Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Metabase VS SQL Server 2017

Compare Metabase VS SQL Server 2017 and see what are their differences

Metabase logo Metabase

Metabase is the easy, open source way for everyone in your company to ask questions and learn from...

SQL Server 2017 logo SQL Server 2017

Jul 1, 2017 - Learn about tools and services for mobile and paginated Reporting Services reports and Power BI reports on premises.
  • Metabase Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-22
  • SQL Server 2017 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20

Metabase features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Metabase offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for non-technical users to generate and analyze reports without requiring SQL knowledge.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Metabase allows organizations to customize and extend the tool according to their needs, and it can be self-hosted to retain full control over data.
  • Quick Setup
    Deploying Metabase is straightforward and can be accomplished quickly, enabling teams to start analyzing data almost immediately.
  • Integrations
    Metabase integrates with a wide array of databases and data sources, making it versatile for organizations with diverse data environments.
  • Visualization Options
    It provides a variety of visualization options, from simple charts to complex dashboards, to help users better understand their data.
  • Community Support
    As an open-source project, Metabase has a strong community that contributes to its development and offers support through forums and documentation.
  • Embedded Analytics
    Metabase offers an embedded analytics feature which allows organizations to integrate dashboards and reports into their own applications.

Possible disadvantages of Metabase

  • Limited Advanced Analytics
    While great for basic reporting, Metabase lacks some of the advanced analytics capabilities offered by more specialized BI tools.
  • Scaling Issues
    Metabase might face performance issues as data volume and user base grow, making it less suitable for very large-scale deployments without significant optimization.
  • Customization Limitations
    Even though Metabase is open-source, some users find its customization options limited compared to other BI tools, especially regarding dashboard design.
  • Security Features
    The platform's security features are not as robust as those of some enterprise-level BI tools, potentially requiring additional measures for highly sensitive data.
  • Dependency on Third-Party Services
    For certain features, Metabase may rely on third-party services, which could introduce additional points of failure and dependency.
  • Limited Collaboration Tools
    Collaboration features are somewhat basic compared to those offered by more comprehensive BI platforms, possibly making teamwork less efficient.
  • No Mobile App
    Metabase does not offer a dedicated mobile app, which could be a limitation for users who need to access dashboards and reports on the go.

SQL Server 2017 features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    SQL Server 2017 offers cross-platform support, enabling it to run on Windows, Linux, and Docker containers, providing flexibility and integration into various environments.
  • Graph Database Capabilities
    Introduces graph database capabilities, allowing the modeling of complex data relationships easily and efficiently, expanding its use cases.
  • Advanced Analytics
    Integrates with Microsoft R and Python services, facilitating advanced analytics and machine learning directly within the database, which helps organizations to perform sophisticated data analysis.
  • Adaptive Query Processing
    Includes adaptive query processing features to optimize query performance automatically, improving application speed and efficiency.
  • Enhanced Security
    SQL Server 2017 continues to enhance security with features like Always Encrypted, Dynamic Data Masking, and Row-Level Security to protect sensitive data.

Possible disadvantages of SQL Server 2017

  • Cost
    Licensing and support costs for SQL Server can be relatively high, particularly for enterprise editions, which may not be cost-effective for smaller organizations.
  • Complexity
    SQL Server 2017 includes a vast array of features and configurations that can introduce complexity, requiring substantial expertise to manage and optimize.
  • Resource Intensive
    Requires significant system resources for optimal performance, which may necessitate additional investment in hardware to operate efficiently at scale.
  • Limited NoSQL Functionality
    While SQL Server 2017 introduces some NoSQL features through its support for JSON and graph databases, it still lags behind dedicated NoSQL databases in terms of flexibility and scalability for unstructured data.
  • Version-Specific Features
    Some advanced features are only available in the latest versions or specific editions, which may necessitate upgrades or specific licensing to access the full capabilities, leading to additional expenses.

Metabase videos

What is Metabase?

More videos:

  • Demo - See Metabase in action in 5 mins
  • Review - Metabase vs Apache Superset: Which is best for your team?
  • Review - Metabase vs Tableau: Which is better for your team
  • Review - Metabase vs. Looker: Which is best for your team?

