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Microsoft Power BI vs. Salesforce CRM Analytics vs. Salesforce Experience Cloud

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Power BI

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 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.

    $168

    per year per user

    Salesforce CRM Analytics

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ASalesforce CRM Analytics (formerly Tableau CRM) is a cloud-based business intelligence solutions and analytics software. It provides users with automated data discovery, CRM-connected analytics, top-down views of data, augmented analytics, predictive insights, and customizable data visualization tools.

    $125

    per month

    Salesforce Experience Cloud

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/ASalesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement (formerly Salesforce Experience Cloud or Salesforce Community Cloud) is an online forum powered by Salesforce that enables businesses to connect with their employees, customers, partner organizations, and prospects. Designed to help facilitate communication and information sharing, customers can ask questions and request help, administrators can integrate data from third-party apps, and employees can collaborate across projects and…N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month (billed annually) per user
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPower BI Desktop is the data exploration and report authoring experience for Power BI, and is available as a free download.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    Considered Multiple Products
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    We were able to bundle Power BI with other Microsoft products we rely on heavily. This and the customization options were the main sellers for us.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Same need to be large scale.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Each has a different function. I think Microsoft Power BI is easier to use than Tableau and cheaper but SQL and databricks have so much more versatility
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Microsoft Power BI excels against its competition in being a great combination between feature set and scalability. Tableau is more integrated with Salesforce but it has a high starting price point whereas Microsoft Power BI can start out with a single license for less than $20 …
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Again, I would say [Microsoft] Power BI stacks up right in the middle against their competitors. It gets the job done in terms of data aggregation and visualization, but it lacks user experience and ease of building. Most sales reps I spoke with didn't like the tool because it …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Power BI is, in my opinion, the overall best visualization tool on the market today. While there are niche areas where others may have small advantages, the overall feature/functionality, approachability, and value proposition that Power BI provides give it the edge. Cost is …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Microsoft Power BI is part of the MS product family, and since we are a Microsoft shop (Office365, Azure, SQL DB) it fits into our environment with centralized management/administration. This alone justified additional costs (licensing). Tableau and SAP Business Objects are …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Power BI performs quite well in comparison to it's competitor's products. We compared it mainly to GoodData and Tableau. Power BI has a great pricing. It's affordable and efficient with mid-sized datasets. Hence many companies go for it. Competitive products like Tableau are …
    Incentivized
    Salesforce
    Chose Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Tableau CRM is capable of providing powerful data visualization and analytical insights into your data set. Also, it produces a simple and understandable graphical representation of data. When compared to PowerBI, If you are an enterprise Microsoft user, there may be a clear …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Tableau CRM no doubt has best GUI compare to any other existing BI tools we are currently working on. We are already using Salesforce as a CRM tool for sales/services/marketing and Tableau CRM has easy connectivity and development with Salesforce data. After demo the sample …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Salesforce Einstein Analytics is the leader in the CRM industry when it comes to capturing and understanding the relative date. Therefore, many sales leaders and professionals are accustomed to utilizing the tool. Because of this factor, there is a more exceptional …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Tableau is more of a developer tool and for non-technical workers, it is hard to learn. The product is superior to Einstein Analytics, but if the first goal is to get this out to an entire company, then Salesforce is the way to go. For the technical workers, the limitations of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce CRM Analytics
    The reason is that this requires less development and is more of a point and click system that every user will enjoy more.
    Incentivized
    Salesforce
    Chose Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Before Community Cloud, a common alternative was the development of web sites externally with integration to Sales Cloud being made from external API calls. This is a far costlier and more complex endeavour since it requires a dedicated development team to create and maintain …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce Experience Cloud
    I would recommend Salesforce Community Cloud, especially if you already have Salesforce or are thinking about it, to at least explore the system to help you see its interconnections, and how it can help you create those more personalized experiences your organization craves. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Evaluated custom built website/customer portal. The expense, time, and resources to develop a custom solution was extensive, and continued maintenance was a concern. Salesforce Community Cloud was an easy decision.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    110 Answers
