Best Explo (Omni Analytics) Alternatives in 2026
Compare the best Explo (Omni Analytics) alternatives in 2026. Find BI tools with transparent pricing, self-hosting, embedded dashboards, and AI querying.
If you've been using Explo, you've probably already received the news: Explo was acquired by Omni in October 2025, and the platform is being wound down over a 12-month transition period. All existing customers are expected to migrate to Omni before the Explo platform is sunset.
That's a significant disruption, especially if your product is built around it.
There are strong Explo (Omni Analytics) alternatives available right now. This guide covers the best ones.
Why Teams Are Looking for Explo Alternatives in 2026
In October 2025, Omni acquired Explo and announced that the Explo platform would be sunset within 12 months. Every existing customer is being migrated to Omni, whether they chose to switch or not.
That's the core reason teams are looking for Explo alternatives right now. Some don't want to be forced onto a platform they didn't evaluate. Others are using the moment to ask whether there's a better fit for where their product is headed. Either way, the window to make a considered switch is open now, before the migration pressure kicks in.
What to Look for in an Explo (Omni Analytics) Alternative
Before jumping into the Explo (Omni Analytics) Alternatives in 2026, here are the key criteria to evaluate:
- Quick setup — you shouldn't need months of engineering work to ship dashboards
- Ease of use — a BI tool is only valuable if your team actually uses it. Look for Explo alternatives that work for both technical and non-technical users.
- Data connectivity — the tool needs to work with your existing databases and warehouses without requiring a separate pipeline.
- Visualization and reporting — look for a range of chart types, customizable dashboards, and the ability to schedule and share reports.
- Dashboard embedding — iframe or SDK-based embeds, white-labeling, and multi-tenant architecture
- Row-level security — so each of your customers only sees their own data
- Self-hosting option — important for teams with data residency or compliance requirements
- AI capabilities — natural language querying and automated insights are increasingly standard. Check how mature these features are before treating them as a differentiator.
- Pricing transparency — many BI platforms have complex pricing that scales poorly. Know what you're getting into before you commit.
Quick Comparison: Best Explo (Omni Analytics) Alternatives in 2026
| Tool | Ideal For | Pricing | Hidden Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draxlr | Teams who want a self-serve AI-powered BI platform without the enterprise overhead | From $25/month | None |
| Power BI | Organizations already running on Microsoft infrastructure | From $14/user/month, Billed annually | Pro license required to share, Azure service costs, refresh limits push you to Premium |
| Sisense | Enterprises with complex requirements and dedicated BI engineers | From $399/month | Gantt charts locked to Custom plan, white-labeling starts at Grow, viewer seat caps force upgrades, VPN needed for on-prem on Scale |
| Luzmo | Mid to large teams that want fast deployment | From $495/month, Billed annually | Whitelabeling, embedding, and SSO locked to Premium at $1,995/mo and pricing scales with MAUs |
| Metabase | Developer-led teams who want to explore their data without buying a BI tool | Open Source | Self-hosting infrastructure costs on free plan. SSO, sandboxing, and audit logs require Pro at $500/mo, per-user pricing scales quickly |
1. Draxlr
Draxlr is a modern, AI-powered BI platform that lets any team connect to their SQL database, explore data, build dashboards, and share or embed insights without relying on a dedicated data team. It's built for self-service, so you can go from a database connection to a working dashboard in under an hour.
Main Features
- Visual Query Builder for non-technical users to filter, sort, and summarize data without SQL
- AI Chat interface for text-to-SQL in plain English
- Full SQL editor with autocomplete and query version control
- Connects to SQL Databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Supabase, ClickHouse, and more
- Automated Slack and email alerts when metrics cross thresholds
- Automatically send dashboards or reports on a recurring schedule via Slack and email
- AI-assisted dashboarding and AI summary widget
- Advanced analytics with drill-down capabilities, virtual columns
- CSV, PDF, Excel, Image, and Google Sheets export
- Self-hosted deployment option for data-sensitive teams
- Embed dashboards into your product using React, Vue, or iframe with white-labeling and multi-tenant support
- Google Sheets integration and dedicated API
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast to set up, no data warehouse needed | SQL-first, not suited for non-relational databases |
| Works for both technical and non-technical users | No heavy semantic modeling layer |
| Transparent, startup-friendly pricing | |
| Self-hosting available | |
| Responsive customer support |
Pricing
Draxlr offers four plans:
Lite at $25/month includes 1 database, unlimited external viewers, 15 AI credits.