SQL Server 2017 videos

SQL Server 2017 – Everything you need to know

More videos:

  • Review - SQL Server 2017 Features

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Metabase and SQL Server 2017)
Data Dashboard
92 92%
8% 8
Business Intelligence
92 92%
8% 8
Data Visualization
91 91%
9% 9
Analytics
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Metabase and SQL Server 2017

Metabase Reviews

Explore 6 Metabase Alternatives for Data Visualization and Analysis
Draxlr is an intuitive Metabase alternative, blending a robust no-code query builder with AI-powered SQL generation for both non-technical and advanced users. It seamlessly integrates with various databases and provides real-time alerts through Slack, email, and more. With features like embeddable dashboards, granular team access, customizable visualizations, and live data...
Source: www.draxlr.com
5 best Looker alternatives
Metabase: Metabase is an open-source BI tool that offers a free self-hosted plan, but this can be challenging for non-technical users who may struggle with setup and maintenance. While the cloud-hosted option simplifies that, it comes at a higher cost, which might not be ideal for smaller teams or businesses.
Source: www.draxlr.com
10 Best Alternatives to Looker in 2024
Metabase: Metabase is a popular open-source alternative known for its cost-effectiveness and ease of setup. Its simplicity and straightforward deployment make it particularly appealing to smaller businesses and startups.
6 Best Looker alternatives
If you’re considering Metabase, take a look at our deepdive into Looker vs Metabase, as well as a breakdown of top Metabase alternatives.
Source: trevor.io
10 Best Looker Alternatives in 2024 | A Practitioner Review
While Metabase may not offer the same depth in modeling features or the proprietary semantic layer (LookML) that Looker does, it can integrate with Cube.dev to provide a viable, modern, open-source alternative. Additionally, Metabase's alert feature and its general adequacy for IT-related reporting present a valuable, lightweight solution for teams not requiring the full...

SQL Server 2017 Reviews

We have no reviews of SQL Server 2017 yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Metabase seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 17 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Metabase mentions (17)

  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2025)
    Metabase | https://metabase.com/ | Remote (Global) | Full-time | Applied AI Engineers, Engineering Managers, Frontend and Backend Engineers Metabase is an open source (https://github.com/metabase/metabase) business intelligence software that lets anyone in your company rummage around in the databases you have. It connects to a number of databases / data warehouses (BigQuery, Redshift, Snowflake, Postgres, MySQL,... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2024)
    Metabase | https://metabase.com | REMOTE | Full-time | Backend Engineers, Frontend Engineers, and Engineering Managers Metabase is open source analytics software that lets anyone in your company rummage around in the databases you have. It connects to a number of databases / data warehouses (BigQuery, Redshift, Snowflake, Postgres, MySQL, etc). People rather like the product (https://metabase.com/love). We're a... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Tools for Starting a Business or Testing an Idea: A Beginner's Guide
    Reporting - Metabase A free, open-source business intelligence tool that helps you create custom reports and dashboards to track your business metrics and make data-driven decisions. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Is Tableau Dead?
    I've never used Tableau, but heard a lot of hate about it. However, in my previous role, we were big fans of Metabase (https://metabase.com). You can also self-host it, which was a huge win for us. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Open-Source Self-Hosted No-Code Platforms?
    The solution really depends on what sort of problems you are trying to solve and who your customers are. There are a fair few low-code solutions out there for reporting and data visualisation that are great for finance and marketing teams for example. e.g. https://metabase.com/ , https://evidence.dev/ For enterprise processes I'd go with Camunda (solely based on recommendations and not first hand experience).... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

SQL Server 2017 mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of SQL Server 2017 yet. Tracking of SQL Server 2017 recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Metabase and SQL Server 2017, you can also consider the following products

Tableau - Tableau can help anyone see and understand their data. Connect to almost any database, drag and drop to create visualizations, and share with a click.

JasperReports - JasperReports Server is a stand-alone and embeddable reporting server.

Microsoft Power BI - BI visualization and reporting for desktop, web or mobile

Telerik Reporting - Deliver Reports to Any Application. Add reports to any business application. View reports on mobile devices and in web, desktop and cloud apps. Export reports to any format.

Looker - Looker makes it easy for analysts to create and curate custom data experiences—so everyone in the business can explore the data that matters to them, in the context that makes it truly meaningful.

Pentaho - Pentaho is a Business Intelligence software company that offers Pentaho Business Analytics, a suite...