Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Analytics Platform

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Qlik Analytics Platform
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
The Qlik Analytics Platform (QAP) is a developer platform for building custom analytic applications based on rich frontend and backend APIs. It gives full API access to the Qlik associative engine to build rich data-driven analytic applications, for example when building web applications for extranet and Internet deployment.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is the leader of this category, but it is a little expensive. It could use some more customization features, but other than that, it gives stellar returns for your investment.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Qlik is very similar and we actually use that in house as it is our legacy program, but I would say Power BI has the advantage because it is easily integrated with our other Microsoft solutions. Tableau is also nice but it does not seem to have quite as many features or the …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Similar products however Qlik much better at handling very large volumes of data whilst Power BI easier for back end loading and requires less coding. Power BI much easier to publish and share via server. End-to-end processing from desktop to publishing to sharing can be done …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
[Microsoft] Power BI was really the natural choice at Microsoft technology based organizations I have worked for. The cost and integration into existing Microsoft technologies was the primary driver.
Qlik Analytics Platform
Chose Qlik Analytics Platform
They are all good tools, each having their own pros and cons. Qlik Analytics Platform was easy to set up, more than affordable, and has a good user base. Though not as large as some of the other tools, it is growing every day and for the price, it is very hard to beat. I would …
Chose Qlik Analytics Platform
On the long run we will not stay with Qlik as the management chose to switch to the Microsoft suite. We think that this will not impact us as a team as both tools are worthy competitors
Chose Qlik Analytics Platform
Compared to competitors, the value for money of the Qlik package in its enterprise version is one of the most competitive in relation to the strengths listed above.
Chose Qlik Analytics Platform
We selected Qlik Analytics Platform when other public-facing tools were either prohibitively expensive for our uses (BusinessObjects) or still not quite mature (Power BI). Now we're in the maintenance contract, it's cost-effective for us to remain. Qlik feels like an excellent …
Chose Qlik Analytics Platform
Qlik is a platform with more scaling ability and functionality compared to PowerBI. PowerBI is the prior step before passing to Qlik, however, Qlik provides more functions and abilities to the business domain unit with better management capabilities for the IT team that set it …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.3
138 Ratings
12% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports6.6118 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.1138 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates7.3126 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.1
139 Ratings
13% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis7.3138 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities6.5137 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.6102 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration7.0134 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
133 Ratings
7% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Publish to Web8.2128 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.2121 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning7.3101 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.6103 Ratings00 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers6.973 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.6
135 Ratings
6% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.6130 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.9121 Ratings00 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.5101 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.2
126 Ratings
5% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)8.2120 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.8102 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.3110 Ratings00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.694 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
117 Ratings
1% below category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access8.0111 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application7.493 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.5112 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.4
80 Ratings
6% above category average
Qlik Analytics Platform
-
Ratings
REST API8.172 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API9.556 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API7.946 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)8.263 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.344 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(140 ratings)
8.5
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(56 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(52 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BIQlik Analytics Platform
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Qlik
Qlik Analytics Platform has helped us track turnaround time as well as sales volumes. We can display metrics in a multitude of ways and can then slice it up in even more ways by adding filters. It is nice that you can filter down the data by essentially "Qliking" anywhere to find insights. Qlik Analytics Platform has been extremely beneficial in reducing manual reports. We are able to automate numerous reports in addition to setting up alerts, through Nprinting, that will notify users when certain metrics are hit. For example, if our turnaround time exceeds a certain number, we can alert business stakeholders so they can take a closer look. We can also send notifications to sales representatives when their territories are underperforming.
Read full review
Pros
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
Qlik
  • Fast setup of analytics report
  • Easy tweaking of build dashboards
  • Perfect integration with other data software
  • Vast possibilities on setting up dashboards
Read full review
Cons
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
Qlik
  • Certainly, it turns out that implementation and data modeling are sometimes complex.
  • There are still many graphic and representation limits that need complex customizations to be overcome.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
I find it helpful and easy to use
Read full review
Qlik
No answers on this topic
Usability
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
Qlik
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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
Qlik
Customer support is provided through resellers, and finding the right reseller for your context can be a challenge. However our support from our last two resellers/partners has been largely very good. The online community is strong, though obviously doesn't replace having local technical experts working with the product and managing it.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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
Qlik
Qlik is a platform with more scaling ability and functionality compared to PowerBI. PowerBI is the prior step before passing to Qlik, however, Qlik provides more functions and abilities to the business domain unit with better management capabilities for the IT team that set it up. In the end, we implemented Qlik for functionality and scalability.
Read full review
Return on Investment
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
Qlik
  • It made our analytics better
  • Dashboards for strategic decisions are changed and setup faster
  • We spend more time on learning the tool than we thought to need
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