The verdict in three sentences
Merging 15 spreadsheets every Monday costs the finance team a day a week and produces numbers nobody can check. Power BI wins if your company already lives in Microsoft 365 and users want to explore data in Excel; Metabase wins as the number of readers grows and you prefer a fixed cost. Either way, the decisive investment is the PostgreSQL data warehouse and the definition of your 25 KPIs, not the visualisation tool.
The starting point: 15 spreadsheets and a lost day
The financial controller of a 120-person food manufacturer (ready meals, two production lines, retail and foodservice customers), whether in Brittany, Wisconsin or the East Midlands, pulls sales from the ERP every Monday, production from the shop-floor system, purchasing, payroll hours and waste logs. Everything is pasted into spreadsheets, then a PDF goes to the leadership team. The 25 KPIs range from revenue per retail chain to overall equipment effectiveness, raw material cost per kilo and service level.
Power BI and Metabase head to head
| Criterion | Power BI (Pro or Premium Per User) | Metabase (open source or cloud) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 licence | Pro USD 14 per user per month, Premium Per User USD 24 | Open source free when self-hosted, cloud Starter from USD 100 per month for 5 users, then about USD 6 per extra user |
| Cost for 30 readers | 30 × 14 = USD 420 per month | Self-hosted: server USD 35 to 90 per month; cloud: about USD 250 per month |
| Modelling | DAX and Power Query, very powerful, real learning curve | SQL and visual editor, simpler models |
| Excel and Teams integration | Native | CSV and Excel export, link embedding |
| Self-service for managers | Good after training | Very good for simple questions |
| Row-level security | Yes, RLS roles | Yes on paid editions; open source via collections and filters |
| Vendor lock-in | Strong to the Microsoft ecosystem | Low, open code |
A simple rule: below 15 readers already on Microsoft 365, Power BI is often cheapest in time. Above 40 readers, especially shift leaders checking on tablets on the shop floor, self-hosted Metabase costs far less.
The real work: the warehouse and the KPIs
Whatever the tool, you need a single, automatically fed database. Recommended architecture: connectors that load the ERP, production, payroll and purchasing nightly into a PostgreSQL warehouse, version-controlled transformations that compute the 25 KPIs from written definitions (what counts as a net sale, how waste is measured), then the visualisation tool plugged into those clean tables.
| Option | Indicative cost | Timeline | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance BI consultant (2026 order of magnitude) | USD 650 to 1,000 per day, 20 to 35 days | 2 to 3 months | Power BI model, little warehousing |
| Regional IT services firm | USD 30,000 to 70,000 | 3 to 5 months | Warehouse and reports, often on its own stack |
| Kolonell, simple application | 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (EUR 3,810 to 6,100) | 6 weeks | PostgreSQL warehouse, 2 sources, 10 KPIs |
| Kolonell, medium application | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (EUR 6,100 to 10,670) | 8 to 10 weeks | 4 to 5 sources, 25 KPIs, Power BI or Metabase configured |
| Kolonell, complex application | 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (EUR 10,670 to 22,870+) | 12 weeks or more | Multi-site, forecasting, alerts, custom portal |
Maintenance (load monitoring, minor changes) runs at 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA per month (EUR 53, 114 or 183). Power BI or Metabase cloud licences and hosting are set in the quote.
Mini case study
Laurent, financial controller of the Rennes manufacturer, has 30 readers (leadership, sales reps, shift leaders). His loaded cost: EUR 420 per day.
- Current compilation time: 1 day per week, so 46 days a year × 420 = EUR 19,320 a year. After automation: 0.2 day per week, EUR 3,864. Saving: EUR 15,456 a year.
- Power BI scenario: 30 Pro licences at about EUR 13, so EUR 4,680 a year.
- Self-hosted Metabase scenario: EUR 50 per month server, EUR 600 a year.
- Medium project at EUR 8,500 plus Standard maintenance (114 × 12 = EUR 1,368 a year).
- Payback with Metabase: 8,500 / (15,456 - 600 - 1,368) ≈ 7.6 months. With Power BI: 8,500 / (15,456 - 4,680 - 1,368) ≈ 10.8 months.
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Laurent picked Metabase for the shop floor and kept two Power BI licences for the finance team, who work in Excel: both tools read the same warehouse.
FAQ
Can we run Power BI and Metabase side by side?
Yes, as long as both read the same PostgreSQL warehouse and KPI definitions. It is common: Power BI for 2 to 5 analysts, Metabase for 30 to 100 operational readers.
Is open source Metabase reliable in production?
Yes for an SME, on a properly backed-up and updated server. Expect one upgrade per quarter and basic monitoring, covered by maintenance.
Do we really need a data warehouse?
Plugging the tool straight into the ERP works for 3 or 4 reports, but slows the ERP and breeds conflicting definitions. A PostgreSQL warehouse costs USD 25 to 70 a month to host.
How long for the 25 KPIs?
8 to 10 weeks, including 2 weeks to write and get leadership sign-off on definitions. That step is what ends arguments about numbers in meetings.
What about security of sales data?
Access is filtered by role: a sales rep sees their accounts, a shift leader their line. Power BI handles it with RLS, Metabase with permissions and filters, or sandboxing on paid editions.
Let's scope your project. We list your sources, define your KPIs with leadership and recommend Power BI, Metabase or both depending on your readers. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
