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Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) vs. Tableau Desktop

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Universal Analytics was an enterprise-level analytics solution that was sunset in July of 2024.

    $150,000

    Up to 1 Billion hits/month

    Tableau Desktop

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ATableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.

    $1,380

    per year (purchased via a Creator license)

    Pricing
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Editions & Modules
    Google Analytics Premium
    $150,000
    Up to 1 Billion hits/month
    Google Analytics
    Free
    Tableau Creator License
    $115
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—All pricing plans are billed annually. A Creator license includes Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and Tableau Pulse. Discounts sometimes available for volume.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Tableau
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    It is a much lighter, easier to understand tool that can be used by anyone, even non tech people. Also, it doesn't need a Microsoft suite or Oracle suite or any other tools to operate it, unlike other tools. But it is good till the basic reporting. For deep level analytics …
    Incentivized
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    Tableau was already widely utilised at the point which I joined the organisation. Depending on how you have your site set up for tracking, Data Studio 360 (GA) is looking like a more effective solution for up to the minute results, and the beta interface has a similar look and …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    34 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    52 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    26 Answers
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    50 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    32 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    55 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    27 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    38 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    44 Answers
    Features
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Web Analytics
    Comparison of Web Analytics features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    6.9
    1 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    -
    Ratings
    Lead Conversion Tracking7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device and Browser Reporting1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pageview Tracking7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Event Tracking8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting in real-time10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Referral Source Tracking10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Dashboards5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    175 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.0145 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.2174 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.1151 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    172 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.6167 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities00 Ratings8.6170 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings8.1126 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.6165 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    166 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Publish to Web00 Ratings8.1155 Ratings
    Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.2154 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings8.6120 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.6128 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.978 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    8.4
    164 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.7162 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.6156 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings8.7131 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.87 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    9.1
    149 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.1145 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.1125 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.9136 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.110 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.383 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    7.9
    141 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.6130 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings7.5101 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.5122 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Google Universal Analytics (discontinued) and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Tableau Desktop
    7.7
    67 Ratings
    1% below category average
    REST API00 Ratings8.459 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings7.653 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings6.751 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings8.048 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.154 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.448 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Small Businesses
    Matomo Analytics
    Score9 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Lead Forensics
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Chartbeat
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (55 ratings)
    9.1
    (204 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    7.5
    (41 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    8.4
    (73 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (23 ratings)
    1.0
    (57 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.4
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.0
    (34 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.4
    (115 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.9
    (115 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Universal Analytics (discontinued)Tableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    As I have discussed previously their insights were very useful. The second thing is since it is a Google product you will connect the data very easily from other platforms like Bigquery, Google Drive, etc. and even you can connect Google marketing platform. through this tool, you can track your live campaign how they were performing, and how it will be engaging your customer as well.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • It is an excellent cloud analytics platform that is easy to install and configure and easy to deploy and use, allowing us to measure web traffic and other tools.
    • It is an entirely online tool; it does not take up hard disk space like other desktop tools.
    • Since this tool is draggable, Google is constantly adding more features.
    • Even beginners who do not have a custom dashboard can get information. If there is a problem somewhere on the site that needs to be investigated, Google Analytics 360 will notify you.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
    • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • Generally I think there is a lot you can do within the tool, but as it is a Google product it means there is limited support - something which I think lets all of the platform stacks down
    • There could be more visual signifiers to identify if a feature is a normal or 360 feature. This would mean you can really get to grips with what the extra more advanced elements are
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
    • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
    • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Discontinued Products
    Google Analytics 360 is an upgraded version of the most widely used web/app analytics tracking tools in the market. The price is stable and predictable making it a long-term product of choice. It's easy to use and pairs so well with other Google Marketing Platform products.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    The UI is very easy to navigate and use. The features are well designed and intuitive. As long as the user has a good understanding of basic digital analytics definitions and capabilities, this tool should be quite easy to use. I consider Google Analytics Premium to be the easiest of all of the enterprise solutions out there to use.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    If you purchase Premium through a reseller like LunaMetrics, you are going to be taken care of. The additional amount of support and services that a reseller provides to make sure you have the best experience with the product is the reason why the reseller program exists to begin with. Support doesn't have to be just reactive, it can be proactive as well.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Discontinued Products
    There is a ton of information online about Google Analytics, but Google Analytics Premium users will have dedicated support and training from Google or an Authorized Reseller.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Discontinued Products
    If you already have the basic version of GA installed, "getting" GA Premium happens immediately through a virtual flipping of the switch - no need to re-implement. You'll want to expand your use of custom dimensions and metrics (you get 10x the amount with Premium). Ideally, you'll be using a tag management solution to talk with GA Premium, in concert with implementing a dataLayer (to note, Google's Tag Manager platform is covered under the same GA Premium SLA, and it's free). There are some welcomed "configurations" with GA Premium, such as integrating with DoubleClick products, activating data driven attribution models, and building roll-up executive reports - but all of these are easy point and click solutions. In comparison with any other enterprise analytics solution, implementing GA and GA Premium is traditionally easier and more flexible. And if you have any trouble or need an extra set of hands for implementation, GA Certified Partners like LunaMetrics can help
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    Unless you have very complex and edge case analytics needs, Google Analytics [360 (formerly Google Analytics Premium)] is likely going to be the best choice. From both a cost and usability stand point, Google wins. Adobe has the edge case when you need to create really custom reports, dimensions, metrics, etc. In my experience, this is rarely the case and you end up biting off more than you can chew. Stick with Google unless you are or plan on hiring an Adobe Analytics expert.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • It helps me understand which social media platforms are most successful for me - which I should focus on and which I might want to focus less on.
    • I can also see which blog posts people are reading - so I know which topics resonate most. I can write more of those, hopefully gaining more visitors.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
    • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
    • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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