One of the most frustrating parts about choosing an embedded analytics tool is the pricing. There are so many factors at play: the number of licenses, end users, integrations, data sources, the data volume... It's nearly impossible for a vendor to give a quote without a lengthy sales call. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Today, we compared the costs of the most popular embedded analytics platforms to tell you how much you can expect to pay, before even talking to a sales rep, watching a demo, or starting a POC.
Embedded analytics pricing models
Before we jump into the tools, let's quickly explain the different approaches to pricing options.
1. Seat-based or user-based pricing
The cost is determined by the number of individual users or seats that access your analytics. It’s a beneficial approach for small businesses with a steady user base because it tells you exactly how much you’ll be paying.
However, some tools in this category charge separately for internal and external users or see devices as different seats.
It can be counterproductive if you have a growing or ever-changing user base, as this approach can be expensive and hard to predict. Plus, this pricing model doesn’t necessarily accurately reflect the value the software or service provides to each user, which might lead you to overpay or underestimate the individual benefit.
2. Usage-based pricing
You pay based on how much you actually use the tool. Platforms can measure usage in the number of API calls or the amount of consumed storage or processed data.
This approach is generally more suitable for B2B companies because they earn more per customer compared to B2C firms, and make analytics actually affordable.
However, this approach to pricing can be hard to budget because you can’t always assess precisely how much a customer will use your tool. So you can end up paying more than expected, affecting your profit margins.
3. Feature-based pricing
The cost varies depending on the specific features you want to access within the app. Some embedded analytics and BI tools will change their price depending on the available features. For example, you need to pay extra to get full access to more than one data schema in a tool like Explo.
This model is beneficial for teams who don’t necessarily need to pay for the fanciest features. It can be very cost-efficient and it’s great for scaling teams because they can use the same app consistently as they grow.
However, this approach can cause you to have poor budget planning and teams might find themselves needing to access a gated feature after already using the platform.
Top tip: Ask for additional quotes that include features you might need in the future.
4. Service-based or fixed pricing
This is the hardest to find in SaaS tools, but the best one for many businesses. Here, you pay a monthly or annual fee for the service and get access to the agreed set of features, usage, seats, and benefits.
Its biggest benefit is that this pricing model allows you to grow your business without worrying about increasing your tech expenses. The downside is that, depending on the tool, this approach might not always be affordable to small businesses with limited needs.
Note: We understand that the benefits of fixed pricing massively outweigh those of other pricing models, so we offer Embeddable on fixed-price annual and multi-annual contracts, with unlimited usage (users, dashboards & viewers) and a standard break clause at 3 months to allow you to build a POC. Book a call with the team to find out more.
Which pricing model is right for me?
The pricing model you choose isn't everything, but it can be an important factor, and getting a sense of this upfront will help you to save time assessing the many choices we’ll discuss in a minute.
Here is a simple decision matrix to help you choose a tool that ticks all the boxes.
If you have a large, growing or variable user base: look for a tool with fixed pricing like RevealBI, Qrvey, or Embeddable.
If you have a large user base but don't expect much usage of the dashboards, consider a tool with a usage-based (data/requests) model, such as Power BI Embedded.
If you have a small number of high-value users and don't expect it to grow: explore seats/viewer-based licensing, such as ThoughtSpot.
If you need a really specific feature not all tools have: narrow down your options to those tools only, then find out which pricing plan they are included in.
It's also crucial to compare costs to the value you'll get from the tool, so you'll want to consider factors such as performance, security, setup complexity, and whether the tool is a good fit for the job in general. You can assess those here.
Before you start comparing quotes, make sure to talk to each vendor and that you have everything needed for comparison in your quotes, such as features, seats and add-ons. It’s also smart to ask for the cost of features you may need in the future, so you know what to expect down the road.
Embedded analytics pricing: top tools compared
Choosing an embedded analytics solution is a long-term investment. Here are the most popular choices and how much they will set your team back.
Service-base or fixed pricing
These tools offer a flat monthly or annual fee regardless of usage or user count:
1. Embeddable
Embeddable offers fixed pricing that doesn't scale with your usage or the number of customers you show it to. That means you can roll it out to your user base with confidence, without worrying about potential surprises later.
What’s included?
When you choose Embeddable, you get:
- Unlimited users, views, and dashboards for a fixed monthly price.
- Flexibility via a monthly rolling subscription with a 14-day cancellation (an annual option is also available).
- Clarity on what you'll pay via a 'price lock' that honours your starting price for a fixed period.
