Best Birst Alternatives and Competitors in 2025

Birst is a business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform that offers enterprise-grade reporting, dashboards, and embedded analytics. Known for its networked BI architecture and multi-tenant capabilities, Birst enables centralized data modeling and decentralized analytics across departments. It’s often used by large enterprises for standardized reporting and governed self-service BI.

However, by 2025, many teams are moving to modern Birst alternatives that offer easier deployment, more flexible dashboards, better cloud-native performance, and integration with newer data platforms. Whether you’re migrating away from legacy Birst environments or building new analytics workflows, there are better tools that deliver faster insights and simpler user experiences.

This article explores the top Birst alternatives for embedded BI, self-service dashboards, and modern cloud-based analytics in 2025.

What is Birst?

Birst (a part of Infor) is a cloud BI platform that provides data integration, centralized data modeling, dashboarding, and report delivery. It supports embedded analytics and multi-tenant deployments for enterprise reporting environments. While powerful, Birst has a legacy architecture that can be complex to deploy and maintain, especially compared to newer, cloud-native BI platforms.

Why Look for Birst Alternatives?

1. Legacy Architecture: Birst’s architecture is not fully cloud-native, making scaling and modern DevOps workflows more difficult.

2. Complex Setup and Modeling: Initial implementation of Birst can be resource-intensive and require specialized configuration.

3. Slower Innovation: As part of Infor, Birst updates and improvements have slowed compared to newer BI startups.

4. Less Flexibility in Dashboard Design: Birst dashboards are functional but less flexible and interactive than tools like Tableau or Power BI.

5. Better Tools for Modern Data Stacks Exist: Tools like Looker, Metabase, or Superset provide better integrations with dbt, cloud warehouses, and open-source ecosystems.

Top Birst Alternatives (Comparison Table)

#	Tool	Open Source	Best For	Deployment
#1	Tableau	No	Advanced dashboards and visuals	Cloud / Server / Desktop
#2	Power BI	No	Microsoft-aligned business analytics	Cloud / Desktop
#3	Looker	No	Governed BI with modeling layer	Cloud (GCP)
#4	Metabase	Yes	Open-source self-service BI	Cloud / Self-hosted
#5	Apache Superset	Yes	SQL-native analytics dashboards	Self-hosted
#6	Qlik Sense	No	Associative exploration and analytics	Cloud / On-prem
#7	GoodData	No	Embedded BI and metric layer	Cloud / Hybrid
#8	Holistics	No	SQL modeling and report automation	Cloud
#9	ThoughtSpot	No	Search-based and AI-driven BI	Cloud
#10	Sigma Computing	No	Spreadsheet-style BI on live data	Cloud

Detailed Alternatives to Birst

#1. Tableau

Tableau is one of the most popular BI platforms known for rich dashboards, visual storytelling, and interactivity. It’s a strong Birst alternative for analysts who want full control over visuals and layout.

Features:

• Drag-and-drop dashboard design
• Live + extract data connectivity
• Embedded analytics + permissions
• Cloud, desktop, or on-prem deployment
• Connects to most databases and warehouses

#2. Power BI

Power BI is Microsoft’s BI platform that integrates with Excel, SQL Server, Azure, and Teams. It replaces Birst for businesses using the Microsoft stack and needing scalable, governed dashboards.

Features:

• Desktop authoring with cloud sharing
• DAX + Power Query for modeling
• Row-level security and audit logs
• Low-cost, enterprise-friendly licensing
• Native Excel and Teams integration

#3. Looker

Looker (by Google) is a model-driven BI platform built for consistent, governed reporting. It replaces Birst for companies needing central metric layers and embedded analytics across teams.

Features:

• Semantic modeling via LookML
• Built-in data exploration + alerts
• Row-level security and version control
• Embeddable dashboards and API
• Deep integration with BigQuery and GCP

#4. Metabase

Metabase is a lightweight, open-source BI tool for building dashboards and answering questions with visual or SQL queries. It’s a strong Birst alternative for startups and smaller teams.

Features:

• Visual query builder + SQL editor
• Scheduled reports and alerts
• Embeddable dashboards
• Open-source + hosted version available
• RBAC and team folders

#5. Apache Superset

Superset is a SQL-native, open-source BI platform with rich visualizations and flexible dashboarding. It’s ideal for replacing Birst in teams wanting open-source control and performance.

Features:

• Chart builder with SQL Lab
• RBAC and role-based dashboard sharing
• Embeddable via iframe or API
• Connects to PostgreSQL, Snowflake, etc.
• Open-source under Apache 2.0

#6. Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense offers associative analytics and augmented intelligence. It’s a suitable Birst alternative for enterprises needing fast exploration of linked data sets and AI-powered insights.

Features:

• Associative data engine
• Search and exploration features
• Embedded analytics support
• AI insight suggestions
• Mobile and desktop access

#7. GoodData

GoodData is a headless BI platform offering semantic metrics and embedded dashboards. It replaces Birst for SaaS apps needing governed, multi-tenant embedded analytics.

Features:

• Metrics-as-code modeling layer
• REST API + React SDK for embed
• Multi-tenant access control
• Works with Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery
• Open architecture with strong governance

#8. Holistics

Holistics is a cloud-based BI platform built for SQL-based reporting and modeling. It’s a smart Birst replacement for data teams managing metrics and dashboards with dbt or Git workflows.

Features:

• Semantic layer with reusable models
• Embed-ready dashboards
• Git-based version control
• Data alerts and schedule delivery
• Easy integration with dbt + SQL warehouses

#9. ThoughtSpot

ThoughtSpot is a search- and AI-based analytics tool that enables business users to explore data by asking questions. It replaces Birst for teams prioritizing self-serve exploration and NLP interfaces.

Features:

• Search-first dashboard experience
• AI recommendations and insights
• Live queries on cloud data sources
• Embedded analytics and API options
• Row-level security and role control

#10. Sigma Computing

Sigma provides spreadsheet-style dashboards powered by cloud data warehouses. It’s a great Birst alternative for business users familiar with Excel who want real-time access to live data.

Features:

• Spreadsheet interface with formulas
• Live querying of Snowflake, BigQuery
• Self-service dashboards + reports
• Row-level access + embed support
• Collaboration and data modeling

Conclusion

Birst was built for large-scale enterprise reporting — but in 2025, many teams need BI tools that are easier to manage, faster to deploy, and better aligned with modern cloud data stacks. Whether you’re building embedded dashboards, governed metrics, or self-service analytics, tools like Looker, Tableau, and GoodData offer more flexibility and scale.

Use Metabase or Superset for open-source dashboards. Choose Holistics or ThoughtSpot for modern modeling and exploration. For Excel-style users, Sigma is a strong option. The right Birst alternative depends on your team size, technical stack, and business goals.

FAQs