Premium at $75/month includes 2 databases, unlimited external viewers, 100 AI credits, white-labeled embed dashboard.
Power at $125/month includes 6 databases, unlimited external viewers, 300 AI credits, white-labeled embed dashboard.
Custom plan includes custom databases, unlimited external viewers, custom AI credits, white-labeled embed dashboard, dedicated server.
There is also a Self Host option at $500/month which includes Docker containers, custom AI models, white label, and no Draxlr logo.
A 7-day free trial is available at draxlr.com.
Connect your Database2. Power BI
Power BI is Microsoft's flagship BI platform and one of the most widely used analytics tools in the world. It integrates natively with Excel, Azure, Teams, and the broader Microsoft ecosystem, making it a natural fit for organizations already running on Microsoft infrastructure.
Main Features
- Drag-and-drop dashboard builder with a wide visualization library
- Power Query for data transformation and DAX for advanced calculations
- Native integration with Excel, Azure, Teams, and SharePoint
- AI-powered natural language Q&A
- Row-level security and role-based access controls
- Both desktop (free) and cloud-based deployment
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Deep Microsoft ecosystem integration | DAX and Power Query have a steep learning curve |
| Free desktop version available | Pricing escalates quickly for larger teams |
| Large community and extensive documentation | Less compelling outside the Microsoft ecosystem |
| Strong visualization library | Cloud version requires Power BI Pro or Premium |
Pricing
Power BI Desktop is free. Power BI Pro starts at $14/user/month, billed annually. Power BI Premium has capacity-based pricing starting at $24/user/month, billed annually.
Worth knowing before you commit is that the free Desktop version is local only, so the moment you need to share or collaborate, everyone needs a Pro license. Data refreshes are capped at 8 per day on Pro, pushing teams toward Premium. And if you're using Azure services alongside Power BI, those come with their own billing that can quietly add up. What looks like $14/user/month, billed annually at the start often lands significantly higher in practice.
3. Sisense
Sisense is a mature enterprise BI platform known for its in-memory processing engine, extensive SDK support, and strong AI capabilities. It's built for large organizations that need highly customized analytics experiences backed by enterprise-grade infrastructure.
Main Features
- In-memory processing engine (ElastiCube) for high-performance analytics
- Extensive SDK support for custom analytics development
- AI-powered insights and natural language querying
- Cloud and on-prem deployment options
- Connects to a broad range of data sources
- Role-based access controls and data governance
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Deep customization via extensive SDKs | Steep learning curve and complex implementation |
| Strong AI and natural language querying | High cost, requires a sales conversation |
| Scales for large enterprise workloads | Not suited for teams without dedicated BI engineers |
| Cloud and on-prem flexibility | Performance issues with ElastiCube reported by some users |
Pricing
Sisense offers three plans:
Launch at $399/month includes 20GB storage, 2 designer seats, 50 viewer seats, basic reporting, row-level data security, and community support.
Grow at $1,299/month includes 60GB storage, 5 designer seats, 100 viewer seats, white-labeling, multi-environment support, performance scale-ups, staging environments, and multi-region support (coming soon).
Scale is custom pricing and includes flexible deployment options, advanced data connectivity, advanced SSO, auto-scaling, multi-tenant support, HIPAA-ready infrastructure, 99.99% SLA, premium support, and a dedicated SAM.
Worth noting: Gantt charts are only available on the Scale plan. White-labeling starts at Grow. Viewer seats are capped on Launch and Grow — if your team grows beyond those limits, you're pushed to a higher tier or custom pricing. On-prem data connectivity is SSH on Launch and Grow but requires VPN and more on Scale, which adds infrastructure overhead.
4. Luzmo
Luzmo is a BI platform designed for fast deployment and clean out-of-the-box design. It publishes its pricing upfront, which is a genuine advantage for teams that want to avoid lengthy enterprise sales cycles.
