Metabase vs Census Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
Open Source
- Ask questions with AI
- SQL generation
- 20+ supported data sources
- Unlimited questions & dashboards
- Write SQL or explore just by clicking
- Free unlimited users
Starter
- Ask questions with AI
- SQL generation
- 20+ supported data sources
- Unlimited questions & dashboards
- Write SQL or explore just by clicking
- 3-day support via email, support form, Slack, or Teams
Pro
- Row and column level permissions
- SSO
- Caching controls
- Usage analytics & auditing
- Multi-tenant embedded analytics
- Whitelabel ready
- AI usage auditing and controls
Enterprise
- Custom pricing aligned with your business model
- Our help with procurement
- Dedicated success engineer
- Air gap available
- 1-day support SLA
Free
- 500,000 monthly active rows (MAR) for connections
- 3,500 monthly active rows (MAR) for activations
- 5,000 monthly model runs (MMR) for transformations
Standard
Popular- Unlimited users
- 15-minute syncs
- 700+ fully managed connectors
- 200+ fully managed activation destinations
- Integration for dbt Core
- Role-based access control
- Access to Fivetran REST API
- Access to SSH tunnels for encryption
Enterprise
- 1-minute syncs
- Fivetran Activations' Audience Hub
- Enterprise database connectors
- Custom roles
- VPN tunnels (annual contract only)
- SCIM/user provisioning
- Pick any cloud provider (GCP, AWS, Azure)
- Hybrid deployment option
Business Critical
- Customer-managed keys for encryption
- PCI DSS Level 1 certification
- Private networking options
Metabase vs Census FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Metabase uses hybrid pricing, while Census goes with usage-based. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Metabase: Metabase plays the accessible-but-not-cheapest game — free open source hooks in budget-conscious teams and developers, but the leap to Pro at $575/mo puts them solidly mid-market compared to bare-bones BI tools. They're clearly chasing teams that started on the free tier and grew into needing governance and scale, not enterprises shopping for Looker or Tableau from day one.
Still deciding? See the best Metabase alternatives or the best Census alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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