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Monetize Analytics with Subscription Tiers

Introduction​

Turn your embedded analytics into a revenue driver by offering different capabilities at each subscription tier. Basic users get view-only dashboards, Pro users can explore and customize, and Enterprise users get AI-powered insights.

PlanCapabilities
BasicView dashboards
ProView + Explore data
EnterpriseView + Explore + Ask AI

This approach lets you:

  • Create upsell opportunities: users see the value of higher tiers through feature limits
  • Match pricing to value: charge more for self-service exploration and AI
  • Reduce support load: higher-tier users answer their own questions

How it works​

Everything a tier can do is decided by the embed payload your backend signs, so gating features is a matter of building a different payload per plan:

  1. Which dashboards: objects.dashboards lists the dashboards for the plan
  2. Whether they can explore: including datasets in objects.datasets enables exploration; omitting them creates a view-only experience
  3. Whether they get Ask AI: settings.ai.enabled controls Ask AI access
Basic:      dashboards only                        → View only
Pro:        dashboards + datasets                  → View + Explore
Enterprise: dashboards + datasets + AI enabled     → View + Explore + Ask AI

Step-by-step implementation​

Step 1: Define the objects for each tier​

Map each plan to its dashboards and datasets. The key difference between Basic and Pro is whether you include datasets.

const PLAN_OBJECTS = {
  basic: {
    dashboards: ['overview_dashboard'],
    // No datasets = view-only experience
  },
  pro: {
    dashboards: ['overview_dashboard', 'sales_analytics', 'customer_insights'],
    datasets:   ['sales_data'],                     // Dataset enables exploration
  },
  enterprise: {
    dashboards: ['overview_dashboard', 'sales_analytics', 'customer_insights', 'executive_summary'],
    datasets:   ['sales_data', 'operations_data'],  // Datasets enable exploration and Ask AI
  },
};

Why datasets matter:

  • Without datasets, users can only view pre-built dashboards
  • With datasets, users can click into charts, change groupings, add filters, and save custom views
  • Ask AI also requires datasets to answer questions

Step 2: Build the payload from the plan​

Look up the user's plan, put the matching objects in the payload, and enable AI for Enterprise users.

function generateEmbedUrl(user) {
  const regionDomain = 'secure'; // Use 'us' or 'eu' for US/EU accounts. For custom domains, replace the full host.

  const payload = {
    objects: PLAN_OBJECTS[user.plan],
    embed_user_id: user.id,
    embed_org_id: user.orgId,
    settings: {
      ai: {
        enabled: user.plan === 'enterprise',  // Only Enterprise gets Ask AI
      }
    },
    exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
  };

  const token = jwt.sign(payload, EMBED_SECRET, { algorithm: 'HS256' });
  return `https://${regionDomain}.holistics.io/embed/${EMBED_KEY_ID}?_token=${token}`;
}

Step 3: Embed in your frontend​

The frontend code is the same regardless of tier. All the logic is in your backend.

<iframe
  src="<%= generateEmbedUrl(currentUser) %>"
  width="100%"
  height="600"
  frameborder="0"
></iframe>

Multi-tenant data isolation​

In a SaaS application, you'll also want each customer to see only their own data. Combine plan-based objects with row-level permissions using user_attributes.

function generateEmbedUrl(user) {
  const regionDomain = 'secure'; // Use 'us' or 'eu' for US/EU accounts. For custom domains, replace the full host.

  const payload = {
    objects: PLAN_OBJECTS[user.plan],
    embed_user_id: user.id,
    embed_org_id: user.orgId,
    user_attributes: {
      client_id: [user.clientId],  // Each client sees only their data
    },
    settings: {
      ai: {
        enabled: user.plan === 'enterprise',
      }
    },
    exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
  };

  const token = jwt.sign(payload, EMBED_SECRET, { algorithm: 'HS256' });
  return `https://${regionDomain}.holistics.io/embed/${EMBED_KEY_ID}?_token=${token}`;
}

This ensures:

  • Plan-based objects control which dashboards and features they get (based on subscription)
  • Row-level permissions control which data they see (based on their client or tenant ID)

For setup details, see the Row-level permissions guide.

Additional features by tier​

Beyond the core view/explore/AI progression, you can gate other features:

FeatureHow to enableTypical tier
Personal workspacepermissions.enable_personal_workspace: truePro+
Shared workspacepermissions.org_workspace_role: 'editor'Enterprise
Email subscriptionssettings.allow_data_subscribe: truePro+
Dashboard exportsettings.allow_dashboard_export: truePro+
function generateEmbedUrl(user) {
  const regionDomain = 'secure'; // Use 'us' or 'eu' for US/EU accounts. For custom domains, replace the full host.

  const payload = {
    objects: PLAN_OBJECTS[user.plan],
    embed_user_id: user.id,
    embed_org_id: user.orgId,
    permissions: {
      enable_personal_workspace: user.plan !== 'basic',
      org_workspace_role: user.plan === 'enterprise' ? 'editor' : 'no_access',
    },
    settings: {
      ai: { enabled: user.plan === 'enterprise' },
      allow_dashboard_export: user.plan !== 'basic',
      allow_data_subscribe: user.plan !== 'basic',
    },
    exp: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600,
  };

  const token = jwt.sign(payload, EMBED_SECRET, { algorithm: 'HS256' });
  return `https://${regionDomain}.holistics.io/embed/${EMBED_KEY_ID}?_token=${token}`;
}

Optional: Persist each tier as an Embed Portal​

If you'd rather your data team manage what each tier includes from inside Holistics, define one Embed Portal per tier (such as basic_portal and pro_portal) and set embed_portal: PLAN_PORTAL_MAP[user.plan] in the payload instead of listing objects.

Feature flags such as AI, exports, and workspaces stay in the payload either way, since they describe the viewer rather than the content.

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