Independent · sourced · Updated June 2026
Best BI / Analytics (2026)
The cheapest bi / analytics is Metabase at $0/mo. 4 offer a free tier (Metabase, Microsoft Power BI, Mode Analytics). This page compares 9 options on entry price, free tier, HIPAA/SOC 2 and best-for — every figure linked to its source, updated June 2026.
9 options compared on price, free tier, compliance and fit — ranked cheapest-first. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it; quote-only tiers show “—”, never a guess.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest: Metabase at $0/mo (Open Source).
- Typical paid price: from $14/mo, median $25/mo, up to $100/mo — across 5 with published pricing.
- Free tier: Metabase, Microsoft Power BI, Mode Analytics, ThoughtSpot.
- HIPAA-ready: Microsoft Power BI, ThoughtSpot, GoodData, Looker, Sigma Computing.
- Tracked: 9 vendors, data current through 2026-06-15.
Comparison
| # | BI / Analytic | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | SOC 2 | Best for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metabase | $0/mo Open Source | Yes | — | Yes | Developer and startup teams wanting open-source BI | metabase.com |
| 2 | Microsoft Power BI | $0/mo Power BI Free | Yes | Yes | — | Microsoft 365 and Azure shops | microsoft.com |
| 3 | Mode Analytics | $0/mo Studio | Yes | — | — | Data analyst teams comfortable with SQL and Python | mode.com |
| 4 | ThoughtSpot | $0/mo Developer (Embedded) | No | Yes | Yes | Self-service analytics for non-technical business users | thoughtspot.com |
| 5 | Tableau | $15/mo Tableau Viewer | No | — | — | Large enterprises needing mature self-service BI | getapp.com |
| 6 | Qlik Sense (Qlik Cloud Analytics) | $30/mo Qlik Sense Business | No | — | — | Enterprises needing associative multi-source data exploration | getapp.com |
| 7 | GoodData | — | No | Yes | Yes | HIPAA-regulated analytics with requirement for long-standing SOC 2 pedigree | quote-only |
| 8 | Looker | — | No | Yes | — | Google Cloud-native data stacks | quote-only |
| 9 | Sigma Computing | — | No | Yes | Yes | Snowflake-native data teams | quote-only |
Prices are the lowest published self-serve monthly rate as captured on the linked source. Annual-billing and usage details are on each vendor's record in our open dataset.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest bi / analytics?
Metabase has the lowest published entry price at $0/mo (Open Source), as of 2026-06-15.
How much does bi / analytics cost per month?
Across the 5 bi / analytics with published paid pricing, the median starting price is $25/mo, ranging from $14/mo to $100/mo, as of 2026-06-15. 4 also offer a free tier. 3 are quote-only.
Which bi / analytics have a free plan?
Metabase, Microsoft Power BI, Mode Analytics, ThoughtSpot offer a free tier.
Which bi / analytics support HIPAA?
Microsoft Power BI, ThoughtSpot, GoodData, Looker, Sigma Computing state HIPAA support (a BAA). Always confirm current scope with the vendor.
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How we compiled this
Pricing fetched from official vendor pages where accessible (Microsoft Power BI, Metabase, ThoughtSpot, Looker/Google Cloud, Mode, GoodData). Tableau's official pricing page (tableau.com/pricing) returned HTTP 403 on all attempts; prices sourced from GetApp aggregator (corroborated by two independent GetApp fetches). Qlik's official pricing page returned no machine-readable pricing data; Business tier price sourced from GetApp aggregator. Sigma Computing has no published self-serve pricing on its official website; starting price reference sourced from SoftwareAdvice aggregator. All monetaryUsd figures represent the effective per-seat monthly cost at the smallest self-serve unit, billed annually where that is the only published rate. null = quote-only or not self-serve. accessedAt = 2026-06-14 on all sources.
Last verified 2026-06-15. We re-check published prices and compliance on a recurring cadence and update this page when they change.
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