Alteryx vs. Microsoft Power BI

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Alteryx
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Alteryx aims to be the launchpad for automation breakthroughs. Be it for personal growth, achieving transformative digital outcomes, or rapid innovation, Alteryx converges analytics, data science and process automation to enable users across organizations to make business-altering breakthroughs. Alteryx Designer can be used to automate every analytics step — from data prep to data science. Access any data source or type, then blend via drag-and-drop interface.…N/A
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
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Considered Both Products
Alteryx
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx stacks up against its competitors in the marketplace because from day one its goal was to simplify and democratize data processes. Its visual nature and transparent tool set, combined with its highly addictive joy to use make it stand out from the crowd.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx has interactive visualization capabilities which RapidMiner lacks. Alteryx is more intuitive and suited for enterprises vs. RapidMiner which is more suited for individuals and beginners (since it focuses on the building blocks). Also, Alteryx has a very strong learning …
Chose Alteryx
We have not utilized any other tools like Alteryx or found any other tools like Alteryx to evaluate them against.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx is easier to use and has a lot more advanced analytics capabilities.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx bar far and away blows the competition out of the water. It is super easy to pick up and learn and it is so powerful. Other systems I have used are complicated and clunky often giving errors. Alteryx has made my life as a data analyst so much easier.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx serves as a complementary product, performing all the data wrangling for the likes of Tableau Desktop and Microsoft PowerBI for visualization. Microsoft Excel serves as an easier means of automation for tasks that previously would have involved a lot of manual …
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx worked 'out-of-the-box' without needing our IT team to provide setup or engineering. The data connections are included and functional with ease. No other drivers are needed. The support team at Alteryx is second-to-none, including the fabulous Alteryx Community. The …
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx is feature-rich and allows our team to blend multiple data sources and types together with ease. We are able to really speed through workflow development while strengthening the quality of the output. I would say that Alteryx is able to outdo the other products in the …
Chose Alteryx
Ease of use, Ease of deployment, completeness of reach, scalability, Total Cost of Ownership, Speed and flexibility
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx is much more repeatable, accurate, and reliable. It also is more efficient and loads faster than excel transformations.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx was faster in processing the data and had more user-friendly tools to automate the reporting function.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx has good integration capabilities and serves better for the purpose to connect with other tools in the enterprise and provide data security.
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx has better data cleansing and structuring capabilities than PowerBI. And that’s what it is meant for. Whereas PowerBI focus more on dashboarding.

Also Alteryx has advanced functionalities which makes life easier as far as the information is structured.
Chose Alteryx
There's no need to write any codes unless very specific requirements. tremendously flexible and visual masterpiece on what actions one wants to perform. easy to interpret and follow for an unfamiliar person as have simple naming and definitions. wide use of the tool in some …
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx has high functionality compared to Power BI. It has the ability to produce high-end predictive analytics, which power BI fails to do. Data cleaning, data manipulation, and data visualization are way better in Alteryx compared to Power BI. Overall, Alteryx is a better …
Chose Alteryx
KNIME and Trifacta are also very good advanced solutions but the easy to use user interface of Alteryx makes it more appealing. I still use KNIME or Trifacta for few of my projects.
Chose Alteryx
  • Alteryx is your own pocket BI tool, that means it's easy to implement and easy to learn
  • You can avoid several trips to your IT department if you start using Alteryx
  • Alteryx is a time-tested application and has a big community of users to support your queries
Chose Alteryx
  • Alteryx has been developed for a longer time. The capability to read big files in few seconds is very good and the way the tool is structure is very intuitive and easy to use.
  • At the same time Alteryx gives space for your own way and your own implementation.
  • Aletryx 's service is …
Chose Alteryx
Alteryx has a better interface than KNIME, though it's a bit more expensive than KNIME (an open source tool). We cannot use open-source software due to data privacy issues, and this is why we selected Alteryx. Alteryx also had an agreement with Macquarie and provided a discount …
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
In any [Microsoft] Power BI to Tableau comparison, especially in organizations that uses both platforms the most important aspect is which platform came first. As any platform that is widely adopted first will naturally have the 'first mover' advantage.

