Google Analytics vs. Microsoft Power BI

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Analytics
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Analytics is perhaps the best-known web analytics product and, as a free product, it has massive adoption. Although it lacks some enterprise-level features compared to its competitors in the space, the launch of the paid Google Analytics Premium edition seems likely to close the gap.
$0
per month
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.
$10
per month per user
Pricing
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Editions & Modules
Google Analytics 360
150,000
per year
Google Analytics
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Considered Both Products
Google Analytics
Chose Google Analytics
Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics 360 are both paid/premium options for website tracking. Though there are certain use cases when these might make sense (you operate entirely in the Adobe suite, you're a massive company/site that doesn’t mind the price tag on Google …
Chose Google Analytics
Google Analytics is plausible for tracking the number of users visiting the areas of the site. It is also well suited for mobile applications and figuring out how many impressions there are. It is perfect for our marketing department where we want to track the website traffic …
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
They all offer a free trial with free versions available, but for enterprise installation and support and overall cost per user, we decided to try out Microsoft BI. Microsoft BI offers predictive analytics as well as data prep tools which Google Analytics does not offer. Power …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI from a price perspective is the lowest cost (probably even from a total cost of ownership perspective) of all the offerings I have ever evaluated. The piece that really stands out for Power BI is the data transformation layer called Power Query. This section allows you …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
We selected Microsoft Power BI because it was the easiest to integrate with our primary systems, allowed us to embed reports for our partners, allowed us to host our data and some reports on premise. It also provided the shortest route to production deployment allowing us to …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
SPSS is a tool more focused in establishing relationships among different variables, in a given database. By being so, it has some specific commands that allow you to easily do regression analysis, ANOVAs, segment a sample, and so on. However, Power BI is much more developed in …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI, Tableau, and QlikView are the market leaders when analyzed on Gartner`s magic quadrant for business intelligence tool. One of the critical drawbacks of all these visionary tools is the absence or expensive back end that are needed to support the infrastructure. …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Much easier learning curve and integration with Microsoft Office gives it a leg up. People not knowing they have it, believe it or not, is limiting it's usage. Microsoft really needs to market it!
Chose Microsoft Power BI
I thought the learning curve of Power BI was much easier than some of the other tools that I had tried. There were pieces that were not as robust, but nothing that was a show stopper for my needs.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft's Power BI is what Excel graphing and pivoting should have been like. Power BI has much better ways to look at your data visually than you can with Excel's own tools. You can select from many built-in graph types or you can use the growing number of add-ons to get …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.3
138 Ratings
12% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings6.6118 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.1138 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings7.3126 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.1
139 Ratings
13% below category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings7.3138 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings6.5137 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.6102 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings7.0134 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
133 Ratings
7% below category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings8.2128 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.2121 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings7.3101 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.6103 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings6.973 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.6
135 Ratings
6% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings7.6130 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings7.9121 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.5101 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.2
126 Ratings
5% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings8.2120 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.8102 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.3110 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.694 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
117 Ratings
1% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.0111 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings7.493 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.5112 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.4
80 Ratings
6% above category average
REST API00 Ratings8.172 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings9.556 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings8.055 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings7.946 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings8.263 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.344 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Small Businesses
StatCounter
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Score 9.0 out of 10
BrightGauge
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Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Siteimprove
Siteimprove
Score 8.7 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Contentsquare
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Score 8.6 out of 10
TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(183 ratings)
8.0
(140 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(51 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.9
(8 ratings)
8.9
(56 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(42 ratings)
8.0
(52 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Google Analytics is particularly well suited for tracking and analyzing customer behavior on a grocery e-commerce platform. It provides a wealth of information about customer behavior, including what products are most popular, what pages are visited the most, and where customers are coming from. This information can help the platform optimize its website for better customer engagement and conversion rates. However, Google Analytics may not be the best tool for more advanced, granular analysis of customer behavior, such as tracking individual customer journeys or understanding customer motivations. In these cases, it may be more appropriate to use additional tools or solutions that provide deeper insights into customer behavior.
Read full review
Microsoft
In operations we use the tool for many different topics, from factory quality systems to high level reviews. We have created kind of an internal "App Store" based on Power BI where you have a lot of different dashboards for different solutions (cost, cash, health and safety, sales, factories, distribution centers...) and you as an user just need to get in that "App Store" and enter in whatever tool can be useful for you. It is open to all the operations employees and can use on demand. Also it has raised the imagination of our colleagues, as they are not only working by themselves creating new reports, but also raising fantastic ideas that can be extended for the usage of all the community.
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • Multiple reports to see website use and behavior
  • Allows you to customize reports with days, weeks, months, and years
  • You can build out a dashboard to easily view stats from multiple websites in one place
  • You can share analytics reports via the dashboard, automatically emailed PDFs or in other formats
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Quickly filter and view granular data sets with easily configurable reporting figures.
  • The ability to quickly switch between tabs allows for historical data comparisons and progress tracking.
  • It's helpful to dive into the data and break it down from high levels to small.
  • Achieve actionable insights faster by using real-time data. It's incredible to have online access to reports.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Data sampling is somewhat inaccurate on the free tier - this is addressed in premium but is expensive.
  • Some of the UI is very similar in naming when presenting different data, some in-situ information might be useful.
  • Gotchas around filtering and data validation.
