You can use Metabase for free without a credit card: the open-source edition is free, includes unlimited users, and needs no account to download. You run it on your own computer or server with one Docker command. It includes the query builder, the SQL editor, dashboards, dashboard subscriptions, AI questions with your own model key, and guest embeds.
If you’d rather not run a server, Metabase Cloud Starter costs $100 a month with 5 users included, and Starter and Pro both start with a 14-day free trial. You can start on the open-source edition and move to Metabase Cloud later, and the move keeps your questions, dashboards, people, and settings.
What do you get with free, self-hosted Metabase open source?
The open-source edition is free under the AGPL license, and you host it yourself. You get unlimited users, unlimited questions and dashboards, and connections to more than 20 data sources, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, and ClickHouse.
The open-source edition never asks for a card, because you download it without an account. The Metabase Store says so on its sign-up page: “Looking for Open Source Metabase? No account needed.”
Your team can write SQL or explore data by clicking in the query builder, and build and edit dashboards with filters and drill-through. Dashboard subscriptions send results by email or Slack, even to people who don’t have a Metabase account, and on the open-source edition email goes through your own SMTP server.
On the open-source edition, Metabot lets your team ask questions with AI and generates SQL, using your own API key from a provider such as Anthropic or OpenAI. The MCP server lets AI clients such as Claude or Cursor work with your Metabase, with the permissions of the person who connects.
For developers, the open-source edition includes the REST API with API keys, and guest embeds with locked parameters that put dashboards in your app with a “Powered by Metabase” banner. For sensitive data, the Metabase docs recommend SSO embeds with row and column security instead, which are part of the Pro and Enterprise plans. Support for the open-source edition comes from the community forums.
SAML, JWT and OIDC single sign-on, row and column security, serialization, usage analytics, and white-labeling are part of the Pro and Enterprise plans. Google Sign-In and LDAP sign-in work on every edition.
How do you run Metabase open source with Docker?
Run this command from the Docker docs and the open-source download page, then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name metabase metabase/metabase
On first start, Metabase asks you to create the first admin account on your own instance and to connect a database. You can also explore the Sample Database first and add your data later. If you don’t use Docker, the JAR file runs anywhere Java 25 runs.
Metabase keeps its own data, such as your questions, dashboards, and users, in an application database. The quick start uses a built-in H2 file, which suits demos and trials. For a Metabase you want to keep, store that data in PostgreSQL, as in this example compose file from the Docker docs:
# docker-compose.yml
# Example from https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/installation-and-operation/running-metabase-on-docker
services:
metabase:
image: metabase/metabase:latest # for production, pin a specific version tag
container_name: metabase
hostname: metabase
volumes:
- /dev/urandom:/dev/random:ro
ports:
- 3000:3000
environment:
MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
MB_DB_DBNAME: metabaseappdb
MB_DB_PORT: 5432
MB_DB_USER: metabase
MB_DB_PASS: mysecretpassword
MB_DB_HOST: postgres
networks:
- metanet1
healthcheck:
test: curl --fail -I http://localhost:3000/api/health || exit 1
interval: 15s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5
postgres:
image: postgres:16
container_name: postgres
hostname: postgres
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: metabase
POSTGRES_DB: metabaseappdb
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: mysecretpassword
volumes:
- ./pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
networks:
- metanet1
networks:
metanet1:
driver: bridge
Save the file and start both containers with docker compose up -d. Before you go live, change the passwords and read how to run Metabase in production. latest is a moving tag. Metabase moves it to a new major version some time after that version ships, so pin an exact version and upgrade on purpose. The upgrade docs also recommend a specific image tag over latest, such as metabase/metabase:v0.64.1.
How do you connect PostgreSQL with a read-only user?
