shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Should I use OpenMetadata?

Introducing OpenMetadata 2.0, the open context layer for AI. - open-metadata.org

Depends. Buy it if you are a mid-size or larger data team able to self-host, patch, and operate open-source infrastructure. Skip it if you want turnkey SaaS or only have a handful of data tables.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets are truncated, so detail leans on titles, official docs, and security databases.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usable ease-of-use evidence in sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo direct support-quality evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Open source (self-hosted)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Collate (commercial)Not publicly listed

Best for

  • Data platform and engineering teams
  • Multi-warehouse discovery and lineage
  • Grounding AI agents in table context
  • Orgs avoiding per-seat catalog pricing

Not for

  • Small teams with a handful of tables
  • Anyone wanting turnkey managed SaaS
  • Teams without DevOps capacity to self-host
  • Buyers needing a spotless CVE record

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Open-source is not free total cost: you run servers, upgrades, and security patches yourself.

high

2024 SpEL injection RCE (CVE-2024-28847) required emergency patching; stay current on versions.

medium

Commercial support and managed offering come via Collate; no public pricing in reviewed sources.

low

2.0 messaging pivots hard to AI; verify the AI features match your actual use case.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free, open-source core regularly tested against rival catalogs
  • Built-in data discovery with detailed asset views
  • 2.0 repositions the platform as a context layer for AI agents
  • Recognized with a Bloomberg FOSS Fund open-source grant
  • Published case studies from FREENOW and Gorgias

Cons

  • Repeated public CVEs, including RCE and admin-access flaws
  • Self-hosting shifts patching and ops burden onto your team
  • Enterprise support requires Collate, the commercial vendor behind it
  • R/dataengineering thread alleges undisclosed employee promotion
  • Constant head-to-head comparisons with DataHub; differentiation unclear

Sources & method

Analyzed 10/05/2026 - 13 sources - Multiple CVEs from 2024–2026 (RCE, SSRF, open redirect, SSTI); vendor maintains a CVE list.

official x4review x5security x3news x1
  • CVE-2024-28847: SpEL injection leading to RCE, Remote code execution via SpEL injection; patched in 2024.
  • CVE-2024-28255: Unauthorized admin access, Admin access reachable with no privileges required, per scanner advisory.
  • SSRF via webhook URL validation bypass (through 2.0.2), Server-side request forgery via webhook URL validation bypass, disclosed Sep 2026.
  • CVE-2026-81029: Open redirect, URL redirection to untrusted site, disclosed Aug 2026.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Free open-source core; costs hide in ops
  • Ease of use. No usable ease-of-use evidence in sources
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Catalog, discovery, governance, connectors, AI pivot
  • Support quality. No direct support-quality evidence found
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple CVEs including RCE and admin access
  • 2021 Founded Publicly announced Aug 2021
  • Series A Funding Raised by Collate, the company behind it
  • Free Self-hosted price Open-source core, Docker quick start
  • 6+ Public CVEs 2024–2026, incl. RCE and SSRF

Pricing

Open source (self-hosted)

Free

  • Full catalog, discovery, governance
  • Docker quick start available
  • You own hosting and patching

Collate (commercial)

Not publicly listed

  • Managed and enterprise support
  • Pricing not disclosed in reviewed sources

Security

Multiple CVEs from 2024–2026 (RCE, SSRF, open redirect, SSTI); vendor maintains a CVE list.

  • CVE-2024-28847: SpEL injection leading to RCERemote code execution via SpEL injection; patched in 2024.⁴
  • CVE-2024-28255: Unauthorized admin accessAdmin access reachable with no privileges required, per scanner advisory.
  • SSRF via webhook URL validation bypass (through 2.0.2)Server-side request forgery via webhook URL validation bypass, disclosed Sep 2026.⁵
  • CVE-2026-81029: Open redirectURL redirection to untrusted site, disclosed Aug 2026.

What users say

r/dataengineering threads show steady interest and constant comparison with DataHub, with self-hosting effort and trust concerns recurring.

Alternatives

Compare OpenMetadata with each alternative.

  • Apache Atlas

    Veteran open-source catalog; steeper user experience

Companies that use it

Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets are truncated, so detail leans on titles, official docs, and security databases.

Serious open-source data catalog for real data teams — powerful but self-host heavy, with a recurring CVE history.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets are truncated, so detail leans on titles, official docs, and security databases.

Sources

  1. Announcing OpenMetadata 2.0blog.open-metadata.org
    official
  2. Testing Open Source Data Catalogs — Part 2 (Syntio)medium.com
    review
  3. DataHub vs OpenMetadata comparison (OSS Insight)ossinsight.io
    review
  4. CVE-2024-28847: SpEL Injection RCE (SentinelOne)sentinelone.com
    security
  5. SSRF via webhook URL validation bypass (VulnCheck)vulncheck.com
    security
  6. CVE-2026-26010 (NVD)nvd.nist.gov
    security
  7. Thinking about self-hosting OpenMetadata (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  8. Evidence of Undisclosed OpenMetadata Employee activity (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  9. Collate Raises Series Ablog.open-metadata.org
    news
  10. FREENOW case studyopen-metadata.org
    official
  11. Gorgias case studyopen-metadata.org
    official
  12. Try OpenMetadata in Docker (docs)docs.open-metadata.org
    official
  13. Data catalog pricing overview (Decube)decube.io
    review

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.