vioscaleAI
Comparison

Evidence vs Lightdash

On the evidence we track, Lightdash leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Evidence full profile →Lightdash full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Evidence50
★Lightdash64
Score
vioscaleAI score
Evidence50 / 100high · 75%
Lightdash64 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tier
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Model
Evidenceopen_source
Lightdashfreemium
Price level
Evidencefree
Lightdashlow
Starting price
Evidence$2,500
Lightdash–
Transparent
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Integrations
Count
Evidence14
Lightdash13
Security
Certifications
EvidenceSOC 2
LightdashSOC 2 Type II
Disclosure policy
Evidence✓
Lightdash–
Gdpr
Evidence–
Lightdash✓
Hipaa
Evidence–
Lightdash✓
Soc2
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
Evidence–
Lightdash✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Evidence0
Lightdash14
Github stars
Evidence7,023
Lightdash6,185
Activity
Commits last 30d
Evidence57
Lightdash100
Release
History
Evidence20 items
Lightdash20 items
License
Spdx
EvidenceMIT
Lightdash–
Language
Primary
EvidenceTypeScript
LightdashTypeScript
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Evidence7 items
Lightdash7 items

Capabilities

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

Core
BI paradigm
EvidenceGoverned dashboards
LightdashGoverned dashboards
Semantic / modelling layer
EvidenceBuilt-in
Lightdashdbt metrics
Engine
Warehouse-native (SQL push-down)
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Deployment
Self-hostable / OSS core
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Managed cloud available
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Intelligence
Natural-language query / AI copilot
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Delivery
Embedded / white-label analytics
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Scheduled reports / alerting
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Governance
Row-level security & SSO/SAML
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Commercial
Per-seat pricing published
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Free tier / free desktop
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Ecosystem
dbt-native integration
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Data-source connector breadth
EvidenceMultiple data sources including BigQuery, Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, APIs
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.

Evidence

An open-source business intelligence platform that lets you build interactive data visualizations using SQL and markdown. Reports can be self-hosted or published on Evidence Studio's managed hosting service.

Independently observed

Lightdash

Leader

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.

Evidence

from $2500/moSubscriptionFree tier30-day trial

$2,500/month for Team plan with unlimited users, 20K AI credits, and optional add-on credits at $0.01 per credit. 30-day free trial. Custom enterprise plans available.

  • Team$2,500/month, flat rate for unlimited users and projects
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited projects
    • Analytics Agent
    • Slack bot and MCP support
    • Private Slack or Teams support
    • +10 more
  • CustomContact sales
    • Everything in Team plan
    • Row-level access rules
    • Embedding and white-labelling
    • Custom AI credit allocation
    • Bring your own AI keys
    • +3 more
as of verify ↗

Lightdash

Leader
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
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
CLI
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓
Self-hosted
Evidence✓
Lightdash✓

Integrations

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

In common (6)
  • BigQuery
  • Google Sheets
  • Slack
  • Snowflake
  • Databricks
  • dbt

Evidence

17 total - 11 not shared
  • PostgreSQL
  • JavaScript APIs
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude Desktop
  • Microsoft Fabric
  • GitHub Enterprise
  • Datadog
  • Sentry
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Vertex AI
  • Azure AI Foundry
Independently observed

Lightdash

Leader
21 total - 15 not shared
  • Redshift
  • Postgres
  • Trino
  • ClickHouse
  • Athena
  • DuckDB
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Azure DevOps
  • Bitbucket
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Rollstack
  • MotherDuck
  • Google Slides
  • PowerPoint
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Evidence 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.