Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.5 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
The SAP Analytics Cloud solution brings together analytics and planning with integration to SAP applications and access to heterogenous data sources. As the analytics and planning solution within SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Analytics Cloud supports trusted insights and integrated planning processes enterprise-wide to help make decisions without doubt.
$36
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
SAP Analytics Cloud for Business Intelligence
$36.00
per month per user
SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning
Price upon request
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsGet started on your 30-day trial with SAP Analytics Cloud, supporting analytics enterprise-wide. Extend it up to 90 days if you want to.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft BI tool does a better job than most of the other software. The reason is excellent visualizations and its capability to connect with various other software and data sources. Tableau does a better job when it comes to tutorials and being more user-friendly. Also …
SAP Analytics Cloud
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Microsoft Power BI:Cost: Power BI is often perceived as a cost-effective solution, especially for organizations already using Microsoft products. SAP Analytics Cloud might be seen as a higher-cost option.Integration: SAP Analytics Cloud may have an edge …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
In the past, I did a bit of exploring of tools such as Tableau and Microsoft Power BI. However, these platforms have very good visualization capabilities, and SAP Analytics Cloud's integration with other SAP products is tightly woven and gives a very seamless experience that …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud stacks better with SAP ERP and this has improved its workability and accuracy.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
The two products, SAP Analytics Cloud and Microsoft PowerBI, are very similar data presentation tools. The strength of SAC SAP Analytics Cloud is in direct connections when the sources are SAP. On the other hand, Microsoft PowerBI, in its version, has strong integration with …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud is a comparable product/solution to Power BI but has additional features that could be viewed as an improvement. SAP Analytics Cloud models are based on 1 large data set and multiple models can be merged. When combined with multiple SAP systems, the …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud and Power BI are both tools that help businesses understand their data, but they have some differences. SAC, made by SAP, works well if your company already uses other SAP products. It's in the cloud, easy to use, and has features for analyzing data, getting …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud has the largest user base in the manufacturing field because of its service.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAC includes predictive analytics features, allowing users to perform advanced analytics and forecast future trends. This can be a valuable asset for organizations seeking predictive modeling capabilities.

It has an integration with the SAP landscape, seek a unified platform for …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud has direct connectivity to S/4 and have the extended possibility for financial planning
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Data models are familiar and no additional reconciliations needed
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Power BI seem to work easier with other datasources (non-SAP)
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
More integrated to our landscape SAP based
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
it's the product supported by my organization, also it has better authorization features than Power BI
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAC is a full-featured analytics platform, it offers AP, CPM and PA unlike Tableau which doesn’t encompass corporate performance management tools.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
business users seen itas a good option for graphicl display
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
I preferred SAC since it had a lot of tools unlike some alternatives which were missing some capabilities such as CPM on Ms Power BI.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Better native SAP data integration
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
We have both. We use SAC more for SAP aaplications like: S/4HANA & BW/4HANA, We use Power BI for snowflake, datalake.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
End to end seamless integration with other SAP products in the eco system.
TrustRadius Insights
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Microsoft Power BI and SAP Analytics Cloud are business intelligence and analytics platforms that allow users to query and visualize data. This analysis helps provide businesses with insights to improve their decision-making capabilities. 

Microsoft Power BI is more focused on ad-hoc querying of datasets with powerful data slicing and dicing tools. On the other hand, SAP Analytics Cloud is targeted at businesses that already use SAP database and data warehouse platforms and want to use their data to build dashboards and reporting structures. On TrustRadius, Microsoft Power BI is popular among midsize businesses and enterprises while SAP Analytics Cloud is preferred by enterprise organizations. 

Features

Since Power BI is part of the Microsoft ecosystem of products and services, users who are comfortable with other Microsoft products will likely have little trouble adjusting to Power BI. Another major plus of Power BI is that it is available for free for individual users. This allows users without business accounts to learn and practice with the software on their own time with 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 capabilities of the tool. 

SAP Analytics Cloud’s standout features are its excellent dashboard and data visualization capabilities. TrustRadius users report that the product’s graphics are high quality and that dashboards are easy to build. SAP also pushes frequent updates to the program on a bi-weekly or quarterly basis (depending on contract details) and is actively adding new features to the software regularly. Analytics Cloud also offers natural language processing to make finding results easier through the search function. Lastly, An embedded version is offered at no extra cost so that users can build charts and dashboards into other SAP applications and have changes in data reflected in real-time.    