    73%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    103 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    37 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    45 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    28 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    73 Answers
    90%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    30 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.1
    198 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.8
    48 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.1169 Ratings7.541 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.6197 Ratings8.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.7180 Ratings7.546 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    196 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.8
    49 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.4193 Ratings8.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.7193 Ratings7.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings7.537 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.2191 Ratings7.546 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    8.1
    47 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web8.1179 Ratings9.037 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF7.7174 Ratings7.044 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.7145 Ratings8.543 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.3148 Ratings8.540 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers7.9111 Ratings7.534 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.7
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.4
    45 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.3183 Ratings8.042 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1168 Ratings6.540 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.2138 Ratings7.042 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.339 Ratings8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.3
    180 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    9.0
    48 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.6169 Ratings9.046 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.1148 Ratings8.546 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.1160 Ratings9.042 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.149 Ratings9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.5141 Ratings9.541 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    162 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    6.7
    45 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.6152 Ratings7.543 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application7.5133 Ratings7.034 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.8155 Ratings6.539 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft Power BI and Salesforce CRM Analytics and Salesforce Experience Cloud
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    8.2
    33 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Salesforce Experience Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    REST API7.7104 Ratings8.031 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API7.485 Ratings8.529 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.055 Ratings8.525 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API6.769 Ratings8.528 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)7.391 Ratings7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings8.527 Ratings00 Ratings
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    User Ratings
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (199 ratings)
    9.1
    (51 ratings)
    8.9
    (71 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (115 ratings)
    8.5
    (10 ratings)
    8.1
    (15 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (52 ratings)
    7.7
    (6 ratings)
    8.0
    (18 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    8.1
    (41 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    7.7
    (41 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Power BISalesforce CRM AnalyticsSalesforce Experience Cloud
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    For us it really comes down to that book management and next best contact for our advisors. When we're thinking about a book of business that may range, depending on the advisor, from 400 clients to a thousand clients, how do they really optimize their time? Who do they call next? Who do they work with to make sure not only they're keeping those clients engaged, they're not leaving the firm going to other advisors who they haven't talked to in a while who might need their attention. That's really where that CRM analytics is really proven pretty powerful for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    For well-suited, this product is great for your external clientele groups that you would not necessarily want to have a high user fee rate for. So basically general public or a group that will be authorized to come in and just do a few things here and there, but you don't necessarily want them access to all of your systems and your data points for groups that it would not be a great use for. I'd say probably your high level internal staff, they're going to be using a lot of the backend functionality automations, evaluating data, managing data, and doing custom inputs. That's just not what's intended for.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Interactive Dashboards, it [consists] of wide variety of charts
    • Data from different sources can be easily integrated with it
    • Security, it provides easy way to secure and share the information with the users
    • Support actions like opening hyperlink etc
    • Almost everything can be done from configuration
    • Data can easily be managed from dataflow.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Easy to use, just like Salesforce's other products. Many users can sit down and figure it out in no time, and with a little training become power users.
    • Fast and secure - Salesforce is a leader in the cloud world so you get consistently fast results and security that is top notch in the industry.
    • Accessible from anywhere - if you use cloud CMS already this is a no-brainer, but for those that do in-house CMS still, this is a major difference. Mobile access from anywhere on the planet without a VPN is something you just can't do without the cloud.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Implementation takes time and resources. It is a heavy lift to implement and at first, it can take a little bit of time to understand what you are looking at. But once it's implemented it's easy to get started.
