Vanna AI
The SQL agent
Overview
Vanna AI sits between your database and whoever needs answers from it, translating plain-English questions into SQL and running them for you. It's open source at its core, which means you can self-host it for free and point it at your own model of choice, whether that's Claude, GPT, Gemini, or something running locally through Ollama. It supports the databases most teams actually use, including Snowflake and BigQuery, and adds access control so it's not just a wide-open query tool with no guardrails.
It's aimed at teams that want a self-serve analytics layer without training every stakeholder to write SQL, and at engineers who'd rather host their own SQL agent than pay for a fully managed one. The self-hosted route is genuinely free, but the hosted cloud version jumps straight to $50 a month for Explorer, capped at 20 questions a day, then $500 a month for Team at 300 questions a day. That's a steep gap for anyone who wants managed hosting without enterprise-scale usage.
Key Features
Natural Language to SQL: Ask questions in plain English and get back working SQL queries.
Multi-Database Support: Works across SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, and BigQuery.
Multi-LLM Choice: Connects to Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, or self-hosted Ollama models.
Access Control and Observability: Row-level access rules and logging of what agents queried.
Agent Memory: A hosted vector database lets the agent hold context across multi-turn conversations.
Self-Hosting Option: Full open source deployment for teams that need data to stay in-house.
Pricing
Starting price
$50/mo (Explorer plan); free and open source for self-hosting
Open Source (Free): $0. Full self-hosted deployment, bring your own model and infrastructure.
Explorer: $50/month. 20 questions/day, admin features, API access, same-day email support, suited to small teams of 2-3.
Team: $500/month. 300 questions/day, setup support, same-day live support.
Enterprise: Custom pricing. Unlimited questions, on-premises deployment, SAML SSO, admin API, advanced integrations.
Disclaimer: pricing may change, confirm on Vanna AI's own pricing page before buying. Annual billing reportedly gets a 20% discount.
Pros
Open Source Core: Free to self-host with full control over data and model choice.
Broad Database Support: Covers the major warehouses and databases teams actually run.
Model Flexibility: Not locked into one AI provider, including local model support via Ollama.
Built-In Access Control: Query access can be governed rather than left wide open.
Cons
Steep Jump to Hosted: The cheapest hosted plan is $50/month for just 20 questions a day, a big leap from the free self-hosted option.
Large Gap Between Tiers: Explorer to Team jumps from $50 to $500 a month, with nothing in between.
Self-Hosting Takes Effort: The free route requires real setup and ongoing maintenance, it's not a one-click product for non-technical users.
What Makes It Unique
Open Source With Model Choice: Fully self-hostable and free, with the flexibility to plug in any supported LLM including local models, rather than being locked to one vendor's hosted stack.
Kay Score
7
/ 10
Tool Information
Pricing
$50/mo (Explorer plan); free and open source for self-hosting
Category
Coding & Development
Platform
Web / iOS / Android
Last Updated
