OSI-licensed only · self-hostable
Crystal Reports is a proprietary, pixel-perfect reporting tool. Open-source options divide into embeddable report engines and self-service BI tools.
Every tool below is under an OSI-approved licence (LGPL-3.0, EPL-2.0, MIT, Apache-2.0, AGPL-3.0, BSD-2-Clause), checked against its repository. QuestPDF is listed separately because its licence is community-and-commercial.
Licences checked against each repository on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Licence | Runs as |
|---|---|---|---|
| JasperReports Library | Embeddable Java report engine | LGPL-3.0 | Server |
| BIRT | Report designer and runtime | EPL-2.0 | Desktop + server |
| FastReport Open Source | Reports in .NET apps | MIT | Server |
| Seal Report | Self-hosted .NET reporting | MIT | Server |
| Apache Superset | Dashboards and exploration | Apache-2.0 | Docker |
| Metabase | Self-service analytics | AGPL-3.0 | Docker |
| Redash | SQL-first dashboards | BSD-2-Clause | Docker |
Best for: Embeddable Java report engine
A Java reporting library that builds reports from any data source and exports them to formats such as PDF, HTML and Excel.
Best for: Report designer and runtime
An open-source reporting and data visualisation project from the Eclipse Foundation.
Best for: Reports in .NET apps
A free, open-source reporting tool for .NET that lets applications generate document-style reports. The MIT licence does not cover the FastReport Designer Community Edition.
Best for: Self-hosted .NET reporting
A self-hosted .NET tool that converts relational and NoSQL data into reports, graphs and automated outputs.
Best for: Dashboards and exploration
A data visualisation and data exploration platform.
Best for: Self-service analytics
An open-source analytics tool that lets people across a company query and visualise data without writing SQL. The open-source edition is AGPL-3.0; commercial editions use a separate licence.
Best for: SQL-first dashboards
A browser-based tool for connecting to many data sources, then querying, visualising, dashboarding and sharing results.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Printable, paginated reports | JasperReports or BIRT |
| Reports in .NET apps | FastReport Open Source or Seal Report |
| Dashboards | Superset |
| Self-service for non-technical users | Metabase |
| SQL-first sharing | Redash |
Public source code, but under licences the Open Source Initiative doesn't approve. Fine to use; read the terms first.
Source is public, but free use is limited by organisation revenue and type, so it is not OSI-approved.
Quick answers to common questions
Crystal Reports is proprietary. JasperReports and BIRT are the closest open-source report engines.
FastReport Open Source and Seal Report are .NET tools under MIT.
These tools do not advertise direct .rpt import, so reports usually need rebuilding.
The open-source edition is AGPL-3.0, while commercial editions use a separate commercial licence.
For dashboards, yes. For pixel-perfect printed reports, use a report engine instead.
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