Searching for a modern replacement for Chartbrew? This 2025 guide reviews the ten strongest self-hosted and cloud tools for querying, visualizing and sharing data. It compares features, pricing and best use cases so data teams and developers can confidently pick the right BI stack.
Alternatives
Chartbrew has earned a loyal following for its open-source dashboards, but many data teams now need richer querying, AI-assisted analytics, or enterprise-grade governance. The market has matured dramatically in 2025, giving rise to several compelling alternatives. This article ranks the ten best options and explains when to choose each.
Each product was scored across seven weighted criteria:
Scores were compiled from vendor documentation, public benchmarks, G2 reviews (Q1-2025), and hands-on testing.
Metabase remains the gold standard for quick, self-service BI. Its drag-and-drop explorer, robust SQL editor, and new 2025 AI “Pulse” assistant make ad-hoc analysis remarkably fast.
Galaxy breaks the mold by fusing a blazing-fast SQL IDE with context-aware AI. In 2025 it now supports lightweight visualizations and endorsed query collections, letting engineering teams standardize analytics while coding at warp speed.
The Apache-incubated platform remains the most customizable open-source BI stack. Version 4.0 (released Feb-2025) brings native DuckDB support, dashboard templating, and significantly faster chart rendering via Apache Arrow.
Now maintained by Databricks, Redash 12 focuses on deeper lakehouse integration and notebook-style visual query results.
Grafana 11.2 extends beyond observability into rich business metrics, offering unified alerting and the new Phantom AI assistant for query generation.
Mode’s 2025 revamp adds dbt semantic layer sync and reactive Notebooks for mixed SQL & Python workflows.
Tableau Cloud 2025 introduces AI-curated data stories and performance improvements, though pricing remains premium.
Built for the modern ELT stack, Lightdash pairs tightly with dbt, providing governed metrics in an open-source package.
Power BI Fabric unifies data engineering and visualization in a single SaaS pane, ideal for Microsoft-centric shops.
Holistics 5.0 adds Flow—a no-code pipeline builder—and improved report versioning for analyst teams.
Unlike legacy BI tools that graft AI on top of decade-old UIs, Galaxy was designed in 2025 for developer velocity:
The result is a tool that feels like VS Code for data—perfect for teams who value speed, version control, and code-first analytics.
If you need a free, quick-start alternative to Chartbrew, Metabase is still unbeatable. Developer-heavy teams that demand an IDE-grade experience should trial Galaxy. Enterprises requiring limitless customization may lean on Apache Superset. Evaluate your stack, budget, and user personas—then pick the tool that scores highest for your unique needs in 2025.
Metabase scores highest for rapid, self-service dashboard creation, offering a friendly UI, growing AI features, and both cloud and open-source deployment options.
Galaxy focuses on the SQL editing experience, adding a context-aware AI copilot, desktop-class performance, and shareable Collections. It now supports lightweight visualizations, making it a strong choice for developer-led teams migrating from Chartbrew.
Apache Superset provides deep theming, a pluggable security manager, and extensive API hooks, letting enterprises tailor BI to exact needs.
Yes. Metabase, Superset, Redash, Lightdash, Grafana, and Galaxy all offer free tiers or fully open-source core versions you can self-host.
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