In this case where in my …
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
It has more than 200 plus visuals in-store and is very easy to access. It has a great user community to help each other with an ample amount of responses. Almost all kinds of data sources are available to use and develop the reports Easy to use and learn with a lot of training …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
With Microsoft Power BI it is easy to load the data and transform it, with its competitor product Tableau, an enterprise would need a separate tool known as Tableau Prep.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI is easier to use than other BI tools. It can be connected to several sources and it can import your own local sources. The data manipulation is very simple and to build a dashboard is even easier. The language used is DAX, but you can import file from R or Python.
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
Based on the latest reviews from Magic Quadrant, Tableau is rated high among all the applications in this category with its rich features in terms of connectivity, visualizations, and various other features. But the cost of using the application is bit high from my personal …
Top Pros
Top Cons
TrustRadius Insights
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Alteryx and Microsoft Power BI are two flagship platforms in the business intelligence space. 

Alteryx is an expensive but complete analytics platform with strong data preparation and scrubbing abilities. Microsoft Power BI is a widely used tool with cheaper and even free options that allow individuals and businesses the power to manipulate and take control of large datasets. 

Both Alteryx and Microsoft Power BI are popular with enterprise-scale businesses, but Power BI’s much lower cost of entry helps make it appealing to individual users as well as small to medium-size businesses. 

Features

Alteryx and Microsoft Power BI are similar in many ways, but each displays a few standout features. 

Alteryx is built around a clean and simple user interface that allows new users to get up to speed quickly but also offers power users customizable views to speed up analysis. Alteryx features built-in tools for merging datasets and powerful data scrubbing capabilities. Alteryx also empowers users by allowing workflow and report automation. 

Since Power BI part of the Microsoft ecosystem, users who are comfortable with their other products will likely have little trouble adjusting to Power BI. Another major plus of Power BI is that it is available for free to individual users. This allows users without business accounts to learn and practice with the software on their own time or on their own projects. Another feature offered by Microsoft Power BI is the ability to use custom data visualizations downloaded from Microsoft Marketplace, further expanding the usefulness of the tool. 

Limitations

While Alteryx and Microsoft Power BI offer complete business intelligence solutions, there are some drawbacks to each application. 

The main downside to Alteryx is its cost. This application will likely only be used by large, enterprise-scale companies who can afford a customized business intelligence platform. Another drawback to the tool is the lack of a mobile application for viewing dashboards. Users also report being less than impressed with the program’s data visualization capabilities. More specifically, they wish they were of higher quality and that there were more options. 

Microsoft Power BI also has a few downsides. Businesses that want complete control of their data will have to upgrade to the premium version of the software to be able to keep their data in-house and off of Microsoft’s servers. Power BI is also very strict in how it handles table joins in a database. This can lead to problems for users who need multiple joins from a single table. Users also report some issues with performance when trying to manipulate extremely large datasets.  

Pricing

Alteryx business intelligence pricing starts at $5,195 per user per year. Additional packages can be included with prices ranging from $2,300 per user per year to $33,800 per user per year. These packages provide features like location insights and map data, demographic segmentation, and abilities for text recognition and drag-and-drop machine learning. 

Microsoft Power BI offers both free and paid options. Individual users can download a limited version of Power BI onto their machines for free. Business pricing starts at $9.95 per user per month for Power BI Pro. For businesses that need more options, Power BI Premium is available starting at $4,995 per year. Large businesses will need to request a consultation for full pricing options. 