Limitations

According to end-users, Microsoft Power BI 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 also has rigid rules in place for handling table joins within a database. This can lead to problems for users who need multiple joins from a single table. TrustRadius reviewers also report some issues with performance when trying to manipulate extremely large datasets.  

SAP Analytics Cloud has a few limitations as well. Since it is so heavily embedded within the SAP environment, there are fewer third-party integrations available. Integration with other software systems may be more difficult to achieve because of this. Some TrustRadius reviewers comment that SAP Analytics Cloud’s data analysis capabilities are not as robust as some of their competitors’ data analytics features. Other users have experienced issues with having to split up queries because of line limits and other data limitations.  

Pricing

Microsoft Power BI offers paid plans for business users and a free version for individual users. While the free version allows individuals to practice using the software and become familiar with its functionality, it has a more limited feature set than the paid business plans. 

Pricing for its Power BI Pro plan starts at $9.95 per user per month. For businesses that need advanced functionality, the Power BI Premium plan is available starting at $4,995 per year. Enterprise organizations will need to request a consultation for full pricing options. 

SAP Analytics Cloud offers a 90-day free trial which includes access to SAP Analytics Cloud for Business Intelligence and SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning, with limitations on their capabilities. They also offer a Business Intelligence package for $22 per user per month, which includes full access to those modules with Cloud for Planning being view-only. SAP also offers two higher-priced tiers, with pricing available by request from the vendor.  

Features
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.4
193 Ratings
3% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
249 Ratings
6% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.3164 Ratings8.0206 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.8192 Ratings8.2244 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.0175 Ratings7.9222 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
191 Ratings
2% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
259 Ratings
0% above category average
Drill-down analysis8.2188 Ratings8.1250 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.7188 Ratings8.0247 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.3140 Ratings7.8192 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.5186 Ratings7.9237 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.1
184 Ratings
2% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
244 Ratings
1% below category average
Publish to Web8.3174 Ratings8.0209 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.2169 Ratings8.2235 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7141 Ratings8.1203 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.3144 Ratings7.9196 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9107 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
184 Ratings
2% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
252 Ratings
5% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2178 Ratings7.6241 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1163 Ratings7.7234 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.4133 Ratings8.2237 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.434 Ratings7.935 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.6
175 Ratings
1% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.2
258 Ratings
4% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)8.8165 Ratings8.1237 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.5143 Ratings8.1244 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.4155 Ratings7.9235 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.444 Ratings8.147 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.7137 Ratings8.6238 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
157 Ratings
2% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.7
221 Ratings
0% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access7.8147 Ratings7.7210 Ratings
Mobile Application7.7128 Ratings7.3182 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.0150 Ratings7.6205 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
113 Ratings
1% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
-
Ratings
REST API8.2101 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API7.682 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API6.967 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)7.588 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
277 Ratings
2% below category average
Long-term financial planning00 Ratings8.0236 Ratings
Financial budgeting00 Ratings7.9242 Ratings
Forecasting00 Ratings8.4247 Ratings
Scenario modeling00 Ratings7.3239 Ratings
Management reporting00 Ratings8.4267 Ratings
Consolidation and Close
Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.7
231 Ratings
2% below category average
Financial data consolidation00 Ratings7.7184 Ratings
Journal entries and reports00 Ratings8.0175 Ratings
Multi-currency management00 Ratings7.6190 Ratings
Intercompany Eliminations00 Ratings7.5144 Ratings
Minority Ownership00 Ratings7.1130 Ratings
Local and consolidated reporting00 Ratings7.9181 Ratings
Detailed Audit Trails00 Ratings8.0172 Ratings
Financial Reporting and Compliance
Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
256 Ratings
1% above category average
Financial Statement Reporting00 Ratings8.0215 Ratings
Management Reporting00 Ratings8.3246 Ratings
Excel-based Reporting00 Ratings7.9227 Ratings
Automated board and financial reporting00 Ratings8.0205 Ratings
XBRL support for regulatory filing00 Ratings7.8115 Ratings
Analytics and Reporting
Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.1
279 Ratings
1% above category average
Personalized dashboards00 Ratings8.2272 Ratings
Color-coded scorecards00 Ratings8.2257 Ratings
KPIs00 Ratings8.3263 Ratings
Cost and profitability analysis00 Ratings8.1245 Ratings
Key Performance Indicator setting00 Ratings8.3248 Ratings
Benchmarking with external data00 Ratings7.7208 Ratings
Integration
Comparison of Integration features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.4
260 Ratings
10% below category average
Flat file integration00 Ratings7.6246 Ratings
Excel data integration00 Ratings7.8249 Ratings
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources00 Ratings7.0228 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Small Businesses
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Centage
Centage
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Kyvos Insights
Kyvos Insights
Score 9.5 out of 10
Prophix
Prophix
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(195 ratings)
8.3
(299 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
7.2
(8 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(111 ratings)
8.0
(220 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(52 ratings)
5.9
(75 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(7 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics 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
Read full review
SAP
SAP Analytics Cloud is great for big companies that want advanced data analysis and planning, especially when they need to work together in real-time or when people need to access data on their phones. It's like a super tool for predicting future trends in industries like retail or finance. SAC also works well for companies that use different types of computer systems because it can easily connect them. But, for small businesses that only need basic reports or don't have a lot of technical resources, a simpler tool might be better. If a company doesn't always have a good internet connection or if they're just starting with analytics, there might be other tools that work better.
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
SAP
  • It makes it easier yo analyse order and related records easily.
  • We can easily maintain and track the performance of employees in organisation.
  • Can easily track various aspects for the growth of an organisation thus allowing real time analysis and tracking of organisation's growth and performance.
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
SAP
  • Complexity in Data Modeling
  • SAC supports various data sources, but improvements in the ease of connecting to and integrating with certain data repositories, especially non-SAP databases, would enhance the platform's versatility and integration capabilities.
  • An offline mode for SAC could be valuable for users who need to access and analyze data without an internet connection. Additionally, optimizing performance for large datasets and complex visualizations would contribute to a smoother user experience.
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
SAP
There’s no doubt I will renew SAP Analytics Cloud. It is the most vital tool in our organization that makes it seamless to make rapid business decisions by collecting, modeling and visualizing data in real-time.
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.
Read full review
SAP
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate 8 SAP Analytics Cloud's overall usability as a 7. SAC has a clean, modern user interface with drag-and-drop features. It is an integrated platform that combines reporting, planning, and predictive analytics in one tool. It has Real-time connectivity with SAP data sources like S/4HANA.


