4 Alternatives to Vizzly for building embedded analytics experiences

If you’ve spent any time looking at embedded analytics solutions, you’ll know that most of your options are actually business intelligence (BI) platforms with embedding capabilities. 

Unlike those BI platforms, Vizzly is purpose-built with a component library and API for building analytics experiences into your website or application. But it still won’t give you a native-feeling experience as you won't have full control over the frontend code. 

If you’re looking for Vizzly alternatives, it’s likely you want more customization freedom so you can deliver a seamless UX. It could also be that you want a more mature tool—or at least one with more transparent pricing. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at Vizzly’s limitations and shortlist the best alternatives. Each tool on our list was selected to make up for Vizzly’s drawbacks to help you make the right choice for your use case. Let’s take a look.

Discover a developer-friendly toolkit that’s purpose-built for creating remarkable customer-facing analytics in a fraction of the time. Learn more. 

Vizzly

Vizzly is an embedded analytics platform designed for creating cloud-based or self-hosted analytics experiences. 

Compared to many of the BI platforms that offer embedding, it does have some benefits. For example, it embeds using a web component (React or HTML), rather than iframe.

Vizzly also has a no-code builder for non-technical users to design dashboards and reports. But you may already know the drawbacks, like:

• Self-hosted deployment requires developer input and a bit more effort to get set up.
• You can’t edit the code or components to customize your designs. You can only ‘theme’ your visuals and change the colors and fonts.
• Since it’s newer to market, some features are still in development or available per request.

Lack of transparency around pricing is also an issue for some users. “The only thing which worried me a bit in the beginning was the fact that there was no pricing upfront on their website," says Tim Radershad, a Vizzly user.

It does have a free version (Lite) that connects to a CSV and turns data into visualizations using the Vizzly UI. However, the Lite plan has no row-level-security (RLS) or user access control. For many businesses, this lack of security isn’t really an option, meaning they’ll need to get a quote for a paid plan.

👉 Find out what to expect from embedded analytics pricing models

Vizzly alternatives at a glance

We researched more than 11 of the best solutions for embedded analytics. Below, you’ll find our shortlist, hand-picked for how well they compare to Vizzly.

Here’s a quick overview:

1. Embeddable

Embeddable is a software development kit (SDK) for building remarkable, highly custom user-facing analytics. It lets you bring data models together and combine them with charting components that you can tweak in code thanks to its headless architecture. 

What makes Embeddable great is that: 

• It comes with a front-end toolkit, for you to get set up quickly, with the freedom to edit almost everything in code to perfect your user experiences.

• It integrates with any open-source charting library like ChartJS, Highcharts, Google Charts, or Tremor and lets you bring in other elements from your design system. 

• It comes with a no-code dashboard builder for your customer-facing team to use with simple point-and-click functionality.

• You can forget about iframes because Embeddable uses next-gen embedding. It loads your analytics directly into your DOM through a web component. 

• Handles everything you don’t want to build yourself in the backend engine: Row-level security, caching, performance, and interactions between components. That’s completely configurable by you, if you want it to be.

• It integrates with the best databases for embedded analytics through a read-only transaction, so your data is secure and it supports sub-second loading times.

The downside to Embeddable is that, like Vizzly, it’s also new to the market and we’re still testing it in beta. However, while this is a new tool, we’re not new to the industry, as we’ve been managing our business intelligence platform, Trevor.io, since 2016. 

What users say about Embeddable

Users choose Embeddable over other tools because it actually lets them build secure and fully bespoke user-facing analytics in little time. Plus, Embeddable is the first embedded analytics  SaaS tool in the market that lets developers make edits in code.

“Embeddable is the first tool I’ve seen where it’s so straightforward to work with the data and build charts, where it feels like the heavy lifting is done once I finish modeling my data. Discovering [it] has been one of the highlights in my journey as a first-time founder.” — Adeola Morren, founder of iBenjamen Studio

"[Embeddable] is very focused on permissions-based and only lets people see what you want them to see, which I was very excited about. Now I have that space to think about other things I can do with [embedded analytics]." — Catherine Doubell, Platform Lead at EtonX.

