Apache Superset
Enterprise BI under Apache Software Foundation governance.
93
sovereigntySuperset is the most capable open BI platform: dozens of visualisation types, a SQL Lab for analysts, caching, row-level security and dashboards that hold up at enterprise scale. Apache-2.0 under Apache Software Foundation governance, around 74k stars, originally built at Airbnb and now used very widely. The distinction that matters against Metabase is governance — no company can relicense it — and against Tableau it is cost. The trade is operational: it is a Python application with a database and a cache, and it expects competence.
OPEN SOURCEApache-2.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
LicenseApache-2.0
PricingFree and open source. Managed offerings available from Preset and others.
Open sourceYes
Self-hostableYes
Local-first dataYes
What it does well
- +Apache Software Foundation governance — no vendor can change the terms
- +The widest range of visualisation types of anything open
- +Row-level security and caching built in
- +Proven at very large scale
Where it falls short
- −Heaviest to deploy and operate of the open options
- −Steeper learning curve for non-technical users than Metabase
- −Chart building is less forgiving than Tableau's
- −Upgrades need care
Apache Superset as an alternative to
Where Apache Superset shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.
Apache Superset head-to-head
Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.