Apache Superset
What it is: Enterprise-grade open-source BI. No-code builder for business users, SQL IDE for analysts.
What It Does Best
Both worlds. Drag-and-drop for business users. SQL Lab for power users. Everyone happy.
Modern stack. React frontend, Python backend. Cloud-native, scales horizontally.
Visualization variety. 40+ chart types. Maps, time-series, tables, custom viz plugins.
Pricing
Free. Apache 2.0 license (self-hosted)
Managed hosting: Preset.io starts $20/user/month
When to Use It
✅ Want enterprise features without enterprise cost
✅ Have DevOps to manage self-hosting
✅ Modern data stack (cloud warehouse)
✅ Power users need SQL interface
When NOT to Use It
❌ No DevOps resources (use Metabase or cloud BI)
❌ Simple use case (Metabase simpler)
❌ Need drag-drop data modeling (Tableau better)
Bottom line: Most complete open-source BI platform. Used by Airbnb, Netflix. Setup complexity pays off if you have engineering resources.