TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft BI (MSBI)

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.

    $14

    per month per user

    Semrush

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ASemrush is a relatively popular search engine optimization tool set from the company of the same name based in Pennsylvania and founded in 2008. Largely the platforms relies on competitive intelligence, and features SEO staples like backlink checking, keyword analysis to refine SEO and PPC campaigning and locate low-cost / high-yield keywords, analysis of competitors who co-occupy desired ad and listing spaces, domain vs. domain analysis, as well as site audit and domain tracking. Semrush can…

    $139.95

    per month

    Pricing
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month per user
    Pro
    $139.95
    per month
    Guru
    $249.95
    per month
    Business
    $499.95
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details—17% discount for annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Semrush
    Chose Semrush
    I used Botify, Oncrawl, Searchmetrics, MyPOSEO, XENU, ScreamingFrog, website Auditor, Link Assistant, GTmetrix, ahref, Majestic...

    Every tool listed above is useful (except Searchmetrix). SEMrush is just one tool which is necessary, such as Oncrawl or Xenu.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    107 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    95 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    15 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    106 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    95 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.546 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.653 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.951 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    53 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.253 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.342 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.953 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    52 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web9.348 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.444 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.547 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers8.426 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    52 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.651 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.748 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.745 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining8.76 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.449 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.347 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.949 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.36 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.431 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.239 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.839 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    24 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Semrush
    -
    Ratings
    REST API9.221 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API8.821 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.820 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API8.718 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)7.319 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.0
    154 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Keyword analysis00 Ratings8.6154 Ratings
    Backlink management00 Ratings8.4147 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings8.4150 Ratings
    Page grader00 Ratings7.9129 Ratings
    Competitive analysis00 Ratings8.5149 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings8.0150 Ratings
    Site recommendations00 Ratings7.7139 Ratings
    Task management00 Ratings6.491 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.2
    140 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Local SEO00 Ratings8.1128 Ratings
    Social SEO00 Ratings8.0106 Ratings
    Mobile SEO00 Ratings8.5113 Ratings
    Global SEO00 Ratings8.1114 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Semrush
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.4
    125 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Multi-domain support00 Ratings8.1115 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools00 Ratings8.7119 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Serpstat
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    8.2
    (154 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    8.2
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    9.9
    (17 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Semrush
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI has a lot of features and is a very powerful tool, especially if you have folks on your team that know how to utilize all of its capabilities. To truly unlock all that it can do, it does require people to have a deep understanding of its capabilities. That's where the software really shines. If you are looking for a simpler, more basic reporting tool, there are other programs available that do not require such a steep learning curve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    This is suited to plan for keywords in a single market, but it struggles when you need to consolidate several markets. It is well-suited to discover new keywords directly related to the ones being used currently to expand the content the company is creating to get better results.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Comparatively easy to use compared to other data analytics solutions, collaborating with other colleagues on data work is simple.
    • Using Visual Studio for database, ETL, reporting, and analytics development save time and money.
    • Transfer of data from one application to another via Excel and comparison of data attributes between applications
    • Dashboard functionality, as well as Python support, are available, allowing you to add additional charts and graphs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Great visuals for keyword position tracking, love that you can see the page that is ranking
    • Enjoyed the auto-generated reporting feature (specifically in the context of keyword position tracking)
    • Shows many different and useful views for competitive research
    • Great templated keyword research tools for those who are not as hands-on with SEO
    • I LOVE the Keyword Magic Tool for honing in on longtail, high-opportunity keywords
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • MSBI designs can work on increasing data processing capabilities enough to handle the huge datasets etc.
    • It would be a lot better if it is a little low on cost.
    • it needs to create opportunities little more than they do regarding customization of some very unique visualization effects
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Extra seats can be expensive, as [an] agency with multiple team members this can be frustrating
    • Backlink data is not great, misses out a lot of backlinks (better off using a specialist backlink tool like Link research tools LRT)
    • Tracking multiple keywords, across multiple clients can be costly
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI is fundamental to our suite of BI applications. That being said, Northcraft Analytics is focused on delighting our customers, so if the underlying factors of our decision change, we would choose to re-write our BI applications on a different stack. Luckily, mathematics are the fundamental IP of our technology... and is portable across all BI platforms for the foreseeable future.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I [previously] used Semrush for many years and I cannot find any other tool being so complete and easy to use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    The Microsoft BI tools have great usability for both developers and end users alike. For developers familiar with Visual Studio, there is little learning curve. For those not, the single Visual Studio IDE means not having to learn separate tools for each component. For end-users, the web interface for SSRS is simple to navigate with intuitive controls. For ad-hoc analysis, Excel can connect directly to SSAS and provide a pivot table like experience which is familiar to many users. For database development, there is beginning to be some confusion, as there are now three tool choices (VS, SSMS, Azure Data Studio) for developers. I would like to see Azure Data Studio become the superset of SSMS and eventually supplant it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    The interface is a little less intuitive than it could be. The data is often available but filtering and manipulating the data can be a little difficult at times. Expanded comparisons would be helpful since most of the time seeing more than a few competitors at a time allows for a better sense of how to forecast.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    Semrush available when you need it!
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) can drag at times. We created two report servers and placed them under an F5 load balancer. This configuration has worked well. We have seen sluggish performance at times due to the Windows Firewall.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    SemRush performs well with few errors!
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    MSBI natively has a site that allows you to vote on user enhancements and bug fixes. This allows the largest nagging issues to float to the top and the development team can prioritize accordingly. As mentioned earlier, the large community base of MSBI developers assist technical resources in handling technical questions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I'm in a FB group for Semrush paid users and it amazing! They are fast to respond, take suggestions and help with questions. I have not felt alone in using this product at all. Highly recommend their support team. When I had an issue I can jump into the group and they will help get me the right person to help or even tag their programmers to look at something that is going on. Love the group!
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Microsoft
    I have used on-line training from Microsoft and from Pragmatic Works. I would recommend Pragmatic Works as the best way to get up to speed quickly, and then use the Microsoft on-line training to deep dive into specific features that you need to get depth with.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    We are a consulting firm and as such our best resources are always billing on client projects. Our internal implementation has weaknesses, but that's true for any company like ours. My rating is based on the product's ease of implementation.
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I did it by myself and do not have a comment!
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    We have used the built in ConnectWise Manager reports and custom reports. The reports provide static data. PowerBI shows us live data we can drill down into and easily adjust parameters. It's much more useful than a static PDF report.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    We have used both Ahrefs and Semrush extensively at our agency and Semrush remains the tool of choice. We find that Semrush has the largest selection of tools & features to use, with the highest accuracy, and provides top-tier analysis recommendations. It's really is the ultimate all-in-one tool when comparing other performance measurement tools in the digital marketing space.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Semrush
    Semrush is flexible and scalable software which can be deployed across multiple departments and sites as needed.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • As a SaaS provider we see being able to provide self-service BI to our client users as a competitive advantage. In fact the MSSQL enabled BI is a contributing factor to many winning RFPs we have done for prospective client organisations.
    • However MSSQL BI requires extensive knowledge and skills to design and develop data warehouses & data models as a foundation to support business analysts and users to interrogate data effectively and efficiently. Often times we find having strong in-house MSSQL expertise is a bless.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Using Semrush on behalf of our clients, we have seen some impressive growth in organic visibility, traffic, conversion and revenue, across multiple industries.
    • The site checks available with Semrush have helped us to pitch and sell our services, securing new clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots