Microsoft Power BI vs. Phocas Business Intelligence

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.4 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
Phocas Business Intelligence
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Phocas helps users discover data and provides results in real time.  It is designed for non-technical users and delivers a simple yet powerful analytical capability that quickly turns data into a chart, graph or map.  It brings up data on local, regional or global sales, inventory, forecasts, prices, profit margins, budgets and more. Phocas, based in the United Kingdom, is a business intelligence firm with offices in…N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPhocas has built its business model on exceeding customer expectations. We’ve operated on a subscription basis from the start and in the words of Phocas Group chairman and co-founder Paul Magee: ‘That puts the onus on us to perform’. And we like that. In fact, our whole company ecosystem is built around that ‘light bulb moment’ when customers achieve a breakthrough by seeing their business through fresh eyes.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI integrates very easily with Microsoft based products like excel and sql server database and makes it easy to modify data. It also provides several different types of visualization and forecasting tools that are absent from other products. It is comparatively cheaper …
Phocas Business Intelligence
Chose Phocas Business Intelligence
Phocas is easy to use for end users and can be used on desktops, laptops, and phones.
Features
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.3
196 Ratings
2% above category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
9.0
4 Ratings
10% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.3167 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.7195 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.0178 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
194 Ratings
0% below category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
9.6
4 Ratings
18% above category average
Drill-down analysis8.3191 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.8191 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.4189 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
187 Ratings
2% below category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
9.3
4 Ratings
13% above category average
Publish to Web8.2177 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.1172 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7144 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.2147 Ratings9.94 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9110 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
187 Ratings
2% below category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
8.3
4 Ratings
4% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2181 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1166 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.4136 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.437 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.5
178 Ratings
0% above category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
9.9
4 Ratings
15% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)8.7168 Ratings9.94 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.4146 Ratings9.94 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.4158 Ratings9.93 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.347 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.6140 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
160 Ratings
3% above category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
9.5
3 Ratings
20% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access7.7150 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Mobile Application7.6131 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.9153 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
115 Ratings
1% above category average
Phocas Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
REST API8.1103 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API7.684 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API7.068 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)7.690 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
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Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(197 ratings)
8.1
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(113 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(52 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BIPhocas Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Has significantly improved collation of data and visualisation especially with business across Europe. Has given me the ability to see the Site availability at the click of a button to see which Site is in the "money" and seize opportunities based on Market data
Read full review
Phocas
If you would like your data in one place with easy access, this is the software for you. You can have data from multiple systems and bring it into one view so that you have a quick and easily visible dashboard for the data you wish to see.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Options for data source connections are immense. Not just which sources, but your options for *how* the data is brought in.
  • Constant updates (this is both good and bad at times).
  • User friendliness. I can get the data connections set up and draft some quick visuals, then release to the target audience and let them expand on it how they want to.
Read full review
Phocas
  • Custom reports are simple to create.
  • The ability to manage users and their dashboards is solid.
  • Easy to navigate web interface makes the software accessible from anywhere.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • It would be easier for users could Microsoft Power BI and Excel used the same programming languages.
  • Would like to see the online version of Microsoft Power BI be as powerful as the desktop version.
  • Publishing a Microsoft Power BI file online and then having to save the file is somewhat redundant.
  • Would like to export each page or chart as an image.
Read full review
Phocas
  • Phocas needs to make it easier to connect to different types of databases.
  • The data in Phocas needs to be updated faster in some cases.
  • It needs to provide functions to create better charts and graphs.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is an excellent and scalable tool. It has a learning curve, but once you get past that, the sky is the limit and you can build from the most simple to the most complex dashboards. I have built everything from simple reports with only a few data points to complex reports with many pages and advanced filtering.
Read full review
Phocas
No answers on this topic
Usability
Microsoft
Automating reporting has reduced manual data processing by 50-70%, freeing up analysts for higher-value tasks. A finance team that previously spent 20+ hours per week on Excel-based reports now does it in minutes with Microsoft Power BI's automated Real-time dashboards have shortened decision cycles by 30-40%, enabling leadership to react quickly to sales trends, operational bottlenecks, and customer behavior.
Read full review
Phocas
It is a very user-friendly product and is easy to understand. You can get your data from just a quick click and the dashboard loads. You can take the data and drill down easy to find what you are looking for.
Read full review
Support Rating
Microsoft
It is a fantastic tool, you can do almost everything related with data and reports, it is a perfect substitutive of Power Point and Excel with a high evolution and flexibility, and also it is very friendly and easy to share. I think all companies should have Power BI (or other BI tool) in their software package and if they are in the MS Suite, for sure Power BI should be the one due to all the benefits of the MS ecosystem.
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Phocas
Support is responsive. You log a call and they will respond quickly and resolve your issues. We have only had great experiences with the support team.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
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Phocas
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would not pay for Tableau or Sigma anymore. Not worth it at all.
Read full review
Phocas
Phocas is easy to use for end users and can be used on desktops, laptops, and phones.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Power BI usage reduced the effort of analytical reports creation by about 80%
  • Empowered all the level of employee to be more vigilant of the data and business insights, gained the profit of 8% overall.
  • AI-powered predictive analytics improved forecasting accuracy by 17%, that topped the overall sales.
Read full review
Phocas
  • It has given our business a view on data
  • We can access it from anywhere
  • You can have multiple dashboards for different information
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

Phocas Business Intelligence Screenshots

Screenshot of Phocas Dashboard on iPadScreenshot of Phocas Dashboard on Laptop