Main Features
- Drag-and-drop dashboard builder with a polished default UI
- Connects to popular databases and data sources
- White-labeling and branding customization
- Published pricing tiers with no sales cycle required
- Scheduled reports and data alerts
- Multi-tenant data support
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast to deploy with a clean UI | More limited SQL-native querying |
| Transparent, published pricing | Smaller ecosystem and community |
| No lengthy sales cycle | Fewer integrations than established players |
Pricing
Starter at $495/month for teams getting started with customer-facing analytics. Includes drag and drop dashboard editor, unlimited dashboards, responsive dashboards, custom dashboard themes, multilingual/currency/timezone support, PDF/image/table exports, and scheduled exports.
Premium at $1,995/month for growing platforms delivering advanced analytics to customers. Adds alerting, AI-assisted dashboarding, AI summary widget, advanced analytics, whitelabeling, dashboard and chart embedding, custom plug-in API, secure multi-tenant authentication, custom events, and single sign-on.
Enterprise is custom pricing for businesses that need custom deployment, security, and compliance capabilities. Includes dedicated infrastructure, custom SLAs, flexible hosting options, and support for large-scale deployments.
Pricing scales with Monthly Active Users (MAUs), so costs grow as your customer base grows. Worth factoring in before committing.
Worth noting: whitelabeling, embedding, SSO, and advanced analytics are all locked to the Premium plan at $1,995/month. The Starter plan is more limited than the price tag suggests.
5. Metabase
Metabase is one of the most popular open-source BI tools available. It's designed to be approachable for non-technical users while still giving data teams enough flexibility for more complex reporting. The 2025 cloud version added AI-assisted query suggestions and improved data sandboxing.
Main Features
- Intuitive question builder for non-technical users
- Full SQL editor for advanced queries
- AI-assisted query suggestions
- Scheduled reports and dashboard subscriptions
- Self-hosted (open source) and cloud-hosted options
- SSO, advanced permissions, and white-labeling on paid plans
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast to deploy with a clean UI | Limited for complex data modeling needs |
| Fast setup for basic dashboard needs | White-labeling requires the commercial plan |
| Less suited to large-scale enterprise use | |
| Advanced governance features require paid tier | |
| 3-day support even on paid plans |
Pricing
Metabase offers four plans:
Open Source is free and self-hosted. Includes core analytics features, unlimited questions and dashboards, and basic permissions.
Starter starts at $100/month + $6/month/user for up to 5 users.
Pro starts at $575/month + $12/month/user for up to 10 users. This plan includes Embedding.
Enterprise is custom pricing. Includes everything in Pro plus advanced SSO, dedicated customer success, SLA support, and SAML.
Add-ons available separately include additional users, Metabase AI, and storage.
A 14-day free trial is available on paid plans.
Worth noting: the free Open Source plan is self-hosted only, meaning your team handles deployment and maintenance. SSO, advanced permissions, sandboxing, and audit logs all require Pro or above. Costs scale per user, so larger teams can see bills climb quickly.
Conclusion
Losing Explo to an acquisition is disruptive, but it's also a chance to land on a better tool. The five Explo alternatives covered here each serve a different kind of team, from lean startups to large enterprises and each has real trade-offs worth understanding before you commit.
Draxlr covers more ground than Explo did, at a fraction of the cost of the enterprise tools on this list. If you don't have months to spend on implementation or a dedicated BI team to manage it, that matters.
Get started with Draxlr for free
FAQs
1. Is Explo shutting down?
Explo was acquired by Omni in October 2025 and will be sunset over a 12-month transition period. All Explo customers are expected to migrate to Omni's platform. The Explo platform will remain operational during this window, but it is no longer a viable long-term solution.
2. What is the best Explo alternative in 2026?
For most teams, Draxlr is the best replacement. It's a full BI platform that's fast to set up, works for technical and non-technical users alike, and is priced transparently.
3. How do I migrate from Explo to another BI tool?
Most BI tools connect to the same databases Explo was querying, so your data infrastructure usually stays the same. The main work is rebuilding your dashboards in the new tool. If you migrate to Draxlr, the team will do that for you for a one-time fee.
4. Which Explo alternative supports self-hosting?
Draxlr offers a self-hosted option at $500/month that includes Docker containers, custom AI models, white-labeling, and no Draxlr branding. Metabase also has a free self-hosted open-source version.
5. Which Explo alternative is best for embedded analytics?
Draxlr. You can embed dashboards into your product using React, Vue SDKs, or iframe, with unlimited external users, full white-labeling, multi-tenant support, and row-level security. It's available on all paid plans starting at $75/month, with no separate embedding fee.
