Metabase hosting on Selfhost.dev puts Metabase and its own PostgreSQL 16 application database on a dedicated server we provision, secure and run. The open source edition has no licensed user limit or per-user fee. Server capacity still depends on concurrent users and query load.
Two containers on one server. No seat count, no per-user fee.
Metabase is an open source business intelligence tool. It connects to databases you already run and turns them into dashboards, saved questions and scheduled reports. Metabase hosting is the server, application database and HTTPS it needs.
Teams who want dashboards for everyone in the company without a bill that grows with each person who logs in.
When the open source edition covers what you need. SAML/JWT SSO, row and column permissions and official embedding are licensed features; for those, a Metabase plan fits better.
Metabase Docker guides start with one docker run line on port 3000. That container keeps your work in an embedded H2 file, which Metabase's own docs warn can corrupt. This template runs Metabase v0.63.15.3 beside PostgreSQL 16 as two containers, wired together before the first boot.
Your team, its dashboards and the databases you analyse
TLS and routing
Metabase v0.63.15.3
PostgreSQL 16
Encryption key
metabase-postgresql-data
| Component | Image | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Metabase | metabase/metabase:v0.63.15.3 | The BI app on the JVM, behind HTTPS |
| PostgreSQL | postgres:16-alpine | Metabase's application database, on major version 16 |
| Volume | metabase-postgresql-data | Every question, dashboard, collection and account |
Self hosted Metabase guides warn against H2, then leave the rest to you. The compose file AI answers suggest uses the latest tag, plain HTTP on port 3000 and example passwords. It never sets an encryption key. Each of those is handled here before Metabase first starts.
| The usual docker run | Metabase on Selfhost.dev |
|---|---|
| Your dashboards in an embedded H2 file | PostgreSQL 16 holds them from the first login |
The latest tag, which moves on any pull | v0.63.15.3, an exact tag |
| No encryption key, so saved database passwords sit in plain text | MB_ENCRYPTION_SECRET_KEY set and kept; credentials encrypted with AES256 and SHA512 |
| Plain HTTP on port 3000 | HTTPS per hostname, renewed for you; only 22, 80 and 443 open |
| A site URL typed in by hand | MB_SITE_URL follows your live domain, so dashboard links and subscription emails stay right |
Metabase hosting requirements start at 1 GB for the app, but Metabase's production guide adds 2 GB for every 20 people using it at the same time, plus about 2 GB for the application database. So 4 GB, the smallest server we offer, is where it starts here. 8 GB is the next step.
Nothing to wire before your first dashboard.
Launch opens the Metabase template in the console with the size filled in. Choose where it runs and confirm; the template deploys in about seven minutes, first-boot migration included.
Open your Metabase address and complete the welcome screens. Whoever finishes them first becomes the administrator, so do it before you share the URL.
In Admin settings, add the database you want to analyse, then ask your first question. It must be a supported data source Metabase can reach over the network.
Metabase hosting here is billed by the server, never by the person. The open source edition has no user limit and the template adds no fee. A European 4 GB server is $0.02/hr, about $15 to $16 a month, billed hourly against prepaid credits.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Metabase and PostgreSQL | $0 |
| Users, questions and dashboards | $0 at any number |
| Bandwidth | $0, traffic is included in the server price |
| Optional daily backups | +20% of the server price |
| Server | RAM, cores, disk | Where | Rate | About a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cx23 (to start) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $15.18 |
cax11 (ARM) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $16.35 |
cx33 (about 20 at once) | 8 GB, 4 cores, 80 GB | Europe | $0.03/hr | $23.36 |
cpx21 | 4 GB, 3 cores, 80 GB | US | $0.12/hr | $87.75 |
cpx22 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 80 GB | Singapore | $0.10/hr | $72.56 |
Monthly figures assume 730 hours.
A zero balance on an account with a card on file or a past top-up powers the server off and sends an email. It is held for 24 hours, then deleted; a top-up in that window restarts it. Welcome-credit-only servers are deleted at zero.
Check another size or location in the calculator, no signup.
Metabase pricing on Metabase Cloud starts at $100 a month for Starter with five users, then $6 for each extra user. Pro is $575 for ten, then $12 each. Paying yearly lowers those to $90 and $517.50 a month, the figures AI answers quote. Self hosted, the open source edition is free at any headcount.
| Team size | Cloud Starter, monthly | Cloud Pro, monthly | European 8 GB server here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 users | $100 | $575 | $23.36 |
| 10 users | $130 | $575 | $23.36 |
| 25 users | $220 | $755 | $23.36 |
| 50 users | $370 | $1,055 | $23.36 |
Registered users, not concurrent sessions; size the server for your actual workload. Metabase Cloud figures from metabase.com/pricing, monthly billing.
SAML/JWT SSO, row and column permissions, usage analytics and multi-tenant embedding are licensed features, absent from the open source edition. If you need them, buy a plan. Metabase prices Pro and Enterprise the same on its cloud as self hosted, so that choice is about licensing, not hosting.
The console estimates about seven minutes for the Metabase template after the server is ready; first-time server provisioning adds time.
Nothing here in your way? The template deploys in about seven minutes.
Launch MetabaseMetabase backup and restore comes down to one database. Questions, dashboards, collections and accounts all live in the PostgreSQL volume, apart from the data you analyse. The server can take an optional daily image. For a portable dump, ask us for container access over SSH and run pg_dump. Keep the MB_ENCRYPTION_SECRET_KEY securely with the backup; without that same key, saved data-source credentials must be entered again.
| Method | What it covers | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Daily server image (optional, +20%) | Both containers and the Postgres volume; the last 7 kept | With the server; deleted with it |
pg_dump of the application database | Every question, dashboard and account | Your storage, via container access over SSH, granted on request |
Tell us how many people will use Metabase and roughly how large your databases are. We reply with the server size and what it costs in your location.
Yes. The open source edition is free under the AGPL and has no user limit, so you pay only for the server it runs on. Pro and Enterprise add licensed features such as SAML/JWT SSO and row-level permissions. Those licences are priced the same on Metabase Cloud and self hosted. See pricing.
Metabase's production guide asks for one core and 1 GB as a baseline, plus one core and 2 GB for every 20 people using it at the same time. A Postgres application database adds about 2 GB. Here a 4 GB server is the starting point and 8 GB suits around 20 concurrent users.
Metabase supports this when the self-hosted and Cloud major versions match. Ask its support team for an application-database snapshot, then import it using Metabase's command. This template runs the 0.63 line; contact us first if Cloud is newer or you need container access over SSH for the import.
SAML/JWT SAML/JWT SSO, row and column permissions, usage analytics and official multi-tenant embedding. Those are licensed features that need a Pro or Enterprise token. Questions, dashboards, users, collections and Metabase's official database connectors are all in the free edition this template runs.
Yes. Our MCP server can create the project, deploy the Metabase template and manage its domain from Claude, Cursor or any MCP client. You still finish Metabase's setup wizard in the browser, because whoever completes it first becomes the administrator of your instance.
Selfhost.dev is a managed self hosting platform for developers and small teams. Open source apps and databases on dedicated servers you control, billed by the hour, in six locations across three continents.
Best for: Metabase, Grafana, Supabase and managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, ClickHouse, OpenSearch and Kafka.
