Mode
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy Mode if you have SQL-comfortable analysts building shared reports and API-embedded analytics.
New check
Comparison
Mode vs Metabase
Mode and Metabase both land on Depends.
Metabase
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if someone on your team can host it, patch it fast, and write SQL . the free open-source core is genuinely capable BI.
| Compare | Mode | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | SQL-fluent analyst teams | Startups wanting free BI on existing databases |
| Who it's not for | Non-technical users wanting drag-and-drop dashboards | Teams with nobody to own hosting and patching |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.² | Active 2026 vulnerability stream . four critical CVEs including an unauthenticated SQL injection; prompt patching is non-optional.12 |
| Support quality | No support evidence found | No support-quality evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | G2 and Capterra reviews exist and users reportedly praise Mode, but detailed review content was truncated in this research.³ | Users like the query builder and SQL access; recurring gripes are exports, dashboard customization, and slow queries on big datasets. |
| Biggest gotcha | Post-acquisition, alternative roundups suggest users are evaluating other tools10 | Self-hosting means you own patching; 2026 fixes spanned 55.13, 56.3, 57.1 and later |
Pick Mode when
- SQL-fluent analyst teams
- Companies embedding custom customer reports via API
- Mid-size firms with dedicated data staff
When Mode is not a fit
- Non-technical users wanting drag-and-drop dashboards
- Small teams needing one simple chart
- Buyers without any SQL-literate staff
- Teams needing vendor stability during acquisition transition
Pick Metabase when
- Startups wanting free BI on existing databases
- Product teams embedding analytics in their app
- SQL-comfortable data teams
- Self-hosters with patching discipline
When Metabase is not a fit
- Teams with nobody to own hosting and patching
- Security-sensitive orgs handling regulated data
- Non-technical teams needing polished exports and dashboards
- Analysts on huge datasets where query speed matters
Sources
- Mode plan comparisonmode.comofficial
- Mode security pagemode.comsecurity
- Mode Reviews on G2g2.comreview
- Mode Software Pricing, Capterracapterra.comreview
review
news
- ThoughtSpot completes $200M acquisition of Modethoughtspot.comnews
- Top 5 Mode alternatives in 2026 (Basedash)basedash.comnews
- 5 Mode Analytics Alternatives After ThoughtSpot (DashboardFox)dashboardfox.comnews
- Mode Analytics pricing guide (Spendflo)spendflo.comnews
- Horizon3 . CVE-2026-72898 SQL injectionhorizon3.aisecurity
- OpenCVE . CVE-2026-50148app.opencve.iosecurity
- Tenable . CVE-2026-59826tenable.comsecurity
- SentinelOne . CVE-2026-33725 Enterprise RCEsentinelone.comsecurity
- GitHub . metabase/metabasegithub.comofficial