- A dedicated account manager to ensure the successful delivery of your analytics project
- Additional Services e.g., custom SLA's, embedded engineers, etc., on request
- Expert implementation support, if needed, via our network of approved implementation partners.
- Self service analytics through our Custom Canvas feature, included in the price, letting your end users get deeper insights and tinker around with data visualizations
Besides the time saving, you’ll be able to embed fully bespoke user-facing analytics into your app without worrying about building things like row-level security and caching yourself. Additionally, you’ll gain access to a community and developers' documentation to ensure a seamless implementation and a fully customized user experience for your customers.
Want to find out more about how to achieve fully bespoke, highly performant analytics with Embeddable? Click here to learn more
2. Qrvey
Qrvey is an end-to-end embedded analytics platform for SaaS companies with built-in data collection and automation. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Flat-fee annual subscription.
- Specific costs: Flat pricing (typically in the mid-five figures per year) for unlimited users.
3. RevealBI
RevealBI is an embedded analytics SDK from Infragistics, integrated into developer applications. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Fixed annual license.
- Specific costs: Typically $30k–$50k/year for unlimited embedding.
4. Omni
Omni is a modern BI startup from an ex-Looker team focused on cloud warehouse metrics modeling. Primarily a BI tool, it has started introducing embedded capabilities.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Enterprise subscription; pricing not publicly disclosed.
- Specific costs: Smaller deployments likely $1k–$2k/month; enterprise deals are higher.
Seat-based or user-based pricing
These tools primarily charge based on the number of users, seats, creators, or viewers.
5. Tableau
Tableau is an enterprise BI platform with rich data exploration capabilities. It is a traditional BI platform that offers embedding options.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: License + per-viewer pricing.
- Specific costs: Creator license around $70/user/month. Embedded viewer is around $420/user/year. Can scale into high six figures annually.
6. Metabase
Metabase is a popular open-source self-service BI tool with embedding in paid tiers. It started as a BI tool and later added embedding capabilities.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: Subscription plus per-external-user for embedding.
- Specific costs: White-label embedding: $500/month platform fee + $10 per external user. Enterprise plans require contacting sales.
We've covered Metabase pricing in detail on our blog.
7. Luzmo
Luzmo is an out-of-the-box embedded analytics platform designed for SaaS applications. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: User-based subscription tiers, white-label embedding starts around $2,000/month.
- Specific costs: White-label starts at around $2,000/month, with higher tiers costing $5,000+/month. Pay more for more 'Monthly Active Viewers' and 'Monthly Active Designers'.
8. Sigma
Sigma is a spreadsheet-style BI platform for live cloud warehouse analytics. It is a traditional BI tool with an embedding add-on.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Enterprise subscription, per-creator licensing.
- Specific costs: Roughly $1k/year per creator user; embedding included with some limits.
9. Holistics BI
Holistics BI is a BI platform with a code-based semantic layer. Originally a traditional BI tool, it now offers embedding features.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: Platform fee + per-user license fee.
- Specific costs: Platform fees of $800/$1,000/$2,000 (tiered by plan) plus a per-user fee of $12–15 per month.
10. Preset on Apache Superset
Preset is a paid, managed SaaS platform for the open-source Apache Superset, with embedding support. Based on an open-source BI platform, it adds support for embedded analytics, letting you embed dashboards and reports into your product or website.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: Priced per internal user, plus an additional fee per embedded dashboard viewer (or custom quote for large setups).
- Specific costs: $500/month for up to 50 embedded viewers, plus $20 per user per month for internal users.
Usage-based pricing
These tools charge based on usage volume, such as API calls, compute capacity, or data processed.
11. Microsoft Power BI Embedded
Power BI is Microsoft’s enterprise BI platform integrated with Azure and the Office ecosystem. It is a traditional BI platform that also offers an embedded analytics service (Power BI Embedded) for integration. Pricing is separate from other products, such as Power BI Premium or Power BI Pro.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: Usage-based (capacity-based pay-as-you-go).
- Specific costs: Starts at around $750/month for A1 capacity. Cost scales with compute capacity and concurrency.
12. Sisense
Sisense is a full BI suite with a strong OEM embedding focus. Originally a traditional BI vendor, it has now heavily shifted focus to embedded analytics.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Quote-based subscription, often usage/user-based.
- Specific costs: starts at around $10,000 per year and can go up into the millions. Enterprise plans often mid-six figures annually (Enterprise is required for higher loading speeds).
Learn more about Sisense pricing in a separate blog post.
13. Domo
Domo is a full-stack cloud BI solution with built-in ETL, storage, and vizualization. It is a traditional BI platform with an embedded analytics add-on (for external use).
