More and more people are convinced of the power of dashboards. Today, this post will review the top free and open source dashboard software specializing in project management, marketing, TV display, and so on. Welcome to take advantage of it!

I will make an in-depth review of free & open source dashboard software. Before that, I have to clarify these two categories.

• First, I will introduce the dashboard software that is free of charge. Some of them do not charge themselves, or some provide free versions in addition to the commercial version. The advantage of this type of software is that it is easy to learn and easy to use. It is very suitable for beginners or those who want to develop dashboard in a more direct and efficient way.
• Then, I will introduce several open-source dashboard softwares. Open-source softwares give developers more freedom to modify and distribute the software. The disadvantage is that the learning curve is steep, so the open-source part is more suitable for readers with strong technical capabilities.

What is Dashboard Software?

Dashboard software is a data visualization tool that gathers and displays business data in interactive and customizable visualizations that enable users to monitor a business’s health, analyze processes, track KPIs, and discover actionable insights.

A professional business dashboard allows your team to immediately create charts and automated dashboards and share them with the right decision-makers. Any team member can discover, visualize, present, and share data in any way they deem relevant.

These dashboards combine data and metrics of every kind, from the project process to inventory levels to sales trends. It draws data from databases, structured and unstructured data, and data warehouse tools. And they are usually updated in real-time that enables the team to monitor the data trends constantly.

What are the Benefits of Dashboard Software?

Compared with traditional spreadsheets, dashboard software supports more efficient data connection, integration, and data visualization.

The top dashboard software empowers business users to visually compelling reports from various metrics and multiple data sources. These business intelligence dashboard tools use different visual elements to offer easily digestible visualizations from complex data analytics and provide dashboard reporting.

Best Free Dashboard Software

1.Google Data Studio

Google Data Studio is an online dashboard tool, a supercharged version of the Google Analytics Dashboard. It turns your data into informative dashboards that are easy to read, easy to share, and fully customizable. Once connected to the data source, the underlying dimensions and metrics are readily available for calculations, transformations, and visualizations.  

Highlights:

• Live data connection and support over 220 connectors
• Full customization controls of reports and visuals, including adding as many pages or charts as needed
• Dynamic controls with report and page level filters
• Advanced formulas such as calculated metrics and calculated fields

2.FineReport

FineReport is a business dashboard software that is free for personal use without any function or time limits.

The distinct advantage is that the dashboard can be displayed on the TV dashboard and other large screens smoothly. Because HTML5 charts in FineReport are self-developed and can be shown on different sizes of screens.

Besides, you can import the data from Excel into FineReport in batches. Therefore, it is easy to visualize the excel into dashboards with visually impressive elements. 

Another stunning feature of FineReport is real-time visualization. You can write your data back to the database through the data entry feature and visualize the latest data. 

Highlights:

• Support combine sources from different systems or database
• Open APIs for customization
• Dynamic charts
• HTML5 charts 
• Task Scheduler
• Mobile App
• Dashboard Management 
• User Management 

FineReport also provides professional services and commercial suits for enterprise users(Quote-based Plan). 

3. FineBI

Same as FineReport, FineBI is free without time or feature limits for personal use. For enterprises, it offers a quote-based plan that charges according to different situations. In a word, FineBI is price-friendly to all customers.

FineBI is a modern big data analytics & BI software designed for everyone who has need of data analysis. Everyone of any level can use FineBI to easily establish professional BI dashboards, perform self-service data analysis, gain useful insights and thus drive your business forward.

FineReport mentioned above is suitable for IT staffs or anyone with basic SQL skills to use while FineBI is designed for everyone who has the need of developing BI dashboards and data analysis! Through simple operations like drag and drop, you can easily create professional dashboards on your own.

Also, FineBI self-developed 15 chart types, 50+ chart styles, releasing diversity of data visualization, and with FineBI’s intelligent chart recommendation function, it can automatically recommend suitable chart types based on current types and numbers of fields, makeing your data analysis simple and efficient.

The dashboards created by FineBI can also be displayed on the TV dashboard and other large screens smoothly.

Highlights:

• Open APIs for customization
• OLAP Analysis
• Spider Big Data Engine
• Scheduled Task
• Relation Model
• Self Dataset
• Chart/Table/Filter component
• Mobile BI
• User Management 

4.Dasheroo

Dasheroo is a 100% free dashboard software that helps you put all critical KPIs for comprehensive web analytics, business analytics, sales, and marketing in one place. You can get started in a snap with a prebuilt dashboard, including a curated set of insights.  

Highlights:

• Comment and chat in real-time right within Dasheroo. 
• Instant group notifications if a metric you choose goes above or below a certain threshold.
• Slideshow mode allows you to set your timing and enjoy your dashboards show. 
• Support import your internal or custom data sources with JSON and Push API Webhooks.