Self-service analytics capabilities allow non-technical users to build simple dashboards.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
I would rate SAP Analytics Cloud an 8 out of 10 for scalability. It offers a flexible, cloud-based architecture that supports expansion across departments and geographies. The platform adapts well to growing data volumes and user needs, making it a strong choice for organizations looking to scale analytics capabilities efficiently.
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
I would rate SAP Analytics Cloud’s performance an 8 out of 10. Pages generally load quickly, and reports run within a reasonable time frame, even with complex datasets. Integration with other systems is smooth and doesn’t noticeably affect performance. Overall, it’s a responsive and efficient tool for business analytics. But
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.
Read full review
SAP
Since the implementation stage, the support team has been very helpful and assisting. Even in the later stages, the tech team had quite a rapid response. In general, SAP has provided us with great customer support, let it be for a specific product of SAP or for integration of different modules.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
Good videos and reference material available in SAP Portal.
Read full review
Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
it's ok
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
Read full review
SAP
SAC is a simple solution ad it works fine when connecting it to other SAP tools. On the other hand, connecting it to third party solutions brings difficulties when there's no previous design and the objetives are not clear. It is really important to integrate Business users from the start to provide with valuable business insights
Read full review
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
SAP
SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Microsoft Power BI:Cost: Power BI is often perceived as a cost-effective solution, especially for organizations already using Microsoft products. SAP Analytics Cloud might be seen as a higher-cost option.Integration: SAP Analytics Cloud may have an edge in integration with SAP systems, while Power BI is known for its broad integration capabilities, including seamless integration with other Microsoft tools.Usability: Power BI is often praised for its user-friendly interface and quick adoption, while SAP Analytics Cloud may be seen as offering more advanced features.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
unit pricing
Read full review
Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
I would rate SAP Analytics Cloud an 8 out of 10 for scalability. It offers a flexible, cloud-based architecture that supports expansion across departments and geographies. The platform adapts well to growing data volumes and user needs, making it a strong choice for organizations looking to scale analytics capabilities efficiently.
Read full review
Professional Services
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
very simple
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
SAP
  • Many manual data manipulations and exports in Excel have been replaced by the tool, providing management with improved insight into the amount of time spent at each stage of an invoice's lifetime, allowing bottlenecks to be discovered.
  • We now have more insight into the data, and people with little technical experience can easily build stories.
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