You had business metrics scattered across three or four tools. Revenue in the invoicing platform. Website traffic in Google Analytics. Leads sitting in the CRM. You wanted one screen where the numbers you care about were all visible without switching between tabs.
You searched for a dashboard tool. Databox came up. Good reviews. A free plan with a few data sources. You connected your accounts and built a view.
The free plan worked for a while. Then you needed more data sources, or more users, or the metrics disappeared behind a paywall. You moved to a paid plan. Now you are paying A$70 to A$135 a month for a reporting platform.
The One Thing Your Business Actually Opened Databox For
A dashboard. Key numbers visible on one screen without logging into four separate tools.
That is the job most small businesses hired Databox to do. And Databox does it.
It also does Scorecard emails sent automatically to stakeholders. Goal tracking with performance targets. Anomaly alerts when a metric deviates from the expected range. Benchmark data comparing your numbers against industry peers. White-label client reporting for agencies managing multiple accounts. AI-generated commentary on your data.
You pay for all of it. Most small businesses opened one view.
- Connections to 100+ data sources via integrations
- Automated scorecard emails to stakeholders
- Goal tracking and target comparison
- Performance alerts and anomaly detection
- Benchmark data against industry peers
- White-label client reporting
- Unlimited dashboards across accounts
- AI-generated analysis and commentary
- Key metrics visible on one screen
- Data from their own systems or exports
- Numbers that refresh when the page loads
- Access for the whole team without per-user cost
Who Databox Is Actually Built For
Databox is a serious platform for marketing agencies running client reporting across multiple accounts. Teams that need automated scorecards emailed to stakeholders each week. Businesses tracking performance against defined goals with alerts when metrics fall outside the expected range. The platform is built for performance management at scale.
If your business is a small team that wanted revenue, traffic, and leads on one screen, Databox is built for a different customer. You are using one feature of a platform designed for a reporting operation. You are paying for the reporting operation you do not have.
What the Data Source Question Actually Means
Databox earns its subscription by pulling live data from dozens of external tools automatically. That is the product: live API connections that keep your dashboard current without any manual work on your part.
A custom Merebase dashboard works differently. It reads from your own database, or from data exports your business already produces: spreadsheets and CSV files. If your revenue figures live in a database your business controls, a Merebase dashboard can read from that directly. If you export a weekly report from your invoicing tool, the dashboard can read from that file.
The distinction matters. If your data lives in your own systems or can be exported as a file, a Merebase dashboard is a straightforward build. If you need live API connections to a dozen external platforms pulling in real time, that is a different scope and needs separate discussion. A Merebase dashboard is not a direct Databox replacement for every use case. It is the right fit when your data is yours to work with directly.
What a Merebase reporting dashboard Includes
A Merebase dashboard is built around the metrics your business actually tracks. You describe the numbers you want on screen, where they come from, and how you want them arranged. The dashboard is built to show exactly that.
What a Merebase reporting dashboard includes:
A dashboard showing your key metrics, reading from your own database or data exports. Numbers refresh automatically when the page loads. Your layout and your labels. Accessible to your whole team. No per-user fee. A$499 once. You bring your own hosting. A basic plan runs A$5 to A$20 a month.
There is no scorecard email system you will never configure. No goal-tracking module. No benchmark comparison panel. The dashboard shows your numbers. Nothing else crowds the screen.
Your Data Does Not Have to Stay Inside a Subscription
The reason most people stay on Databox is that their dashboard is already set up. Changing feels like starting again.
Most businesses exporting data from their own tools already have the raw material for a Merebase dashboard. The data does not live in Databox. It lives in your invoicing platform, your CRM, your database. Databox is a lens on top of it. A Merebase dashboard is a different lens, built once, with no ongoing subscription attached to it.
Once the dashboard lives in your own hosting, the numbers stay there. No platform can reprice access to them, limit the number of users who can view them, or retire the integration your dashboard depends on.
The Maths
Databox Professional runs around A$70 to A$135 a month depending on the plan and the number of data sources. A small business on a mid-tier plan paying A$100 a month for three years spends A$3,600 to see the same numbers on one screen.