Semantic & metrics layers · dbt Labs

MetricFlow

Open-source engine that compiles YAML metric definitions into SQL, and powers the dbt Semantic Layer.

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MetricFlow is the query-construction engine behind the dbt Semantic Layer: metrics, dimensions and entities are defined once in YAML alongside dbt models, and MetricFlow compiles requests for them into the correct SQL against the warehouse, handling joins and aggregation so every consumer gets the same number. It originated at Transform, a company dbt Labs acquired in 2023, and is distributed on its own as an Apache-2.0 Python package that can be run and queried locally. Used standalone it is a free command-line and Python tool; querying the same metric definitions in production from BI tools, notebooks or AI agents at scale requires the hosted dbt Semantic Layer, part of the paid dbt platform (see the separate dbt record). It does not replace dbt's transformation layer, only the last step of turning modeled tables into governed metrics.

At a glance

Vendor dbt Labs
Pricing model Open source + paid options
Free tier Yes
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted
Open source Yes (Apache-2.0)
Best for Analytics engineers already on dbt who want one governed metric definition queried consistently everywhere.

Pricing

MetricFlow itself is free, open-source Python; serving its metrics in production through the hosted dbt Semantic Layer requires a paid dbt platform plan.

Pricing has not been verified yet — see the vendor's site.

Features

  • Metrics, dimensions and entities defined as YAML alongside dbt models
  • Compiles metric requests into warehouse SQL automatically
  • Handles joins, aggregation and time-granularity conversion
  • Command-line interface for local querying and validation
  • Python API for embedding in other tools
  • Powers the dbt Semantic Layer's API and BI integrations
  • Consistent metric definitions across dashboards, notebooks and agents

Integrations

Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026

Head to head

Alternatives

Honeydew Snowflake-native semantic layer that compiles governed metric and dimension definitions for BI tools and AI agents. Cube Open-source headless semantic layer that defines metrics once and serves them via SQL, REST, and GraphQL APIs to any BI tool or app. AtScale Universal semantic layer that models metrics once on top of a cloud data warehouse and exposes them to any BI tool without data movement.

MetricFlow in the index now

Terms to know

Semantic layer A layer that defines business metrics and dimensions once, centrally, so every tool and report uses the same numbers. Data modeling The practice of organizing data into entities, relationships and schemas that make it accurate and efficient to query. dbt (data build tool) An open-source tool from dbt Labs that lets analytics teams write data transformations as version-controlled, tested SQL. Business intelligence (BI) The practice of turning company data into dashboards, reports and metrics that guide business decisions.

Related guides

How to choose a semantic layer Semantic layers differ by where they sit relative to the warehouse and who they serve — one BI tool, every BI tool, an app, or an AI agent.