Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

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
SAP Analytics Cloud
Score 8.2 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 DetailsA 30-day trial with SAP Analytics Cloud is available, supporting analytics enterprise-wide. A trial can be extended up to 90 days on request.
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
Integration with SAP is the key feature to go for SAC with perks of SAP IQ etc offered from SAP. Usability is quite eased in SAC - makes it easy for users to use and develop their own dashboarding. Cloud is one more feature which enables to the cloud world from SAP and probable …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
It is product of SAP right and it has live connection and it is easy for integration with other SAP products
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
we have to explicitly publish our data in the form of odata service from SAP system, this require a good amount of work for API development and requirement of SAP Developer skill set. With SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) this is not needed and the adoption of SAC becomes very easy
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Anaplan is a tool for planning, but with very less reporting options. Integration of Anaplan with SAP source is always a problem and has very less connection possibilities. Even though Anaplan provides very powerful planning features, we have to use multiple tools in the …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud has high compatibility with SAP Systems majorly S4 so the development time that is required is less compared to other tools.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
All three above examples are market leaders, being an sap consultant and as SAP Analytics Cloud is having tight integration with sap and offers fairly all the important features i use it.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Since we have S4/Hana cloud so accessing data from backend system is seamlessly done in SAP Analytics Cloud with the help of SAP Analytics Cloud cloud connector. We have BI/BW system. Data is loaded into this systems and fetch on SAP Analytics Cloud.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Power BI cannot use the live data like SAC, nor is it as intuative
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
We chose SAP Analytics Cloud because, in our experience, SAP Analytics Cloud is Easy to simple report , End User Flexibility.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAC lacks some of the prominent features found in other tools. But a fully functional tool. The way live connections work with SAC and better integration with SAP back-end products makes SAC a preferred choice.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Power BI had several mismatched hierarchies in our pilot.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
SAC is an extension of our decision to use Datasphere as our Data Warehouse / Data Fabric Solution, which is really an extension of our decision to use SAP as our ERP.
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Because the connectivity is natural and is easy to work and develop everything behind the same brand. Also is easy to have all the data under control on this software and easily consume in SAP Analytics Cloud Review. As I said, great advantage of using sap that means all are …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
We chose SAP Analytics Cloud because, in our opinion, it has the Best integration with SAP
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Same functionality, better fit to overall system architecture
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Integration and Real time analysis make SAC better position compare to MS Power BI
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Power BI is also widely used in the company. Also quite easy to use by end users. But the integration with SAP has some limitations and de aggregation functionalities were not at the same level. Real time reporting was not at the same level as well. Our aim would have been to …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
The main reason behind using SAP Analytics Cloud because our majorly data is managed in SAP which makes it easier to integrate as well as to use with live connection at any point of time.
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
8.3
196 Ratings
2% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
309 Ratings
3% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.3167 Ratings7.6259 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.7195 Ratings8.3301 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.0178 Ratings7.8277 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.8
315 Ratings
3% below category average
Drill-down analysis8.3191 Ratings8.1306 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.8191 Ratings7.6302 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings7.2229 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.4189 Ratings8.4292 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.7
296 Ratings
6% below category average
Publish to Web8.2177 Ratings7.9253 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.1172 Ratings8.0283 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7144 Ratings7.8244 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.2147 Ratings7.7239 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9110 Ratings7.033 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.8
303 Ratings
2% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2181 Ratings8.0289 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1166 Ratings7.8278 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.4136 Ratings7.8278 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.437 Ratings7.572 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.2
311 Ratings
3% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)8.7168 Ratings8.2285 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.4146 Ratings8.0294 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.4158 Ratings8.0286 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.347 Ratings8.299 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.6140 Ratings8.5291 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.5
262 Ratings
3% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access7.7150 Ratings7.5251 Ratings
Mobile Application7.6131 Ratings7.0221 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.9153 Ratings7.2247 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
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.3
40 Ratings
5% below category average
REST API8.1103 Ratings7.235 Ratings
Javascript API7.684 Ratings7.132 Ratings
iFrames8.055 Ratings7.327 Ratings
Java API7.068 Ratings7.327 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)7.690 Ratings7.733 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings7.028 Ratings
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User Ratings
Microsoft Power BISAP Analytics Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(197 ratings)
8.7
(326 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
8.6
(14 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(113 ratings)
8.2
(252 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(52 ratings)
6.0
(70 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.9
(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
We are planning to review the licensing as we have issues with SAC dealing with huge datasets. Analytics area is good for import models but when we have live connections in place that's when we have issue with SAC dealing with huge datasets in live be it BW or be it HANA models in the backend.
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.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
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