Metabase vs Apache Superset

Metabase and Apache Superset are the two open-source business-intelligence tools people most often put side by side when they want dashboards over their own databases without paying per seat. Both let you write SQL or build charts without it, and both save results as dashboards. They differ in how much you have to run and who they are built for. Metabase is one Java application plus a database for its own data, rated 2 out of 5 to deploy. Superset is a Python Flask and React application that also wants a Redis cache and Celery workers, rated 4 out of 5, and its own Compose setup is documented as a way to try it, not a production deployment.

Who each is built for

Metabase has a point-and-click query builder for people who do not write SQL, a SQL editor for those who do, interactive dashboards, alerts and scheduled dashboard subscriptions. It is AGPL-3.0 for the Open Source edition; the Pro and Enterprise editions are a separate image under the Metabase Commercial License.

Apache Superset is an Apache Software Foundation project: SQL in a browser editor, no-code chart building, dashboards, and connections to a wide range of SQL databases. It is Apache-2.0, a permissive licence.

For a team where non-technical colleagues will ask their own questions, Metabase is the easier handover. For analysts who want a deep chart catalogue and an Apache-governed project, Superset.

What the installs involved

Metabase's install is a short Compose file: the metabase/metabase image beside Postgres for its application data. You open port 3000 and the setup screen creates the admin account. First start takes a minute or two.

Superset's is a clone of the repository at a release tag, then the repo's own docker-compose-image-tag.yml, which brings up the app, a Celery worker and beat, PostgreSQL and Redis. We had to set our own secret key and admin password, since the default login is admin/admin, and use the -dev image tag because it carries the Postgres driver the Compose file needs. Superset's docs describe -dev images as development builds with root access, so they are not what you would want in production. Upstream's production path is Kubernetes. Both installs passed verification on Ubuntu 26.04.

The measurement that surprised us

Our minimum RAM estimate is 2 GB for both. Measured idle on a GCP e2-standard-2 box, Metabase used about 1,704 MB and Superset about 949 MB, even though Superset runs more containers. Metabase is one Java application, so treat its figure as what it used on this box, not as a floor. Disk was about 3.1 GB for Metabase and 6.2 GB for Superset.

Which to choose

Choose Metabase if you want the quickest route to working dashboards, a friendlier interface for non-SQL users, and an install that is one Compose file.

Choose Superset if you want Apache-2.0 licensing, are comfortable running a multi-container stack with Redis and workers, and may later move to Kubernetes.

Related

Both live in the Business intelligence category; app pages are Metabase and Superset. The RAM and disk figures above come from the install-and-measure routine described on how we test, which also says what a "tested" install means here. If you are weighing a bigger self-hosted stack, the same test box produced the numbers for Directus and the other apps on the site.