vioscaleAI
Comparison

Cube vs Lightdash

On the evidence we track, Cube leads this comparison with a composite score of 75/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Cube full profile →Lightdash full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Cube75
Lightdash64
Score
vioscaleAI score
Cube75 / 100medium · 73%
Lightdash64 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tier
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Model
Cubefreemium
Lightdashfreemium
Price level
Cubemid
Lightdashlow
Starting price
Cube$20
Lightdash–
Transparent
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Integrations
Count
Cube16
Lightdash13
Security
Certifications
Cube–
LightdashSOC 2 Type II
Gdpr
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Hipaa
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Soc2
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Sla pct
Cube99.95
Lightdash–
Status page
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Cube–
Lightdash14
Github stars
Cube–
Lightdash6,185
Activity
Commits last 30d
Cube–
Lightdash100
Release
History
Cube–
Lightdash20 items
Language
Primary
Cube–
LightdashTypeScript
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Cube7 items
Lightdash7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for bi software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
BI paradigm
CubeSemantic layer
LightdashGoverned dashboards
Semantic / modelling layer
CubeBuilt-in
Lightdashdbt metrics
Engine
Warehouse-native (SQL push-down)
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Deployment
Self-hostable / OSS core
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Managed cloud available
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Intelligence
Natural-language query / AI copilot
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Delivery
Embedded / white-label analytics
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Scheduled reports / alerting
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Governance
Row-level security & SSO/SAML
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Commercial
Per-seat pricing published
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Free tier / free desktop
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Ecosystem
dbt-native integration
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Data-source connector breadth
Cube50+ data sources plus MCP connectors
Lightdash9 data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks, Postgres, Trino, C

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Cube

Leader

A modern analytics platform that combines a semantic layer with dashboard, workbook, and conversational AI interfaces to serve teams and autonomous agents. Users query data through dashboards, natural language chat, or APIs, while the semantic layer ensures consistent metric definitions and business logic across all tools and workflows.

Independently observed

Lightdash

An agentic BI platform that defines trusted metrics and business logic in dbt, then powers self-serve analytics across dashboards, natural-language AI agents, and embedded data apps. Available as open-source for self-hosting or managed cloud.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Cube

Leader
from $20/explorer/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $40/developer/month; free tier available

  • FreeFree
    • Connect any data source
    • Model in semantic layer IDE
    • Explore data in workbooks
    • Publish workbooks as dashboards
    • Semantic model agent
    • +2 more
  • Starter$40/developer/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Extended limits on agents
    • Use premium LLMs
    • Unlimited workbooks
    • Extended query limit
    • +6 more
  • Premium$80/developer/month + $20/explorer/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Explorer role
    • Viewer role
    • Embedded dashboards
    • Embedded analytics chat
    • +7 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Everything in Premium
    • 99.990% Uptime SLA
    • Dedicated single-tenant installation
    • Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)
    • Bring Your Own LLM (BYOLLM)
    • +3 more
as of verify ↗

Lightdash

from $3000/moHybridFree tier21-day trial

Open source free tier, Cloud Pro at $3,000/month (unlimited users), Enterprise custom. No per-seat pricing.

  • Open SourceFree
    • Unlimited seats
    • Data explorer and report builder
    • Native dbt integration
    • Scheduled deliveries
    • Alerting
    • +11 more
  • Cloud Pro$3,000/month flat rate, unlimited users and visualizations
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited visualizations
    • Native dbt integration with open semantic layer
    • Scheduled reports and alerting
    • Dashboards as code
    • +11 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • All Cloud Pro features, plus:
    • Cloud or on-premises deployment
    • SAML 2.0 and SCIM 2.0 provisioning
    • Advanced user management with custom roles
    • SOC 2 Type II compliance
    • +9 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
CLI
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Cube✓
Lightdash✓
Self-hosted
Cube✓
Lightdash✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (8)
  • Google Sheets
  • dbt
  • Slack
  • Snowflake
  • Databricks
  • BigQuery
  • Postgres
  • ClickHouse

Cube

Leader
21 total - 13 not shared
  • Notion
  • Linear
  • Sentry
  • Attio
  • Excel
  • Okta
  • Power BI
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • Presto
  • Amazon Athena
  • Tableau
Independently observed

Lightdash

21 total - 13 not shared
  • Redshift
  • Trino
  • Athena
  • DuckDB
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Azure DevOps
  • Bitbucket
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Rollstack
  • MotherDuck
  • Google Slides
  • PowerPoint
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Cube or Lightdash: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.