  • Implementation can be tricky, it can take a lot of time and expertise to get a full, accurate picture of your metrics.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • The desktop app is great but needs a lot of performance improvements
  • No MacOS Version for the Desktop app, this is a big limitation for business since executives prefer Macs
  • Premium Cloud Version of Power BI is awfully expensive
  • On-Premise Version of the Power BI Reports Server is bundled only with SQL Server Enterprise License and cannot be purchased separately and requires Software Assurance Subscription
  • On-Premise Power BI Report Server doesn't support ADFS, AzureAD or any Claims-Based authentication platform, a sad disadvantage for enterprises
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
We will continue to use Google Analytics for several reasons. It is free, which is a huge selling point. It houses all of our ecommerce stores' data, and though it can't account for refunds or fraud orders, gives us and our clients directional, real time information on individual and group store performance.
Read full review
Microsoft
I find it helpful and easy to use
Read full review
Usability
Google
Google Analytics provides a wealth of data, down to minute levels. That is it's greatest detriment: find the right information when you need it can be a cumbersome task. You are able to create shortcuts, however, so it can mitigate some of this problem. Google is continually refining Analytics, so I do not doubt there will be improvements
Read full review
Microsoft
At this point, I think we all know who has taken the lead in the business intelligence and analytics market worldwide. With fresh new updates every other day on top of an already robustly built product with all features that one can dream of is a no brainer, I feel. Microsoft will invariably be synonymous with quality and professionalism.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Google
We all know Google is at top when it comes to availability. We have never faced any such instances where I can suggest otherwise. All you need is a Google account, a device and internet connection to use this super powerful tool for reporting and visualising your site data, traffic, events, etc. that too in real time.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Google
This has been a catalyst for improving our site's traffic handling capabilities. We were able to identify exit% from our sites through it and we used recommendations to handle and implement the same in our sites. We have been increasing the usage of Google Analytics in our sites and never had any performance related issues if we used Analytics
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
The Google reps respond very quickly. However, sometimes they can overly call you to set up an apportionment. I'm very proficient and sometimes when I talk to reps, they give beginner tutorials and insights that are a waste of time. I wish Google would understand my level of expertise and assign me to a rep (long-term) that doesn't have to walk me through the basics.
Read full review
Microsoft
I can't really speak to the support overall, [but] I will say that in the almost three years I have used the system, I have only needed to contact their support team once. I think the team was helpful, but it did take some time for us to resolve the issues/ request that they had. I guess the good news is that the system is pretty stable, and I personally have rarely needed to contact their technical support team.
Read full review
Online Training
Google
love the product and training they provide for businesses of all sizes. The following list of links will help you get started with Google Analytics from setup to understanding what data is being presented by Google Analytics.
  1. How to Use Google Analytics for Beginners – Mahalo’s how-to guide for beginners.
  2. A beginner’s guide to Google Analytics – A free eBook walking you through Google Analytics from setup to understanding what data is being presented.
  3. Getting to Know Your Google Analytics Dashboard – The title says it all! This is a brief post with one goal: to introduce you to the Google Analytics dashboard.
  4. Google Analytics for Beginners: How to Make the Most of Your Traffic Reports– This guide doesn’t cover setup, but it does a great job of helping you to better understand the data being presented.
  5. Google Analytics Video Tutorial 1: Setup – A video presentation that walks you through Google Analytics setup.
  6. Google Analytics Video Tutorial 2: Essential Stats – A video presentation that introduces you to some of the most important data being presented in Google Analytics.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Google
I think my biggest take away from the Google Analytics implementation was that there needs to be a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it before you start. Originally the analytics were added to track visitors, but as we became more savvy with the product, we began adding more and more functionality, and defining guidelines as we went along. While not detrimental to our success, this lack of an overarching goal resulted in some minor setbacks in implementation and the collection of some messy data that is unusable.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Google
I have not used Adobe Analytics as much, but I know they offer something called customer journey analytics, which we are evaluating now. I have used Semrush, and I find them much better than Google Analytics. I feel a fairly nontechnical person could learn Semrush in about a month. They also offer features like competitive analysis (on content, keywords, traffic, etc.), which is very useful. If you have to choose one among Semrush and Google Analytics, I would say go for Semrush.
Read full review
Microsoft
[Microsoft] Power BI is practical and effective, like a hammer for a nail, it is easy to use and produces very quickly the results that in most cases are urgently required by clients (nice reports to share on the web). To start using [Microsoft] Power BI you need a business email address, with that you create an account in Power BI Service and in less than 1 hour you will have installed Power BI Desktop, a report will have been created and it will have been published on the web .
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Scalability
Google
Google Analytics is currently handling the reporting and tracking of near about 80 sites in our project. And I am not talking about the sites from different projects. They may have way more accounts than that. Never ever felt a performance issue from Google's end while generating or customising reports or tracking custom events or creating custom dimensions
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Google
  • It has helped us gain understanding of what is going on on our website.
  • It has helped us determine areas that need fixing (i.e. pages with extremely high bounce rates may need to be redone).
  • It has helped us understand our biggest avenues for bringing traffic to the website and business in general.
  • It has helped guide our website redesign.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • It helps us track and achieve company goals.
  • It shows us [our] performance in areas we could not previously track and allows us to see and work on how to improve their performance.
  • Quick easy access for executives to use in helping teams and addressing issues.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Microsoft Power BI Screenshots

Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Turns insights into impact for business usersScreenshot of Power BI integrates easily with Microsoft 365Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - AI-Powered CapabilitiesScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Copilot can be used to create reportsScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Data HubScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Scales as organizational needs grow