Embeddable pricing

We follow a fixed pricing model. This means you always pay the same bill. We won’t hit you with hidden costs or extra fees per users, viewers, or dashboards. Compared to most pricing structures in embedded analytics, this is totally unique and makes Embeddable a good option for businesses with a large or growing user base. 

"With Embeddable, two needs are solved by one vendor at a price that was attractive—that I could grow with. Every [other product] I looked at had a fatal flaw, like data limits." — Henry Coleman, co-founder of LocalClarity.

Embeddable vs Vizzly

Embeddable and Vizzly are both purpose-built for embedded analytics. However, here are some key differences:

• Embeddable gives you full customization freedom as you have complete control over the code. Vizzly only lets you change certain design variables like colors and fonts.

• Embeddable charges a fixed monthly price, which makes it affordable. Vizzly’s price isn’t disclosed.  

• Both Embeddable and Vizzly provide pre-built charting components but Embeddable gives you the ability to build experiences that feel truly native your app. 

Pro tip: With Vizzly, you can create a good user experience but you’ll lack control. If you want to customize not only the design, but also the performance and security measures of your analytics experience, go for Embeddable.

Curious to learn more? Request the developer docs

2. Power BI Embedded

Power BI is a household name in business intelligence. It’s a very mature tool with a white-label embedding feature. Here’s what you need to know about Power BI:

• It integrates with basically every data source, including SQL and no SQL databases.
• It uses an iframe embedding method, which makes it fast and easy to embed dashboards. All you need to do is copy the code snippet into your repo and set up the auth via API. However, iframes have drawbacks when it comes to UX.
• You can preload data to let users see the data more quickly, but this impacts data freshness.
• It supports RLS and is powered by Azure, so it’s pretty secure.

If you’re using Power BI for internal business analytics, you’ve probably already considered it as an alternative to Vizzly. It’ll be easier for your developers to build and customize dashboards, since they’re familiar with the tool. Otherwise, Power BI is known for having a fairly steep learning curve.

A word on iframe embedding: While iframe embedding is simple, the end-user pays the price. They have to load up the analytics provider’s application from within yours before querying the database. This slows things down and makes the UX a little clunky. Plus, you don’t control the code, so components won’t have that native-feeling.

What users say about Power BI Embedded 

Power BI is a high-quality, mature tool that users trust. That said, customizing dashboards could be challenging. Plus, iframe embedding is clunky and data might not update in real-time.

• “I was able to successfully integrate charts created in Power BI into applications. This helped my clients to view the data in graphical format for making big management decisions. Clients have expressed worries about Power BI Embedded being slow when many people use it together.“ — Nisha R., Software Engineer

• “Data is made available in a very easy to access manner [but] it can be difficult to specialize how data is presented if you don't know your way around the software.” — Jimmy B., Process Improvement Engineer

• “It is primarily designed to be compatible with a wide range of data domains and thus allow import of data from multiple products and gain valuable insights [...] Its complex user interface might require an additional training process or module especially for new users to decrease the dependency on IT experts for its usage.” — Piyush K., Business Analyst 

Power BI pricing 

Pricing starts at $735.91 per month for an A1 node with 3GB of RAM capacity and one virtual core. Plans are usage and user-based, meaning costs could rise quickly if you scale in either direction. It’s hard to know how much RAM or virtual cores you might need at first.

Power BI Embedded vs Vizzly

Power BI and Vizzly are very different tools. Here’s why:

• Power BI is by far the more mature tool with established documentation and community support.
• Vizzly uses web component embedding which offers a better UX than Power BI’s iframe method.
• Power BI offers more transparency around pricing but it could still get unpredictable if your usage or user base is likely to grow.
• It’s much faster and easier to embed with Power BI, thanks to iframe embedding. But you’ll sacrifice on user-experience. And actually building dashboards on Power BI does come with a steep learning curve.
• Neither offers full control over the user experience.

Pro tip: If you’re put off by the fact that Vizzly is new to market, Power BI is a very established alternative. It’ll also be much faster to embed using an iframe. If you prioritize speed over UX, Power BI could work for you. That said, Vizzly does have the no-code dashboard builder, which makes it better suited to non-technical users overall.

