LookerAgentic business intelligence and embedded analytics on Google Cloud
vs
MetabaseOpen source AI analytics you can verify
Comparison · Business Intelligence · weekly run Nov 2
Looker vs Metabase
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Looker is the stronger AI pick in Business Intelligence: it has a visibility score of 29.8 versus 21.7 for Metabase, and ranks ahead in 50% of the answers that name both.
Choose Looker if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (29.8 vs 21.7)
- You need SOC 2 or ISO 27001 or FedRAMP or HIPAA coverage
- Governed semantic layer and metric consistency
- Strong integration with Google Cloud, BigQuery and Workspace
Choose Metabase if…
- AI answers describe it more positively (63% vs 30% positive)
- You need SOC 1 or SOC 2 Type II or GDPR or CCPA coverage
- Free open-source edition for self-hosting
- Easy to deploy and user-friendly
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 2
| Metric | Looker | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 29.8% | 21.7% |
| Change vs last week | New | New |
| Rank in Business Intelligence | #3 | #5 |
| Share of voice | 8.1% | 5.2% |
| Mentions this run | 42 | 27 |
| Positive in AI answers | 30% | 63% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Looker 0pp · Metabase 0pp over 0 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Looker leads on 3 of 3 engines
ChatGPT
AI Mode
Perplexity
LookerMetabase
Head to head in AI answers
14 engine answers name both brands
7Looker ranked higher
7Metabase ranked higher
| Prompt | Engine | Looker | Metabase |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do I choose a business intelligence tool for a mid-market team? | ChatGPT | #3 | #6 |
| How do I choose a business intelligence tool for a mid-market team? | Perplexity | #3 | #4 |
| What are the best Business Intelligence tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #3 | #9 |
| What are the best Business Intelligence tools in 2026? | Perplexity | #3 | #7 |
| Top business intelligence tool options for B2B SaaS companies | ChatGPT | #2 | #1 |
| Top business intelligence tool options for B2B SaaS companies | Perplexity | #3 | #1 |
| Alternatives to the most popular business intelligence tool | ChatGPT | #3 | #5 |
| Alternatives to the most popular business intelligence tool | AI Mode | #4 | #6 |
| Alternatives to the most popular business intelligence tool | Perplexity | #4 | #6 |
| How much does a business intelligence tool cost per month? | AI Mode | #8 | #1 |
| Which business intelligence tool has transparent pricing? | ChatGPT | #6 | #3 |
| Which business intelligence tool has transparent pricing? | AI Mode | #8 | #2 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Looker | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | — | Per seat |
| Entry price | — | Free; paid from $100 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Deployment | Google Cloud | Self-hosted or Metabase Cloud, with air-gapped deployment available on Enterprise |
| Integrations | — | 237+ |
| Compliance | SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA | SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA |
| Support | — | Email, Support form, Slack, Microsoft Teams |
| Founded | — | 2014 |
| Employees | — | 51–200 |
| Funding | Series E · $280M raised | Series B · $43M raised |
| Best for | — | Teams that want self-service analytics without relying on engineers, and software companies that need to embed analytics in their product |
Plans side by side
Looker
Pricing not available.
Metabase
Open Source$0free, self-hosted, unlimited users
Starter$100month (5 users included, +$6/user/month)
Pro$575month (10 users included, +$12/user/month)
EnterpriseCustomcustom pricing (starts at $20,000 / year)
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Looker
- Governed semantic layer and metric consistency
- Strong integration with Google Cloud, BigQuery and Workspace
- Developer-centric data modeling via LookML
- Around 4.5 out of 5 stars on Gartner Peer Insights
- Quote-only enterprise pricing starting above $60,000 a year
- Poor fit for NoSQL-heavy data stacks or standalone embedded needs
- Less suited to teams using macOS without virtual machines
Metabase
- Free open-source edition for self-hosting
- Easy to deploy and user-friendly
- No-code visual builder and SQL for non-technical users
- Affordable, low-cost BI
- Best default starting point for startups and small teams
- Self-hosting means handling hosting, security, backups and updates yourself
- Extra token-based AI or custom usage fees on top of plans
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Looker vs Metabase”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/looker-vs-metabase, data of Nov 2, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.