vs
MetricDash vs. Databox: Pay Per Client Instead of Per Data Source
Prices verified: July 2026 · All figures without warranty — the providers’ official pricing pages are authoritative
Looking for a Databox alternative because your bill grows with every new data source? You're not alone. Databox counts every connection individually: a client with GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, and Meta Ads takes up four sources. At 10 clients, that's quickly 40 connections – and the $159 base price (Agency Pro) turns into roughly $225–265 a month in practice, and that's with annual prepayment (as of July 2026). Pay monthly, and you add 25% on top.
MetricDash flips the model: you pay per client account – never per data source, dashboard, or connection. 10 clients cost €302/month, whether each client has one source connected or six. Client portals with dedicated logins, budget alerts, and automatic reports are included, not add-ons. And you don't build dashboards: every client automatically gets a ready-made view with normalized metrics across every platform.
MetricDash's founder runs an agency himself and walked straight into this connection trap. That's why we compare honestly here – with verified prices from Databox's official pricing page (as of July 2026) and a section on the cases where Databox is the better choice for you.
MetricDash vs. Databox at a glance
| MetricDash | Databox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per client account, unlimited data sources. One price per client, done. | Per data-source connection, plus two separate pricing tracks (Business/Agency), add-ons, AI credits, and sync-frequency tiers. |
| Entry price for agencies | Agency from €99/month, 3 client accounts included (launch price). | Agency Starter $79/month with annual billing – maximum 5 client accounts, only 3 sources included. |
| Cost at 10 clients | €302/month fixed – every source and every feature included. | ≈ $225–265/month (annual billing, depending on sources per client); monthly billing +25%, white-label +$14. |
| Cost at 30 clients | €682/month, predictable and independent of source count. | ≈ $380–695/month (annual billing) – the range depends on how many sources your clients connect. |
| Free tier & trial | Free plan with 1 client account (30 days of data history, MetricDash branding); 14-day full-version trial with no credit card. Currently fully free during the open alpha. | Free plan with 3 connections, 1 dashboard, 1 user, daily refresh – enough for exactly one small client. |
| Client portal & report branding | Client portals with dedicated logins for clients included; reports carry your agency logo. | White-label only as a $14/month add-on. |
| Budget alerts | Budget monitoring with alerts at 80%/100% of monthly budget plus spend anomaly detection – included. | Not listed as a dedicated ad-budget feature on the official pricing page (as of July 2026). |
| Data source limit | Unlimited per client account – GA4 + Search Console + Google Ads + Meta Ads cost nothing extra. | Every connection counts: 1 account/property = 1 source. Extra sources $2.40/month (Agency track, annual) or $5.60–7 (Business track). |
| Billing | In euros – no exchange-rate surprises on your card. | In US dollars; exchange-rate swings and, in some cases, foreign-currency fees come on top. |
| Commitment & cancellation | Monthly pricing, no annual contract. | The best prices require annual billing; monthly billing costs a 25% surcharge. |
Feature-by-feature comparison
| MetricDash | Databox | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-made dashboards, zero setup | templates — you build it yourself | |
| Client portals with their own login | on the Agency plan | sub-accounts on Agency-tier plans only |
| Automated report emails | ||
| Shareable report links with your logo | ||
| Budget alerts (80% / 100%) | goal alerts, no budget pacing | |
| Ad spend anomaly detection | metric alerts, not ad-budget specific | |
| Lead tracking with cost per lead | ||
| PageSpeed monitoring | ||
| Every feature on every paid plan | client portals on the Agency plan only | features are heavily tiered by plan |
| Billing in euros |
✓ included · − partial or limited · ✕ not offered. Assessment based on Databox’s public product and pricing pages, as of July 2026 — without warranty.
Where Databox gets structurally expensive or impractical
One source = one account – and your typical client has four
At Databox, every connected property counts individually: GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, and Meta Ads are four sources, not one. A typical agency setup with 10 clients means roughly 40 connections. The $159 Agency Pro base price turns into $225–265/month in practice, and $380–695 at 30 clients (annual billing, as of July 2026). Every new client and every additional platform pushes the bill higher – your growth gets metered right along with you.
Two pricing tracks, add-ons, AI credits: hard to calculate
Databox runs separate Business and Agency tracks. If you end up on the Business track as an agency, you pay $5.60–7 instead of $2.40 per extra source – roughly double. Add white-label as a $14 add-on, AI credits, and tiering by sync frequency. With many connections, custom sales quotes can run into four figures. What you actually pay at year's end isn't on any pricing table.
Annual contract or a 25% surcharge
The advertised Databox prices only apply with annual prepayment. Monthly billing costs 25% more – the $225–265 for 10 clients becomes roughly $280–330. Billing also runs in US dollars, meaning exchange-rate risk for DACH agencies and, depending on the card, foreign-currency fees.
