Superset

Apache Superset is an open-source data exploration and visualization platform hosted by the Apache Software Foundation.

Updated 6 Jun 2026 Reviewed by 7wData

Visit Website

Profile

Apache Superset is an open-source web application for exploring, querying, and visualizing data from multiple databases through interactive dashboards and charts.

Apache Superset is an open-source data exploration and visualization platform hosted by the Apache Software Foundation. As of June 2026, the project's GitHub repository shows 73,200 stars, 17,500 forks, and over 20,400 commits, with 155 contributors active in the six months preceding February 2026. The platform was originally created by Maxime Beauchemin at Airbnb in 2016 and later donated to the Apache Foundation, graduating as a top-level project in 2020.

Superset offers a web-based interface for querying databases, building dashboards, and creating charts without requiring coding skills. The project's development is heavily driven by Preset, a company founded by Beauchemin that provides a managed cloud version of Superset. In November 2025, the community merged 162 pull requests from 52 contributors, with highlights including streaming CSV exports for datasets over 100,000 records, dashboard performance optimizations for dashboards with 50+ charts, and a migration from Babel/TypeScript to SWC that reduced build times by 73%.

The February 2026 update reported over 1,000 pull requests merged in six months, with 101 first-time contributors. The project released version 6.0.0 in December 2025. Superset competes with proprietary business intelligence tools like Tableau, Looker, and Microsoft Power BI, positioning itself as a free, self-hosted alternative with support for over 50 database backends.

The project has no disclosed revenue, as it is an open-source foundation project, but Preset, the primary commercial entity, raised $35 million in Series A funding in 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz. Adoption is broad across industries, with notable users including Airbnb, Twitter, and Yahoo, though specific client names are not consistently disclosed in public materials.

Who buys this

Data engineering and analytics teams at large enterprises seeking a self-hosted, customizable BI platform
Organizations with strict data governance requirements who cannot use cloud-only BI tools
Startups and small businesses looking for a free alternative to commercial BI software
Government agencies and academic institutions with limited software budgets
Managed service providers offering embedded analytics to their clients

Strengths and what to watch

Strengths

Large and active open-source community with 73,200 GitHub stars, 17,500 forks, and over 20,400 commits, ensuring continuous development and third-party integrations
Supports over 50 database backends including SQL databases, data warehouses, and streaming sources, making it adaptable to diverse data infrastructures
No licensing costs and full self-hosting capability, appealing to organizations with budget constraints or data sovereignty requirements

Watch for

Heavy reliance on Preset, a single company, for core development and commercial support, creating potential bus-factor risk for the open-source project
Competition from established proprietary BI platforms (Tableau, Looker, Power BI) with larger marketing budgets and more polished user experiences
Complexity of self-hosting and maintaining the platform, which may deter non-technical organizations and increase total cost of ownership

Recent moves

Key Information

Industry: Open Source Infra - Visualizations
Founded: 2016

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apache Superset?

Apache Superset is an open-source web application for exploring, querying, and visualizing data from multiple databases. It allows users to create interactive dashboards and charts without coding skills. The platform is hosted by the Apache Software Foundation and competes with proprietary BI tools.

Is Apache Superset free to use?

Yes, Apache Superset is completely free and open-source with no licensing costs. It can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, making it a cost-effective alternative to commercial BI platforms like Tableau, Looker, and Power BI for organizations with budget constraints.

What databases does Apache Superset support?

Apache Superset supports over 50 database backends, including SQL databases, data warehouses, and streaming sources. This broad compatibility makes it adaptable to diverse data infrastructures commonly found in enterprises, from traditional relational databases to modern cloud data platforms.

How active is the Apache Superset community?

As of June 2026, the GitHub repository has 73,200 stars, 17,500 forks, and over 20,400 commits. In the six months before February 2026, 155 contributors were active, with over 1,000 pull requests merged and 101 first-time contributors joining the project.

Who created Apache Superset?

Apache Superset was originally created by Maxime Beauchemin at Airbnb in 2016. It was later donated to the Apache Foundation and graduated as a top-level project in 2020. Beauchemin also founded Preset, a company that offers a managed cloud version of Superset.

What are the main risks of using Apache Superset?

Key risks include heavy reliance on Preset for core development, creating potential bus-factor issues. Self-hosting and maintenance can be complex for non-technical teams, increasing total cost of ownership. It also faces strong competition from established proprietary BI platforms with larger marketing budgets.

Sources

github.com — GitHub repository statistics: 73,200 stars, 17,500 forks, 20,400+ commits, 155 contributors, latest commit June 5, 2026
github.com — Release history including version 6.0.0 on December 19, 2025, and helm chart 0.15.5 on May 4, 2026
preset.io — November 2025 community update: 162 PRs, 52 contributors, streaming CSV exports, dashboard performance improvements, SWC migration
www.reddit.com — February 2026 update: 1,000+ PRs in six months, 155 contributors, 101 first-timers, Ant Design v5 migration, dark mode