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Self-host Metabase
updated Oct 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Oct 2026 · how we test
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A business-intelligence tool for asking questions of your own databases: a point-and-click query builder for people who don't write SQL, a SQL editor for those who do, interactive dashboards, alerts and scheduled dashboard subscriptions. The Open Source edition is AGPL-3.0 and runs as one Java application plus a database for its own data; the Pro and Enterprise editions are a separate image under the Metabase Commercial License.
Key facts
CategoryBusiness intelligence
LicenseAGPL-3.0 core with proprietary enterprise modules
Runs on a VPS from $12/mo (Kamatera 4GB, 4 GB RAM) · prices checked Sep 2026
Our recommendation
Pick Metabase when the people asking questions of your data are not all SQL writers: a point-and-click query builder for the team, a SQL editor for analysts, interactive dashboards with filters, alerts on your data and alerts by email, Slack or webhook, and scheduled dashboard subscriptions by email or Slack, plus embedding. The Open Source edition is AGPL-3.0 and runs as one Java application; the official Docker image needs only a PostgreSQL database for its own data. On our test server, Metabase and its PostgreSQL together idled at about 1.7 GB of RAM, and upstream's Docker docs give no RAM minimum, so our 2 GB floor is an estimate. Apache Superset is the catalog's other BI tool: it has a no-code chart builder and a web SQL editor too, but its Docker route runs more services (a Redis cache and Celery workers alongside the app and database).
What you need
Any VPS with at least 2048 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
Metabase's own Docker and upgrade docs set out what you own once it holds your company's data:
non-negotiableThe default application database is an embedded H2 file, and Metabase warns that removing the container loses your questions, dashboards and collections. For anything real, point MB_DB_* at PostgreSQL (our snippet does) and back that database up; upstream's upgrade guide tells you to back up the application database before every upgrade.
non-negotiableThe repository is split by licence: everything outside the top-level enterprise directory is AGPL-3.0, and the code inside it is under the Metabase Commercial License. Pro and Enterprise are a separate image, metabase/metabase-enterprise, activated with a license token; the Open Source image is metabase/metabase.
non-negotiablePin a version tag. Upstream's own examples use latest, but the upgrade guide recommends pulling a specific tag instead; going from one major version to the next means using the latest minor of the major you are leaving, and a very old install has to step through intermediate versions.
non-negotiableThe compose file publishes plain HTTP on port 3000, so put a reverse proxy with TLS in front before you expose it. The account you create on first visit is an admin by default, so do that straight away, and keep the Postgres password in .env out of version control.