5.Cyfe

Cyfe is a cloud-based dashboard software that enables users to monitor all marketing channels from different integrated sources, including SEO, SEM, email marketing, web analytics, social media, and more. The data sources include Google Analytics, Salesforce, Google Ads, MailChimp, Facebook, Twitter.

The free module of the tool provides full functionality but limits to two dashboards and a single user. It also limits the dashboard to a 30-day history.

Highlights:

• Rich prebuilt and custom widgets 
• Support multiple marketing sources
• Support 15 languages
• It allows project dashboards onto a TV using an Amazon Firestick. 

6.DataBox

DataBox is a marketing dashboard software that has a free version. You can create a free-forever account with all standard features. The limitation of the free version is that it only supports 3 data connections.

It provides a cloud-based interface for marketers, CEOs, analysts to track market activities and generate reports. You can set, assign, and monitor progress toward SMART Goals in one place, so everyone knows how your company performs. It is also easy to calculate metrics, conversion rates, and ROI, such as visit-to-signup rate and signup-to-paid rate, which helps you identify significant trends quickly. 

The free module of Databox is limited to three data sources, three dashboards, and three users, and only provides one daily refresh.

Highlights:

• It can be deployed via the SaaS, Cloud, and the web.
• Offer mobile applications for iOS and Android.
• Share Important Performance Updates via Slack Messages
• Present Live Views of ALL Your Data
• Stream Dashboards on Your Smart TV

Top Open Source Dashboard Tools

1.MetaBase

Metabase is an open-source dashboard software that allows you to manage databases, monitor KPI, track bugs, filer records, and generate dashboards without using complex SQL statements. It supports multiple data sources, such as Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, Teradata, Snowflake, and Mongo.

Metabase allows users to ask questions and learn from data formats in several ways, such as tables, line graphs, pie charts, bar charts, maps, etc. 

The best is the free version offers full functionality. You can also find new features, interface improvements, and bug fixes for free in the online community, where users can share feedback and fixes for the tool.

Highlights:

• Notebook editor provides visual joins, multiple aggregations, and filtering steps.
• You can add variables to your queries to create interactive visualizations that you can tweak and explore.
• It can be hosted on cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, and Azure. 
• It can send data to Slack or email on a schedule with Pulses.

2.Mozaïk

Mozaïk is an open-source dashboard tool that allows users to create and customize real-time interactive dashboards. Mozaïk’s high degree of customization is built on the JavaScript triples of Node, React, and D3. Also, it allows connection to the information from other programs such as Slack, Github, and so on.

It is very suitable for developing dashboards that can be used on multiple devices through the adaptive layout. With a grid system, Mozaïk is helping users to define their dashboard layout.

Highlights

• Multiple dashboards with a smooth transition.
• Customizable themes
• Scalable layout

3.Query2Report 

Query2Report is an open-source dashboard software that provides a web-based platform that allows users to build reports/dashboards for business analytics or enterprise reporting. The application transforms a bunch of SQL queries into beautiful google charts. It caters to real-time reporting with automatic refresh functionality.

Highlights：

• Integrates with any RDBMS using JDBC
• Auto-refresh for real-time reporting
• Single Page Application using responsive user interface built using Angularjs
• Role-based user access
• Data Analytics and Forecast
• Public and personal report workspaces

Choose the Dashboard Software for Small Business

Choosing a proper dashboard software for your company is a lengthy process. You need to take various issues into consideration, such as budgets, usability, adaptability, customizability, buy-ins from decision-makers, and so on. In addition, obtaining the consent of all team members is not an easy task. Nevertheless, here are some points you can think about when selecting dashboard software for small businesses.

Cost

Money is the first problem for small businesses to figure out. The total price of buying a dashboard software should include the cost of license, training, implementation, technical support fees, etc. Check all these clearly in advance with the vendor.

After-sale service

If your IT team is small or the software is complex, the dashboard software vendor’s technical support is essential. Be sure to pay attention to the support times, languages, and methods of all software vendors you are considering. It will be best if the supplier can provide the language and real-time support in your area.

Learning curve and training

You want to choose software that your employees can quickly and easily adopt. Therefore, dashboard software is best not to induce high learning costs.

Customizability

Customization or simplicity? It is a trade-off. Customization for small businesses sometimes means a high price and a more complex process. More importantly, some large vendors may sometimes think it is not profitable enough and unwilling to compromise on customization requirements. In this case, we recommend that you choose some deeply involved vendors in your industry, are specialized or are willing to provide customized services.

Final Thought

A dashboard is an innovative tool that displays all critical data and KPIs at a glance. It uses visualization to simplify information and make them more eye-catching. To create such dashboards, you need efficient dashboard software.

For small businesses or professionals looking for an Excel replacement, we recommend that you use FineBI to experience more efficient dashboard development. It provides a free version for personal dashboard developers.

Feel free to make an appointment for a live demo with our product experts. We will be more clear about your needs and see how FineBI can help you and your organization to transform data into value.