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Tiered subscription, credit-based usage model.
- Seat-based or usage-based pricing: Costs scale based on the number of users or actual usage volume.
- Specific costs: A mid-size deployment typically costs $50,000–$100,000 per year. The pricing scales with data rows, refresh rates, and users.
14. GoodData
GoodData is an OEM-focused embedded analytics platform with strong multi-tenant support. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Custom usage-based pricing.
- Specific costs: Starts around $2,500/month and scales with client count and usage.
15. Qlik
Qlik is an enterprise BI platform with an associative analytics engine. It provides APIs for embedding its analytics experience.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: License fee plus data throughput add-ons.
- Specific costs: The premium pricing plan (enterprise) starts at $2,750/month, with additional fees for higher data throughput (not publicly disclosed).
16. Yellowfin
Yellowfin is a long-established enterprise BI platform with strong OEM embedding features. Though a traditional BI platform, it became deeply OEM-focused for embedding use.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: 3 models: revenue-share, per-unit, or server-core licensing (based on data usage).
- Specific costs: Enterprise licensing typically costs around $73,000 per year for 50 users, with higher costs for larger deployments.
17. ThoughtSpot
ThoughtSpot is an AI-powered search-based analytics platform with an embedded offering (ThoughtSpot Everywhere). Though initially a BI tool, it now provides a new embedded analytics module with machine learning capabilities.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: You can choose between usage or user-based.
- Specific costs: Before their latest pricing update, ThoughtSpot was $25,000 per month for unlimited users.
Learn more about ThoughtSpot pricing in our detailed blog post.
Feature-based pricing
These tools adjust pricing based on feature sets or access levels.
18. Looker
Looker is an enterprise BI platform with strong data modeling (LookML) and governance. It is a traditional BI platform that offers embedding options.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Custom enterprise licensing, often high six-figure deals.
- Specific costs: Customers report up to $200k/year and above for a full embed license.
19. Explo
Explo is a cloud-native startup focused on easy, fast embedded analytics. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: Yes (pricing information is available on the website)
- Pricing model: Subscription, priced by customer segments and features.
- Specific costs: Starts at $2,195/month for full white-label; scales with the number of tenants.
20. ToucanToco
ToucanToco is a simplicity-focused SaaS embedded analytics platform with strong storytelling features. It was built specifically for embedding analytics.
- Public pricing: No (requires contacting sales for pricing)
- Pricing model: Tiered subscription; priced by internal builders, users, and client groups.
- Specific costs: Starter pack about €890/month; enterprise deals can reach six figures annually.
Conclusion
The research we've compiled above is provided as a starting point if you're looking for a solution to show dashboards and reports to your customer base. Pricing can be a really important decision-making factor and can help you narrow down the list of vendors on your radar early, but most vendors aren’t public with their pricing model.
Thinking about your user base and expected usage of the dashboards can point you in the direction of a pricing model that’s likely to work for you, and help you save time speaking to those who are likely to be too expensive.
But pricing isn’t everything. You'll still need to compare the different features and promises of each tool in order to match the value to the cost.
You’ll typically find that an internal BI tool with an embedding option will have a seats/user/usage-based pricing model (think Power BI, Metabase, Tableau, Looker, etc.). This is an artifact of the fact that they are internal BI tools first, and embedding tools second. Leading not only to complex pricing, but also slower loading, less customization freedom, complex workarounds to handle multi-tenancy, and clunky iframe embedding. These all reduce the value you get to pass on to your users.
We’d generally recommend that you use a tool that’s built especially for embedded analytics, like Embeddable - avoiding all the common pitfalls of a traditional BI tool embedded in your app. As for the price: that won’t increase with usage or user base size, so you can build developer-friendly dashboards that look and feel like a part of your app without worrying about skyrocketing costs. Learn more about Embeddable.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some embedded analytics tools not disclose pricing?
Vendors often avoid public pricing because deals are customized based on factors like deployment size, data infrastructure, number of tenants, support needs, and branding requirements. Enterprise contracts can vary widely and often require sales conversations.
Which embedded analytics tools offer public pricing?
Tools like Embeddable, Power BI Embedded, Metabase, Luzmo, Explo, Holistics, Preset, and Qlik provide at least partially public pricing. Others, such as Looker, Tableau, and Sisense, typically require a sales call to quote.
Are open-source options cheaper for embedded analytics?
Open-source tools like Metabase and Apache Superset (via Preset) can be more affordable initially. However, enterprise use cases often require paid hosting, custom development for each functionality, or commercial licenses for embedding features, which can increase costs over time.
