Side by side
Cube vs MetricFlow
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 Open source APILinuxMac+3
MetricFlow provides self-hosted metric definitions and SQL generation for compatible dbt projects. Its dbt and platform requirements, along with the lack of support for dbt built-in functions and packages, are important constraints.
Visit MetricFlowThe facts
| Cube | MetricFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 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 | github.com |
| On semantic layer software | #1 of 28 | #2 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.
MetricFlow: what it does well
- Supports five metric types.
- Constructs joins using entity types and parameters.
- Works with dbt 1.6 and higher.
- Custom integrations can use four listed interfaces.
- Free and Apache 2.0 licensed.
What to know first
- Requires a working dbt project and adapter.
- Does not support dbt built-in functions or packages.
- Postgres support is for dbt v1 only.
Alternatives to Cube Alternatives to MetricFlow The whole list