your stack relies on Druid or Pinot for sub-second queries, that's ground Preset covers and Sigma doesn't.
Private cloud and on-premises deployment
Preset runs as a fully managed cloud service, as a managed private cloud inside your own AWS or GCP account, or fully on-premises. All three paths run the same certified Apache Superset build. Sigma is cloud-only SaaS with no self-hosted option at any price. For teams with data residency or audit requirements that extend to their analytics infrastructure, Sigma isn't an option.
Preset vs Sigma at a Glance
Pricing model
Sigma has no published pricing; third-party procurement data puts typical deals from $17,500 to over $130,000 a year. Preset's free tier covers up to five users indefinitely, and the Professional plan is $20/user/month with no capacity fees. Full details are on our pricing page.
Open source vs proprietary
Sigma is proprietary. Preset is built on Apache Superset, a project with a public GitHub repository, a public roadmap, and contributors who aren't Preset employees. Your work on Preset is portable to any Apache Superset deployment.
Modeling and semantic layer
Sigma built its own semantic modeling layer (Sigma Data Models) and connects to the dbt Semantic Layer for dbt Cloud users only. Preset connects to the semantic layers your team already uses, including both dbt Core and dbt Cloud, rather than requiring a specific dbt hosting model.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Preset | Sigma |
|---|---|---|
| Open-source foundation | ✓Apache Superset | ✗Proprietary |
| Public pricing | ✓$20/user/month | ✗Contact sales |
| Free tier | ✓5 users forever | ✗Free trial only |
| SQL-first (no proprietary language) | ✓ | ✗Spreadsheet formulas |
| 40+ native database connections | ✓ | ✗~11 connectors |
| Apache Druid & Pinot connectors | ✓ | ✗Not offered |
| dbt integration | ✓Core & Cloud | Partialdbt Cloud SL only |
| Row-level security | ✓ | ✓Warehouse-enforced |
| Embedded analytics | ✓React, Vue, Angular | ✓ |
| MCP server for AI clients | ✓Preset MCP | ✓Sigma MCP Server |
| MCP server in the open-source codebase | ✓Apache Superset, in-tree | ✗Proprietary service |
| Bring-your-own-key (BYOK) AI | ✓Enterprise — OpenRouter | PartialWarehouse LLM or OpenAI/Azure/Gemini |
| Jinja templating | ✓ | ✗ |
| Full CSS customization | ✓ | Limited |
| Private cloud / on-premises deployment | ✓MPC / On-Prem | ✗Cloud only |
| Public roadmap | ✓GitHub | ✗ |
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ | ✓ |
Proof Points
Teams across travel, fintech, education, and B2B SaaS run their analytics on Preset. A few representative stories: Rocket Travel by Agoda, Flywire, Metamap, and a move from Looker to Preset that documents the self-serve impact in detail. More are on our customers page.
How Preset Deploys
Most data teams start on Preset Cloud: fully managed, multi-tenant, and available in minutes. Regulated or security-sensitive teams run on Preset Managed Private Cloud, which provides an isolated environment inside your own cloud account. Teams with stricter infrastructure requirements run Preset On-Prem. All three paths run the same certified Apache Superset build, so switching deployment models doesn't require rebuilding dashboards. Sigma offers none of these — it's cloud-only SaaS.
Security and Governance
Preset is SOC 2 Type II certified and supports SSO/SAML, SCIM, role-based access control, row-level security, and audit logging across all deployment models. Sigma is also SOC 2 Type II certified, with additional ISO 27001-family and HIPAA attestations, but its governance stops at the boundary of its cloud-only platform. Details on Preset's controls, certifications, and data handling are on our trust and security page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The three most common reasons are pricing transparency, open-source portability, and deployment flexibility. Preset publishes its pricing, runs on Apache Superset with no vendor lock-in, and supports private cloud and on-premises deployments. Sigma doesn't publish pricing, is fully proprietary, and is cloud-only with no self-hosted option.
Yes. Preset connects natively to dbt semantic models, including both dbt Core and dbt Cloud. Sigma's dbt Semantic Layer integration only works with dbt Cloud, so teams running dbt Core don't get the same connection.
Sigma's spreadsheet-style grid over live warehouse data is a real differentiator for teams that think in spreadsheets, and its Input Tables support write-back workflows Preset doesn't offer. For SQL-first teams and dashboard-heavy environments, that formula-driven workflow is rarely the deciding factor, and it means Sigma's core interaction model isn't standard SQL.
Sigma has built a genuinely broad AI story: chart explanations and an AI formula assistant are available even on its entry-level View license, Sigma Agents can act on governed data, and you can route through your warehouse's native LLM (Snowflake Cortex, Databricks, BigQuery) or an external provider like OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, or Gemini. Sigma also ships an official MCP server. The architectural difference: Preset's MCP server lives in the open-source Apache Superset codebase itself, while Sigma's is a separate proprietary service, and Preset's Enterprise BYOK routes through OpenRouter rather than a fixed provider list.
Yes. Preset customers query billions of rows in Snowflake, BigQuery, and Databricks. Query performance is driven by the warehouse, with Preset's caching layer handling repeated queries.
Both are SOC 2 Type II certified. Preset adds SSO/SAML, SCIM, role-based access control, row-level security, audit logging, and private cloud or on-premises deployment. Preset Chatbot and Preset MCP inherit that same row-level security, column masking, and RBAC on every request, so AI users only see what their account already has access to. See our trust and security page for the full breakdown.
Yes. Preset's free tier is available immediately with no credit card required and no sales conversation required to get started. Sigma doesn't publish a free tier; getting started means a free trial or a sales conversation.
Get in Touch
If you're evaluating Preset against Sigma, start on the free tier. You'll see the full product before anyone from our team contacts you. When you're ready to talk scope, pricing, or migration from a proprietary platform, we're here.
Sigma is a trademark of Sigma Computing, Inc. Apache Superset is a trademark of The Apache Software Foundation. Preset is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sigma Computing, Inc. or The Apache Software Foundation. Feature comparisons are based on publicly available information, including Sigma's own documentation and third-party procurement data, and may not reflect the most recent product updates.