dbt Semantic Layer vs Synopsis Semantic Layer
dbt Semantic Layer
getdbt.comSynopsis Semantic Layer
getsynopsis.aiSide by side
| Figure | dbt Semantic Layer | Synopsis Semantic Layer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.09/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Semantic Layer Software | 9.2 (#2) | 6.9 (#25) |
| Founded | 2016 | 2024 |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California, United States | Chicago, Illinois |
| Integrations | The product page says the Semantic Layer offers an API, the dbt MCP Server, and dozens of out-of-the-box integrations for BI, notebooks, spreadsheets, embedded analytics, and AI systems. | The product page describes Excel and Google Sheets integrations, Slack access, MCP connections for AI tools, browser extension, SQL, API, and CSV or Excel exports. |
| Intended users | The product is presented for data teams seeking governed, consistent metrics for analytics, embedded applications, and AI use cases. | Synopsis describes its platform as built for business operators as well as data teams, with the aim of helping companies use data without months of engineering work. |
| Purpose | The Semantic Layer centralizes metric definitions on dbt models and automatically handles data joins for consistent use across downstream tools and applications. | Synopsis says its semantic layer learns company metric definitions from documents such as budgets, board decks, and reports, then enforces them across answers. |
| Support | The pricing page lists 24x5 support for Starter and priority support with SLAs for Enterprise. | The platform fee includes configuration and support with named contacts and response times; support level is one factor in pricing. |
Plans
dbt Semantic Layer
- DeveloperFree
- dbt State add-on$0.09 a month
- Starter$100 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Enterprise+Priced on request
In their own words
dbt Semantic Layer
The dbt Semantic Layer centralizes metric definitions on dbt models and handles joins so downstream tools and applications can use metrics consistently. MetricFlow generates SQL at query time from semantic model and metric configurations. Teams define those models and metrics in YAML as version-controlled, lineage-aware code. MetricFlow can optimize joins, rewrite queries to reduce compute and latency, and cache repeated queries. The product offers an API, the dbt MCP Server and integrations for BI tools, notebooks, spreadsheets, embedded analytics and AI systems. GraphQL and JDBC APIs and a Python SDK provide ways to query metrics and dimensions; Claude and ChatGPT can connect to governed metrics through the MCP server. Documented warehouse platforms include Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and Redshift. Defining and querying metrics requires a dbt Starter or Enterprise-tier account, and single-tenant accounts need account-representative setup and enablement. Starter includes 5,000 queried metrics per month; Enterprise and Enterprise+ each include 20,000. Starter costs $100 a month per user. The free Developer plan does not list the Semantic Layer.
Synopsis Semantic Layer
Synopsis Semantic Layer has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.