    • Without any BI expertise or resources available to your organization, the implementation of this is difficult. If you aren't used to BI tools and don't have an expert in house, the terminology can be difficult to understand at first.
    • Their support is not on hand to help you if you encounter any issues, at least not on all the plans or the basic plans. Real-time support service is an add-on, so you'll need to be patient if you require help or pay extra money.
    • More functionality for the tool is needed to compete with other heavyweights in the arena like Tableau, Qlik, and Microstrategy. Still lacks the robustness, functionality, and flexibility other competing products possess.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Unlike other CMS platforms like Wordpress and Adobe Experience Manager, Salesforce does not provide a fully featured editor with a drag-and-drop design tool.
    • Our content creators and marketing team often struggle with permissions and how to distribute content across different experience cloud sites.
    • Also, there is no side-to-side comparison view for content editors to update the content easily.
    Incentivized
    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
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Renewal exercise is already underway. Platform is to ubiquitous to not leverage, especially at a Fortune 50 firm
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    For someone who don't have coding background, this could be a useful tool and fairly easy to learn and use given the good support. However, if you know other open source tools, it would be much easier to use the other tools and the knowledge is more transferable in the future.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Strengths: - Intuitive for Salesforce Users – If you’re already working within the Salesforce ecosystem, the Salesforce CMS is easy to navigate, with a clean UI, drag-and-drop content management, and reusable assets for quick updates. - Seamless Integration – Since it connects natively with Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and CRM, it allows for efficient multi-channel content distribution without needing extra third-party tools. - AI-Powered Personalization – The ability to deliver dynamic content based on user profiles and engagement data is a huge plus, making content delivery more relevant and impactful. Challenges: - Learning Curve for New Users – If you're not already familiar with Salesforce, the interface can feel overwhelming, requiring training to fully leverage all features. - Limited Customization & Workflow Automation – While it works well for structured content, advanced approval workflows and deep editorial customization are limited compared to enterprise CMS platforms like Adobe Experience Manager. - Media & Design Limitations – Salesforce CMS is not as robust for managing rich media-heavy content, which can be frustrating for teams needing more flexibility in multimedia presentation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Again, since we provide and recommend solutions, I can't speak to every client's individual experience, but can offer general reflections as to keep their collaborations private, that they are satisfied with the experience. We hear a lot about how this system helps to encourage collaborations between their own business partners, customers, and internal members, and enables quality integrations with other products that help drive revenue.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    I was not able to be in interaction much with Salesforce support team since every feature works the way it should be working. So far I have not experienced any bug or major glitches that would delay the result of my work and performance. There is also a hotline in our company for Salesforce issue but so far I have not used it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Although support from Salesforce itself can be quite unresponsive sometimes, the community hub is incredibly helpful. The large user base of Salesforce products contribute to troubleshooting and the forums are a powerful tool for finding solutions and possible bugs and response times can be quite fast compared to your regular support channels.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    An implementation partner would certainly result in greater output in a more efficient amount of time. However, I have found implementation partners to be extremely expensive for the output received (at least working for a non-profit company they are frequently unaffordable). Internal implementation does help with usable output though since internal knowledge would better know the data architecture and business processes
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Tableau is the absolute top of the class when it comes to business intelligence, but it doesn't make sense for every business case. In our case, we needed a simple data visualization platform for our CRM platform and sales pipeline. Salesforce Analytics, while nowhere near as robust, did the job we needed it to do perfectly in a significantly more cost-effective manner.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Salesforce Experience Cloud was selected due to its tight integration with our existing Salesforce CRM platform. Customization of the portal was much, much simpler compared to Sharepoint - especially with role-based security parameters that are ultimately inherited based on attributes within the Salesforce CRM platform. Salesforce Experience Cloud was a natural fit for this customer-facing purpose.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • I would say it's been positive just because as a company, anyone that has access to it can go in there and pull any company information and we're very up to date then on all of our client base. So I would say it's been a very positive impact.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Time savings for our customer success team - no need to continually follow up on tickets as customers have access to see status themselves
    • In the future, it will also allow us to create more impactful knowledge articles that will increase self-service over ticket creation
    Incentivized
    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