You build the dashboards yourself – per client, often more than once
Databox is a dashboard-building kit: powerful, but you have to create, populate, and maintain every client dashboard yourself. At 10, 20, or 30 clients, that adds up to onboarding and maintenance work that never shows up on any invoice. MetricDash instead delivers a ready-made view per client with normalized metrics across every platform – there's simply nothing to build.
What MetricDash does differently
One price per client – unlimited data sources
The Agency plan (from €99/month, launch price as of July 2026) includes 3 client accounts, then €29 per account (accounts 4–10) and €19 from the 11th account onward. 10 clients = €302, 20 clients = €492, 30 clients = €682. Whether a client connects one data source or six changes nothing about the bill – there's no connection metering.
Built by an agency owner who's felt the trap firsthand
MetricDash's founder runs a marketing agency himself and has seen firsthand how per-connection reporting costs explode with every client. That's exactly why MetricDash bills per client – the pricing model is the answer to a problem the founder paid for himself, not a pricing experiment.
Client portals with no surcharge
Your clients get their own logins and can check their numbers themselves at any time. That noticeably cuts down on 'how's the campaign doing right now?' emails. At Databox, white-label costs $14/month as an add-on (as of July 2026); at MetricDash, client portals simply come with the Agency plan, and your reports carry your agency logo – no per-client surcharge.
No dashboards to build – one view per client
Google Ads (including MCC manager accounts), Meta Ads, GA4, and Search Console come together in a single view per client, with normalized metrics across every platform. You onboard a new client in minutes instead of spending an afternoon dragging widgets.
Reporting and monitoring run automatically
Scheduled automatic report emails, shareable report links as frozen snapshots (valid for 30 days), budget alerts at 80% and 100% of monthly budget, spend anomaly detection, webhook-based lead tracking, and PageSpeed monitoring – all included in the plan, with no add-ons or credits.
When Databox is the better choice
- You need integrations beyond performance marketing: Databox has a considerably larger catalog of data sources (CRM, e-commerce, SEO tools, and more). MetricDash currently covers Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, and Search Console – LinkedIn Ads and TikTok Ads are planned but not yet available.
- You want freely built dashboards and your own custom metrics: Databox is a powerful building kit with individually calculated KPIs. If you specifically need that flexibility and can budget the build time, you'll get more design freedom there than in MetricDash's fixed client view.
- You manage 30+ clients with very few sources per client: then Databox Agency Pro ($159/month, unlimited client accounts, annual billing) can come in cheaper at the low end of its range (≈ $380) than MetricDash's €682 at 30 clients. Run both models honestly against your specific setup.
FAQ
What does Databox cost for an agency with 10 clients?
About $225–265/month with annual prepayment, depending on how many sources (GA4, Search Console, Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.) each client connects (as of July 2026). Monthly billing adds a 25% surcharge, so roughly $280–330, plus another $14 for white-label. MetricDash costs €302/month for 10 clients – fixed, in euros, with client portals, alerts, and unlimited data sources included.
Isn't Databox with annual billing cheaper than MetricDash?
On paper, it can look that way at 10 clients. But run the full comparison: an annual contract with prepayment, +25% for monthly billing, the white-label add-on, USD billing – and above all, the Databox bill keeps growing with every additional source. At MetricDash, the price per client is the final price. As soon as your clients use multiple platforms or you grow, the math tips toward MetricDash.
Is MetricDash free?
There's a permanent free plan with 1 client account, 30 days of data history, manual report links, and MetricDash branding. You can try paid plans free for 14 days, no credit card required. We're also currently in open alpha – during this phase, MetricDash is fully free to use.
Do I pay extra for data sources or client portals at MetricDash?
No. MetricDash bills per client account, never per connection, data source, or dashboard – you can connect unlimited sources per client. Budget alerts, automatic reports, and anomaly detection are included in the paid plans; client portals with dedicated client logins are part of the Agency plan. At Databox, extra sources cost $2.40/month (Agency track, annual) and white-label costs $14/month (as of July 2026).
How do I switch from Databox to MetricDash?
Connect your client accounts via OAuth: Google Ads (including via MCC manager accounts), Meta Ads, GA4, and Search Console. You don't need to rebuild dashboards – MetricDash automatically generates a normalized-metrics view per client. The easiest approach is to run both tools in parallel for a few weeks (currently free during the open alpha) and cancel Databox at the end of your term. Note: with annual prepayment, you're locked in there until the contract ends.
Which integrations does MetricDash offer?
Google Ads (including MCC manager accounts), Meta Ads, Google Analytics 4, and Google Search Console. LinkedIn Ads and TikTok Ads are planned. If you need sources like CRM or e-commerce data in reports today, Databox with its larger integration catalog is currently the better fit — see the section above.
Looking for a Databox alternative?
Currently in open alpha: every feature free, connect unlimited clients, no credit card required.
Start for free →