Features
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Alteryx
-
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
Alteryx
-
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
Alteryx
-
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 Ratings6.873 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Alteryx
-
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 Ratings7.8121 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.5101 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Alteryx
-
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
Alteryx
-
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
Alteryx
-
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
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Small Businesses
Klipfolio
Klipfolio
Score 8.4 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Klipfolio
Klipfolio
Score 8.4 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(125 ratings)
8.0
(140 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(19 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(52 ratings)
8.9
(56 ratings)
Availability
8.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.2
(36 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.3
(52 ratings)
8.0
(52 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.7
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AlteryxMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
Alteryx
We're trying right now to get more people using it at our company so we can send management documented cases for how we can expand and purchase Alteryx Server which will extend the capabilities even more and across more departments. It's been well suited for pretty much everything we do on a repeating schedule. It's worth the time to set up the workflows. When Treasury sends me the bank download now - I save it to a folder and run our workflows and send back 2 journal entries in .9 seconds. (yes - in less than a second it's finished running)
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
Alteryx
  • Pulling data from multiple disparate data sources.
  • Allows users to see the data at every step of the workflow to be able to cleanse, analyze, and optimize the data.
  • Provides an analytics platform that is easy for users of all levels to thrive in whether they are just starting out in their analytics journey or they have a master's degree in Data Science.
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
Alteryx
  • Alteryx is great for processes that is has already "thought through". It's more difficult to get Alteryx to deal with some customization.
  • The data visualizations with Alteryx are generally good, although I don't think the color schemes are the best.
  • I think the data science capabilities are awesome with Alteryx, although not as well used as products built with Python or R.
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
Alteryx
We've developed a working partnership with Alteryx. As an enablement suite, we're continuing to innovate and deliver great products with use of Alteryx in our solutions. Alteryx use expands to our global product development teams and is in use in multiple parts of our organization. Alteryx also delivers Experian demographic content to other clients in their product offering. We're highly likely to renew, but that decision is way above my pay grade.
Read full review
Microsoft
I find it helpful and easy to use
Read full review
Usability
Alteryx
I've found that while some things might take a little longer to create, the flexibility of Alteryx allows you to perform any function needed. I haven't found a use that was not available in Alteryx yet. APIs and XMLs can be created to perform certain functions. In addition, CMD line commands can be sent using Alteryx to perform certain functions as well.
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
Alteryx
I use many programs and compared to others, Alteryx virtually never goes down, freezes up or gives an application error. Over a 4 year time period that I have used this program, any of these may have happened 3 times. It is an incredibly stable program that I feel completely confident in.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Alteryx
Alteryx is an extremely reliable platform. If there is an error in my workflow, I feel pretty strongly it was probably my fault. The platform also handles large amounts of data very quickly and can join/match, sort, filter, calculate on that data quickly as well. One of my favorite things to build into a workflow are the messages based on data/metadata and error messages based on errors I have come across before.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Alteryx
Stellar, bar-none. Some of the best support folks of any vendor. The Alteryx Community is the most responsive and supportive. On the rare occasion of a release issue or bug, we've been able to get quick help to solve the core problem. Alteryx does not play the blame game. They genuinely help the users solve their issues or respond to questions
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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.
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In-Person Training
Alteryx
1st level of trainings which I've attended in Paris was easy and I was already knowing %90, that learning could have been an e-learning instead of in-person
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Alteryx
Very good, detailed online trainings which you can take at your own pace, and strong certifications exists, certifications are extremely detailed and hard...
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Alteryx
There is really not much to it (the installation, that is). Once you get it installed, along with any of the add-ons (demographics, R, etc.), you are up and running almost immediately. There is really no additional setup. You can immediately begin blending data, running demographics, performing spatial queries, running predictive analysis, etc. And for many of these functions, the learning curve is quite easy.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Alteryx
Alteryx is MUCH more user friendly. both provide the ability to code within them, but Alteryx has much nicer interface. The formula tools have a more simple language that is easier to learn than formulae in SSIS. Alteryx is easy to read with multi colored tools identifying what each one does. It also allows for macros. You can build your own tool to process records of data or batch records together.
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 .
Read full review
Scalability
Alteryx
Individual analysts can quickly generate results using their own copy of Alteryx Designer. But using the Server and developing macros for more complex needs can be time consuming.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Alteryx
  • Error handling - allows controls to be built into workflows easily and allows them to be isolated and spat into control reports that can be easily reviewed and audited, thanks to the ability to create multiple outputs in one go.
  • Time-saving - saved huge amounts of time, especially when moving Excel processes into Alteryx.
  • Product development - allowed my firm to create products that we have been able to market and sell to clients.
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

Alteryx Screenshots

Screenshot of Alteryx APA - Automating asset inputsScreenshot of Alteryx APA - Automating outcomesScreenshot of Alteryx APA - Data enrichment and insightsScreenshot of Alteryx APA - Data quality and preparationScreenshot of Alteryx APA - Data science and decisions

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