Cube vs Mafl
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cube
Semantic layer and headless BI for building data apps
VS
Mafl
Minimalist customizable start page
| Feature | Cube | Mafl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20,572 | ★ 752 |
| First released | 2019 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Looker, AtScale | Heimdall |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Cube or Mafl better?
Neither is universally better. Cube has the larger community, while Mafl is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cube and Mafl free and open-source?
Yes. Cube is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mafl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cube and Mafl with Docker?
Cube: yes. Mafl: yes.