Business intelligence
What it costs to self-host Lightdash
Agentic BI. Analytics at the speed of code ⚡️ Below is the server it needs at each team size, what that costs, and how long a paid alternative would take to cost more.
| Team size | Memory | Disk | Cheapest plan that fits | Server | With backups and your time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| solo | 2.5 GB | 15.1 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 5 people | 2.6 GB | 15.2 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 10 people | 2.6 GB | 15.5 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 25 people | 2.9 GB | 16.2 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 50 people | 3.2 GB | 17.5 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 100 people | 4.0 GB | 20 GB | CX23 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $6.70 | $121 |
| 250 people | 6.2 GB | 27.5 GB | CX33 (cost-optimized) · Hetzner Cloud | $10.06 | $125 |
The sizing model for Lightdash
Builds on dbt metrics, so it only makes sense if a dbt project already exists. Where it does, the modelling work is already paid for.
- 2 GB of memory for the whole stack at rest, every container the project ships included.
- 12 MB more per active user, then 25% on top so the box is not running at its ceiling.
- 15 GB of disk to begin with, growing 0.05 GB per user.
- 2 vCPU. Carried through from the project's baseline and not scaled with team size, because for this workload memory is what runs out first.
The base figures are our estimate, derived from the services in the project's reference Docker Compose file, because it does not publish a minimum specification we could cite. The per-user increments are ours in every case. They are deliberately generous rather than optimistic: a comparison that undersizes the server flatters self-hosting.
Time, not just money
Lightdash is rated medium to operate, which in this model means about 6 hours to get it running properly the first time and 1.5 hours a month after that. At $75 an hour that is $450 once and $112 a month, which is usually the largest line in the whole calculation.
Where to put Lightdash
2.6 GB of memory and 15.5 GB of disk is what this needs at 10 people. The cheapest plan that fits, among the providers whose prices we have read ourselves, is the CX23 (cost-optimized) at Hetzner Cloud for $6.70 a month.
Go to Hetzner Cloud Compare hosts
We are not claiming this is the cheapest server on the internet. It is the cheapest one we can honestly quote. Vultr and PikaPods publish prices we could not read programmatically, and may well undercut it. Price them yourself before you commit.
Project facts
| Licence | Other not a standard open-source licence |
|---|---|
| Written in | TypeScript |
| GitHub stars | 6,134 |
| Open issues | 1,033 |
| Latest release | 2.203.0 |
| Last commit | 2026-09-11 |
| Repository checked | 2026-09-12 |
| Project | www.lightdash.com · lightdash/lightdash |
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