3. Looker Embedded

You may know Looker as Google’s business intelligence platform. Looker Embedded is an add-on, offering three types of embedding capabilities:

• Signed Embedding. Share your “Looks” (data visualizations) or dashboards on your website or application. When users log into your system, they’re already authorized to view the data.
• Private Embedding. Share your Looks or dashboards with external users. They’ll need to be re-authenticated through Google (e.g. via their Gmail account) to view data. This adds a layer of complexity that some users don’t like.
• Public embed. You share Looks (but not dashboards) on public pages, websites, or apps.

Looker Studio users can create a simple dashboard in hours. But, to fully customize your Looks and dashboards, you’ll need the support of an engineer. 

Like Power BI, it embeds through an iframe. However, Looker gives users access to a portal where they can bring in their own data, as well as analyzing yours. In other words, Looker provides a data infrastructure that your users can customize. 

“You're never going to be able to make it look exactly how you want and it’s never going to feel like it's directly part of your platform, because it's [embedded] through an iframe.” — Henry Coleman, Co-founder and General Manager at LocalClarity

Battle of the BI: Know the differences between Looker Embedded vs Power BI Embedded

What users say about Looker Embedded 

As you’d expect from a Google product, Looker offers high-quality analytics. However, some users find it too costly and challenging to use.

• “I can easily share Looker with somebody who has a Google email address. However, the visualization capabilities of the product are limited. I can't clean data in Looker, and if I try to do it, it’s a really big process.” — Looker user.

• “Looker imports our analytics tools from Google and other sources to flawlessly visualize them and later embed them into shareable dashboards that can then be accessed by clients, internal staff, and partners. [However it has a] finicky user interface and pretty extensive learning curve.” — Looker user

• “I used Looker in a previous role and found it clunky, difficult to navigate, hard to collaborate on, and ultimately massively expensive.” — Samuel Allen, Head of Data.

Looker pricing 

Looker Studio has a free version, but you’ll need to be on the Pro plan for embedded analytics. On top of that, you pay for each external user that views your dashboards, so it gets costly fast.

One user we interviewed was quoted $120k a year by Looker—just as a starting point for their use case. This aligns with the retail prices shared on the AWS Marketplace.

Looker Embedded vs Vizzly

Looker is primarily a business intelligence platform with embedding capabilities. Here’s how it compares to Vizzly:

• Unlike Vizzly, Looker is another very mature tool that can cater to all your internal analytics needs as well as embedding.
• Looker comes with a semantic layer, LookML. This makes it more intuitive and user-friendly than other BI tools. Vizzly has a no-code builder but does require developer input to get set up.
• Looker uses iframe embedding and may require users to log in using their Gmail account. This could impact the overall UX by adding a layer of complexity.

Pro tip: If you’re looking for a mature tool with an intuitive UI, Looker is an option—especially if you’re interested in letting your users bring in their own data to analyze alongside yours. If that (or the price tag) seems like overkill, consider sticking with Vizzly or trying another tool on this list.

4. Metabase Embedded Analytics

‍Metabase has one of the most user-friendly interfaces of all the BI platforms. With a low-code builder and zero requirement to know SQL, it’s a popular choice for simpler use cases.

However, users will need to write code to process more complex queries. Metabase also offers ‘interactive embedding’, which essentially puts the full BI tool into your app. Users get access to advanced features like drilldown and querying, which is powerful, but only suited to advanced users or those with prior knowledge of Metabase.

Like the other BI solutions on the list, Metabase uses iframe embedding, so you don’t get to control how charts and dashboards behave in your app. If that’s not an issue, Metabase is a good option for beta testing, since it tends to be affordable. Once you’ve got a good idea of what your users need from your analytics experience, you might try a more sophisticated tool.

What users say about Metabase

Metabase gets a good reputation for its ease of use. However, users do prefer other tools when it comes to complex queries and advanced customization options.

