Side by side
Cube vs dbt Semantic Layer
Both stand on semantic layer software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Open source APILinuxSelf-hosted+1
Cube centers analytics on a governed semantic model, with options for business intelligence, embedded use, and AI agents. The free plan has workbook and request limits; paid plans begin at $40 a month per developer.
Visit Cube
Free plan APIExtensionWeb
dbt Semantic Layer gives teams a shared, code-managed way to define and query metrics across supported tools. Access requires a Starter or Enterprise account, and Starter has a monthly metric-query limit.
Visit dbt Semantic LayerThe facts
| Cube | dbt Semantic Layer | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web | API, Extension, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Starter: $40 per developer a month | Starter: $100 per user a month |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | cube.dev | getdbt.com |
| On semantic layer software | #1 of 28 | #3 of 28 |
Cube: what it does well
- Free plan includes workbooks, dashboards, and analytics chat.
- Connects to listed databases including Snowflake and PostgreSQL.
- Supports dbt, Dagster, Prefect, Airflow, and Coalesce.io.
- Cloud deployment options include managed service, VPC, and BYOC.
- Starter is $40 a month per developer.
What to know first
- Free plan allows up to five workbooks.
- Free plan allows 1,000 daily requests.
- Free plan retains query history for one day.
- Premium is $80 a month per developer.
dbt Semantic Layer: what it does well
- Version-controlled YAML definitions include lineage awareness.
- MetricFlow can optimize joins and cache repeated queries.
- GraphQL, JDBC and Python SDK query access.
- Supports Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and Redshift.
What to know first
- Free Developer plan does not include the Semantic Layer.
- Starter costs $100 a month per user.
- Starter is limited to 5,000 queried metrics monthly.
Alternatives to Cube Alternatives to dbt Semantic Layer The whole list