BI tool with unlimited users: fixed price vs per-seat
Per-seat and usage-priced tools have a variable bill: it moves with headcount, viewers, editors or usage. arcodash is fixed: $59 a month on Team or $300 on Org, for the whole org, with unlimited seats and no usage billing. 14 days free, no card. The price on the page is the bill. Fixed fits best when many people look at dashboards, when seats are being rationed, or when you want a number you can budget once.
Two ways to be charged for the same dashboard
Per-seat pricing charges for each person with an account. Some vendors split people into creators and viewers, others charge everyone the same. Usage-priced tools charge for what runs. Either way the bill moves: a new hire, a new viewer or a busy month changes it.
Fixed pricing charges one fee regardless of how many people sign in. arcodash has two plans: Team is $59 a month ($600 a year) and Org is $300 a month ($3,000 a year). Both cover the whole org with unlimited seats and no usage billing. The price on the page is the bill.
This page is the short question: do you want a fixed bill or a variable one.
What a variable bill does
A bill that moves with headcount has side effects, and they are worth naming:
- Every new person is a purchase decision. Someone has to ask whether this person really needs a login.
- Viewers cost money. On some tools a person who only reads counts as a full user. On others, editors are the expensive ones. Either way you have to track who is which.
- Usage can surprise you. If the bill follows queries, runs or compute, a good month and a bad month look different on the invoice.
- Seats get rationed. Two people on one login, a weekly screenshot instead of a link, a question only the one analyst can answer. When that happens, the seat is not the real cost.
What a fixed bill does
With a fixed price none of that needs managing. Add the whole company, share a link with anyone, and the number stays the same. You budget it once. Fixed doesn’t have to mean big: Team is $59 a month for the whole team.
It is not free of trade-offs. You pay the same whether two people use it or two hundred, and AI features run on your own key, so that usage is billed by your provider. Nothing on the arcodash bill changes with it.
When fixed fits
Check these against your own situation:
- Many people need to look, few build. Readers shouldn’t need a purchase decision each.
- Seats are being rationed. Shared logins and screenshots are a sign the pricing model is shaping how your team works.
- You want one number to budget. No headcount forecast, no usage estimate.
- You want checks and alerts alongside dashboards, not a separate product. arcodash runs scheduled SQL checks that alert to Slack, email, PagerDuty and others. Some per-seat tools have alerts too; compare for your case.
- You can’t or don’t want to run infrastructure. That removes the open source option. It’s a hosted fee versus a person’s time.
If none of those apply, you probably shouldn’t switch.
What arcodash is and isn’t
arcodash is SQL-first dashboards plus scheduled freshness, volume and validity checks. It has 19 connectors, bring-your-own-key AI features (Ask with AI, Fix with AI, suggested checks, an explanation on alerts) and a public-link sharing option. It’s $59 a month on Team or $300 on Org, with unlimited seats and no usage billing on both, after a 14 day free trial that needs no card. Team has a monthly query run limit (every run counts: ad-hoc, refreshes, monitor checks, AI), and hitting it never adds to your bill. Org has no limits. It’s hosted only and in early beta, can’t be self-hosted, and you subscribe in the app.
What it isn’t: a point-and-click question builder, a notebook environment, or an embedded analytics platform. If your team writes no SQL and won’t, a tool built for that will serve them better. See inviting your team for how invites work, and limits for what’s capped.
A quick decision rule
Count everyone who would open a dashboard at least once a week, not just builders. Then ask:
- Do you want the bill to stay put as that number grows? Fixed is worth a trial.
- Is anyone being denied a login, or sharing one? Fixed is worth a trial.
- Is the group small and fixed, and a per-seat tool already fits? Keep it. Free open source is also a fair choice if you have the person to run it.
You can try arcodash free for 14 days at the trial page. If a per-seat tool fits you better, use that one.
If you’re weighing specific tools, the Metabase, Power BI and Tableau comparisons go through the differences.
Questions
Why a fixed price?
Because a fixed price is predictable and a variable one isn't. arcodash is $59 a month on Team or $300 on Org, for the whole org, with unlimited seats and no usage billing. Per-seat and usage-priced tools move the bill with headcount, viewers, editors or usage. Here the price on the page is the bill, whoever joins.
Does fixed pricing mean unlimited usage of everything?
It means unlimited seats and no usage billing on both plans. Team has limits (1 data source, 1,500 query runs a month, 25 monitors, daily schedules) and Org has none. AI runs on your own key, so that cost sits with your provider. 14 days free, no card. See the [limits page](/docs/reference/limits/) for the details.
Isn't a run limit just usage pricing?
No. Usage pricing moves the bill. Team's limit doesn't: hit 1,500 runs and the bill is still $59. If you need more, Org has no limits and costs $300.
Can I just self-host an open source tool to avoid seat costs?
Yes, and for a team with someone who likes running infrastructure it is often the right call. The cost moves from licences to engineering time. arcodash is hosted only and cannot be self-hosted.