How Preset Stacks Up Against Legacy BI
Compare Preset to Power BI, Looker, Tableau, and Metabase. See why data teams are leaving legacy BI for an open analytics platform with flexibility, cost savings, and no vendor lock-in.
The open analytics advantage
50-80% cost savings
Free tier with 5 users forever. $20/user Professional plans. No capacity fees, no complex tiers, no surprise costs.
No vendor lock-in
Built on Apache Superset with 70k+ GitHub stars. Export your dashboards. Self-host if needed. Your data, your choice.
100% browser-based
No desktop apps to install. Create dashboards from any device, any OS. Unlike Tableau Desktop or Power BI Desktop.
Standard SQL everywhere
No DAX, no LookML, no proprietary languages. Use the SQL you already know. Jinja templating for dynamic queries.
True cloud agnostic
AWS, GCP, or Azure—your choice. Not tied to Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. Connect to 40+ databases directly.
Modern data stack native
First-class dbt integration, semantic layer support (OSI founding member), built for Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks.
Preset vs the Competition
| Feature | Preset | Power BI | Looker | Tableau | Metabase | Hex | Omni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source foundation | ✓Apache Superset | ✗Microsoft | ✗Salesforce | ✓AGPL | ✗Proprietary | ✗Proprietary | |
| Free tier available | ✓5 users forever | ✗$10/user Pro | ✗$3k+/mo min | ✗$15-70/user | ✗$100/mo + $6/user | ✓5 projects | ✗Contact sales |
| 100% browser-based | ✓ | ✗Desktop req'd | ✓ | ✗Desktop req'd | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Standard SQL (no proprietary language) | ✓ | ✗DAX required | ✗LookML req'd | ✓ | ✓ | ✗Python + SQL | ✗Topics model |
| 40+ native database connections | ✓ | ✓Gateway needed | ✓Best w/ BigQuery | ✓ | ✗~15 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cloud agnostic (AWS, GCP, Azure) | ✓ | ✗Azure-optimized | ✗GCP-centric | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No data extracts required | ✓Live queries | ✓DirectQuery | ✓ | ✗Extracts rec'd | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SQL Lab / IDE for exploration | ✓ | ✗Limited | ✗SQL Runner | ✗Limited | PartialBasic editor | ✓Notebooks | ✗Limited |
| Jinja templating | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Full CSS customization | ✓ | ✗Limited | ✗Limited | ✗Limited | ✗Limited | ✗Limited | ✗Limited |
| Native dbt integration | ✓ | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | ✓ |
| Semantic layer (open ecosystem) | ✓dbt, Cube, OSI | ✓Proprietary | ✓LookML only | ✓Proprietary | PartialModels | Partial | ✓Proprietary |
| Private cloud in your account | ✓MPC/PCS | ✗Self-managed | ✗GCP only | ✗Self-managed | ✓Enterprise | ✓Enterprise | ✓ |
| Public roadmap | ✓GitHub | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓GitHub | ✗ | ✗ |
Detailed Comparisons
Preset vs Power BI
Break free from Microsoft lock-in. No capacity-based pricing, no gateway requirements, no DAX learning curve.
Learn more →Preset vs Looker
Semantic layer power without LookML complexity. 50-70% lower cost, no Google Cloud lock-in.
Learn more →Preset vs Tableau
Enterprise BI without $70/user licensing. 100% browser-based, no desktop app required.
Learn more →Preset vs Metabase
Both open source, but Preset offers 3x the database connectors, broader visualizations, and a full SQL IDE. Even Metabase agrees.
Learn more →Preset vs Hex
Production dashboards without notebook complexity. 45% lower cost, open-source foundation.
Learn more →Preset vs Omni
Transparent pricing vs contact sales. Open-source flexibility, mature embedded analytics.
Learn more →Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Preset serves enterprises with thousands of users and billions of rows. We connect to the same data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks) that power the largest analytics deployments.
Preset is SOC 2 Type II certified with enterprise features: SSO/SAML, SCIM, RBAC, row-level security, audit logging, and private cloud deployment options (MPC/PCS).
Dashboards need to be recreated, but Preset's team provides migration guidance. Many organizations run Preset alongside existing tools during transition, moving workloads based on cost savings and fit.
Preset handles infrastructure, upgrades, security patches, and scaling. Get enterprise support from the team that created Apache Superset—our CEO founded the project and our engineers are top contributors.
Try Preset free—no credit card required
See why teams are choosing open-source BI. Start with our free tier and upgrade when you're ready.
Start free
Questions?Talk to our team about switching to Preset
Ready to make the switch?
Our team can help you evaluate Preset against your current BI tool and plan a smooth migration.
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<small>Power BI is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Looker is a trademark of Google LLC. Tableau is a trademark of Salesforce, Inc. Metabase is a trademark of Metabase, Inc. Hex is a trademark of Hex Technologies, Inc. Omni is a trademark of Omni Analytics, Inc. Apache Superset is a trademark of The Apache Software Foundation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Preset is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Metabase, Hex Technologies, Omni Analytics, or The Apache Software Foundation. Feature comparisons are based on publicly available information and may not reflect the most recent product updates.</small>