• “Metabase's data visualization features are a step or two below the top competitors on the market. In addition, using more complex datasets and functions will slow down and cut into the reliability of the tool.” — Jared C., Business Data Analyst and Metabase user

• “It’s easy to use and cheap [but] I believe for more complex analysis you’ll need a more robust system.” — Fernando, Metabase user

• “It is not the most advanced tool available, but it offers amazing value as an open source product. It is difficult for us to move away from it because its very expensive competitors offer very little comparatively.” — Metabase user

Metabase pricing

Metabase does have an open source solution, but it’s not whitelabel. If you don’t want Metabase branding all over your charts, you need the Pro or Enterprise plans, starting at $500 for 10 users per month.

After that, additional users cost $10 per user/month. For example, if you have 400 users with access to the dashboards, then that’s $4,400 monthly. 

Metabase vs Vizzly

The biggest differences between Metabase and Vizzly are:

• Metabase is the most user-friendly solution for simple queries. 

• Metabase might be more affordable than Vizzly. A lot of users find Metabase to be an affordable solution, but note that the open-source option is self-hosted and comes with Metabase branding.

• Metabase has a very opinionated UI. Vizzly doesn’t offer full control over the code, but Metabase uses iframe embedding. It’ll always have a foreign feel, even if you pay for the whitelabel option.

Pro tip: If you want a fast, cost effective solution and don’t mind sacrificing customization, try Metabase. It won’t take long for your team to get the hang of this solution. However, if you expect to make complex queries and create more customizable dashboards, try Vizzly or Embeddable. 

What about custom-built embedded analytics?

Building user-facing analytics experiences from scratch used to be the only way to get full control over your design and UX. But now, tools like Vizzly and Embeddable get very close. The latter even gives you access to make edits in code.

With custom embedded analytics experiences:

• You own your designs, components, definitions, and delimitations. There’s no risk of losing it if you stop paying for the tool or want to migrate to another one.
• You can iterate as much as you want throughout the years without being limited to features or usage-based plans.
• You gain competitive advantage as no one will have the same look and feel as you. Take a look at the best examples of user-facing analytics you can find. These are all unique, built in-house, and offer seamless UX.
• You can build integrations as needed to connect to other internal systems.

The benefits are huge, but the truth is, the downsides also hold considerable weight. Building user-facing analytics from scratch is both costly and time consuming. That’s why we built Embeddable.

Embeddable gives you the level of control you need to build user-facing analytics experiences that look and feel native to your app. Plus, you get to define performance and security delimitations—without spending tons of time and money in the development process.

How to choose your embedded analytics solution

We’ve presented you with four alternatives to Vizzly, each with a unique benefit. Here’s a quick guide to help you make a decision based on your business needs:

• For full customization freedom and control over your UX, go for Embeddable. This tool allows you to define data models, security and performance measures. It also lets you design or borrow visualizations from open-source libraries. Plus, since you’re embedding through web components, the analytics experience will run smoothly. 
• If you prefer a tool that’s been on the market longer, think about Looker or Power BI. These are both mature tools with enterprise grade features. Of course, they’re good options if you already use Microsoft or Google products, particularly for internal BI. Be warned, you’ll need a huge budget for Looker.
• For easy set-up and no-frills dashboards, try Metabase. It has a very user-friendly interface and is fairly powerful when dealing with simple queries. Watch out for the opinionated UX, of course. For more customization options, stick with Vizzly. For full customization freedom, you’ll need Embeddable.

If you’re looking for the flexibility of Vizzly but the customization freedom of a bespoke solution, Embeddable is the way to go. Plus, we use next-generation embedding so your code can live in your DOM—all at a flat monthly price.

Discover a developer-friendly toolkit that’s purpose-built for creating remarkable customer-facing analytics in a fraction of the time. Learn more. 

Frequently asked questions about Vizzly alternatives

What is an embedded analytics platform? 

An embedded analytics platform is a software solution that enables you to build user-facing analytics experiences and add them to your app. These platforms usually come with a visualization library you can choose from and support certain levels of customization. 

Why choose Vizzly over an internal BI tool like Power BI?

You should choose Vizzly over an internal BI tool like Power BI for embedded analytics as it was built exactly with that end in mind. Meanwhile, Power BI is primarily an internal BI solution—it’ll always feel like Power BI rather than a native element of your app. However, if you're looking to democratize data internally and enable more data-driven decisions, then Power BI will be a better choice.