Short answer: Power BI Embedded fits when your customers are Microsoft 365 shops and value advanced functionality. Metabase fits when you want an open-source solution and have a technical team to maintain it. Looker Studio fits when your data is already in the Google ecosystem and basic needs are enough. The differences show up in pricing, multi-tenant support, and how much work falls on your SaaS team.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Power BI Embedded | Metabase | Looker Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to SaaS company | Fabric F2 from ~€250/month (PAYG); or €0 via BI4SaaS | Open source = €0 + own hosting; Pro Cloud from ~€80/mo (incl. 5 users) + ~€5/additional user | Free; Looker (Pro) custom pricing |
| Customer license needed | No (Embedded) | No | No |
| Multi-tenant support | Standard (RLS, workspace isolation) | Sandbox in Pro/Enterprise tiers | Limited — based on Google account sharing |
| Visualization quality | Excellent — Copilot, Fabric, custom visuals | Good — covers 80 % of needs | Good — Google Sheets-style, less advanced |
| Data source support | 100+ connectors | ~50 connectors | Strongest for Google (BigQuery, GA, Ads) |
| Maintenance burden | Microsoft / partner | You (open source) or Metabase Inc. | |
| Best fit | Enterprise customers, advanced analytics | Technical SaaS teams, open-source friendly | Simple dashboards, Google data |
Power BI Embedded — the enterprise standard
Microsoft's "embed for your customers" model, where Power BI reports are embedded inside your SaaS product without your customers needing Power BI licenses. The backend authenticates with a service principal and generates per-customer embed tokens.
Strengths
- The market's broadest visualization and data modeling toolset
- Strong multi-tenant: Row-Level Security (RLS) and workspace isolation out of the box
- Fabric, Copilot and OneLake in the same ecosystem
- Thousands of consultants and partners in the market
Weaknesses
- Fabric F2 capacity costs ~€250/month on pay-as-you-go (cheaper with 1-year reservation)
- Service principal setup and Fabric capacity management have a learning curve
- Documentation and community are mostly English and Microsoft-centric
When to choose: Your customers are mid-size or large enterprises, you have multiple data sources (CRM, ERP, your own systems), and you want to position yourself as an enterprise-grade analytics partner. For the data-warehouse layer, see also Microsoft Fabric vs. Snowflake.
Metabase — the open-source option
An open-source BI tool you can self-host or buy as a cloud service from Metabase Inc. Strong developer community and a simple interface supporting native SQL or drag-and-drop questions.
Strengths
- Open-source version is free — cost is just your own hosting
- Simple UI that end users pick up quickly
- Native SQL: your technical team can write complex queries directly
- Multi-tenant Sandbox works well in Pro/Enterprise tiers
Weaknesses
- Maintaining the open-source version is on you (updates, servers, security)
- Visualizations are more limited than Power BI — covers 80 % but not 100 %
- Fewer third-party connectors
- Pro Cloud pricing grows quickly with user count
When to choose: Your SaaS product is inherently technical, your data is mostly your own database plus a few sources, and you value an open-source approach.
Looker Studio — the lightweight Google option
Google's free dashboard tool (formerly Data Studio), with strong integration to BigQuery, Google Analytics and Ads. Looker (Pro) is a separate, much more expensive enterprise product — don't confuse the two.
Strengths
- Free at the base tier, no license cost
- Tight integration with the Google ecosystem (BigQuery, GA4, Google Ads)
- Simple and lightweight — fast onboarding
Weaknesses
- Multi-tenant is awkward — based on Google account sharing, not true RLS
- Limited customization and lighter visualizations
- "Free" but serious use routes through BigQuery, which scales with data volume
- Less SaaS-embedding-specific consulting available
When to choose: Your data is already in BigQuery, your customers need simple dashboards, and you want to avoid embedded-capacity costs.
Decision in three questions
| Question | Power BI Embedded | Metabase | Looker Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is your customer base Microsoft-, open-source- or Google-leaning? | Microsoft | Open source / technical | |
| Do you have a team to maintain the BI platform? | No (Microsoft / partner handles it) | Yes (open source) | No (Google handles it) |
| Do you need true multi-tenant isolation? | Yes — standard | Yes at Pro/Enterprise tier | Only in a limited form |
Why most SaaS companies pick Power BI
In practice most mid-size SaaS companies end up with Power BI Embedded because:
- Their customers are already Microsoft 365 shops — Power BI is a familiar name to business leadership
- Multi-tenant and RLS work without separate development
- Through BI4SaaS the cost drops to zero — we cover the capacity costs
Metabase is the better choice if your SaaS product is itself technical (devops, security, infra) and your customers value open source. Looker Studio fits when basic needs are enough and there's no budget for embedded capacity.
How to get started
If Power BI Embedded looks like the right fit, the BI4SaaS partnership removes the capacity and maintenance cost from you entirely. We always start with a pilot — commission is paid only when your first end customer pays.
Book a free 30-minute conversation and we'll walk through which of the three best fits your SaaS product.