Metabase recommends a dedicated database user with read-only access to the schemas you want to analyze. In PostgreSQL, run these statements as an admin, then add the connection under Admin > Databases > Add a database:
-- Adapted from https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/databases/users-roles-privileges
CREATE ROLE analytics WITH LOGIN;
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE your_database TO analytics;
CREATE USER metabase WITH PASSWORD 'your_password';
GRANT analytics TO metabase;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO analytics;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO analytics;
-- Also cover tables that the role running this statement creates later
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT ON TABLES TO analytics;
The GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES statement covers only the tables that exist now. The ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES statement covers the tables that the role running it creates later, so run it as the role that creates your tables, or add FOR ROLE and that role’s name.
Metabase Cloud Starter pricing: what does it cost, and what does it add?
Starter costs $100 a month, or $90 a month with yearly billing, which is $1,080 a year. The price includes 5 users, and each extra user costs $6 a month, or $65 a year. Prices are in US dollars, exclude taxes, and were checked on October 7, 2026.
The Starter page sums it up this way: “Starter has all the stuff you get in the open source version of Metabase, with hosting taken care of.” Metabase runs the server, manages uptime and backups, and handles every upgrade, so you’re always on the latest version. Starter adds a preconfigured SMTP server for email subscriptions, SOC 2 Type II compliance, and hosting in the US, Europe, Latin America, or Asia-Pacific. You also get support from Metabase’s success engineers by email, support form, Slack, or Teams, with a 3-day support SLA.
On Metabase Cloud, you can use the Metabase AI service instead of your own key: the first 1 million tokens are free, and after that it costs $3.75 per million tokens. Your price doesn’t grow with your content, because “Metabase costs the same no matter what you make, or how much you explore.” If your database sits behind a firewall, allow the Metabase Cloud IP addresses for your region.
Starter and Pro start with a 14-day free trial, and the Store describes it this way: “Trials are free, with no obligation to buy. Cancel any time.” Starter and Pro are paid by credit card through the Store, and Pro also offers a 10% discount on annual billing. Metabase charges your credit card only when the trial ends, and it emails you a reminder before that.
When do you need Pro?
Pro is the plan for SAML, JWT or OIDC single sign-on, row and column security, and embedded analytics where each viewer signs in. It costs $575 a month, or $517.50 a month with yearly billing, and the price is the same on Metabase Cloud and on your own servers. The price includes 10 users, and each extra user costs $12 a month. Pro adds SSO with SAML, JWT, or OIDC, row and column security, serialization to export and import content as YAML files, usage analytics, and white-labeling. For embedded analytics, Pro adds SSO embeds and the React SDK, and Pro also starts with a 14-day free trial.
How do you move from open source to Metabase Cloud or Pro later?
Each of these moves keeps your questions, dashboards, people, and settings.
You can move to Metabase Cloud from inside your Metabase. Go to Admin > Settings, click Cloud, then Try for free, and confirm with Migrate now. Metabase takes a snapshot of your application database, and people can still view questions and dashboards while it runs. In the Metabase Store, you then choose Starter or Pro, monthly or yearly billing, your DNS alias and hosting region, and you enter your payment information. If you embed Metabase, update the Metabase URL in your code afterward.
You can move to Pro on your own servers by changing the Docker image. Back up your application database, switch to the Enterprise Edition image of the same version, and activate your license. For example, metabase/metabase:v0.64.1 becomes metabase/metabase-enterprise:v1.64.1. You can paste the license token under Admin > Settings > License, or set it before Metabase starts:
# Follows https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/installation-and-operation/activating-the-enterprise-edition
services:
metabase:
image: metabase/metabase-enterprise:v1.64.1 # the same version as your open-source image
environment:
MB_PREMIUM_EMBEDDING_TOKEN: your-license-token
# keep your existing MB_DB_* settings
You can upgrade from Starter to Pro in the Store at any time. Billing is prorated, and your instance and all your data stay as they are.
You can also move from Metabase Cloud to your own servers. Metabase’s success team sends you a snapshot of your application database, and you restore it into your own PostgreSQL.