What users are saying about

Microsoft Power BI vs SAP Crystal

Microsoft Power BI
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Top Rated
1343 Ratings
SAP Crystal
548 Ratings

Microsoft Power BI

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Top Rated
1343 Ratings
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Score 8.4 out of 100

Based on 1343 reviews and ratings

SAP Crystal

548 Ratings
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Score 7.9 out of 100

Based on 548 reviews and ratings

Feature Set Ratings

  • Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 2 feature sets: Data Discovery and Visualization, Access Control and Security
  • SAP Crystal ranks higher in 4 feature sets: BI Standard Reporting, Ad-hoc Reporting, Report Output and Scheduling, Mobile Capabilities
  • Microsoft Power BI and SAP Crystal are tied in 1 feature set: Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

BI Standard Reporting

8.4

Microsoft Power BI

84%
8.8

SAP Crystal

88%
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 2/3 features
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 2/3 features

Pixel Perfect reports

8.1
81%
120 Ratings
8.4
84%
111 Ratings

Customizable dashboards

9.0
90%
139 Ratings
8.9
89%
98 Ratings

Report Formatting Templates

8.2
82%
127 Ratings
9.1
91%
116 Ratings

Ad-hoc Reporting

8.4

Microsoft Power BI

84%
8.7

SAP Crystal

87%
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 3/4 features
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 3/4 features

Drill-down analysis

8.7
87%
139 Ratings
8.3
83%
116 Ratings

Formatting capabilities

8.0
80%
138 Ratings
8.9
89%
134 Ratings

Integration with R or other statistical packages

8.1
81%
104 Ratings
8.5
85%
64 Ratings

Report sharing and collaboration

8.6
86%
135 Ratings
9.2
92%
119 Ratings

Report Output and Scheduling

8.4

Microsoft Power BI

84%
9.1

SAP Crystal

91%
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 5/5 features
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 5/5 features

Publish to Web

9.0
90%
129 Ratings
9.1
91%
90 Ratings

Publish to PDF

8.9
89%
121 Ratings
9.3
93%
132 Ratings

Report Versioning

7.9
79%
101 Ratings
8.9
89%
94 Ratings

Report Delivery Scheduling

8.5
85%
104 Ratings
9.1
91%
96 Ratings

Delivery to Remote Servers

7.5
75%
76 Ratings
9.1
91%
51 Ratings

Data Discovery and Visualization

8.3

Microsoft Power BI

83%
7.9

SAP Crystal

79%
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/3 features
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/3 features

Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)

8.5
85%
131 Ratings
7.6
76%
51 Ratings

Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization

8.5
85%
122 Ratings
8.4
84%
75 Ratings

Predictive Analytics

8.0
80%
103 Ratings
7.8
78%
42 Ratings

Access Control and Security

8.8

Microsoft Power BI

88%
8.5

SAP Crystal

85%
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/4 features
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/4 features

Multi-User Support (named login)

8.8
88%
121 Ratings
8.2
82%
81 Ratings

Role-Based Security Model

8.8
88%
104 Ratings
8.1
81%
79 Ratings

Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)

8.6
86%
112 Ratings
8.5
85%
79 Ratings

Single Sign-On (SSO)

9.0
90%
95 Ratings
9.1
91%
38 Ratings

Mobile Capabilities

8.4

Microsoft Power BI

84%
8.5

SAP Crystal

85%
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 2/3 features
SAP Crystal ranks higher in 2/3 features

Responsive Design for Web Access

8.6
86%
113 Ratings
8.8
88%
62 Ratings

Mobile Application

8.3
83%
100 Ratings
7.9
79%
46 Ratings

Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile

8.3
83%
114 Ratings
8.9
89%
57 Ratings

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

8.0

Microsoft Power BI

80%
8.0

SAP Crystal

80%
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/6 features
Microsoft Power BI ranks higher in 3/6 features

REST API

8.3
83%
73 Ratings
7.4
74%
8 Ratings

Javascript API

8.2
82%
57 Ratings
8.5
85%
34 Ratings

iFrames

8.0
80%
56 Ratings
7.1
71%
8 Ratings

Java API

7.7
77%
47 Ratings
8.9
89%
34 Ratings

Themeable User Interface (UI)

7.9
79%
63 Ratings
8.2
82%
37 Ratings

Customizable Platform (Open Source)

7.9
79%
46 Ratings
7.7
77%
30 Ratings

Attribute Ratings

  • Microsoft Power BI is rated higher in 1 area: Support Rating
  • SAP Crystal is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability
  • Microsoft Power BI and SAP Crystal are tied in 1 area: Likelihood to Renew

Likelihood to Recommend

8.6

Microsoft Power BI

86%
141 Ratings
9.0

SAP Crystal

90%
157 Ratings

Likelihood to Renew

10.0

Microsoft Power BI

100%
1 Rating
10.0

SAP Crystal

100%
19 Ratings

Usability

8.6

Microsoft Power BI

86%
57 Ratings
9.3

SAP Crystal

93%
28 Ratings

Availability

Microsoft Power BI

N/A
0 Ratings
8.0

SAP Crystal

80%
2 Ratings

Performance

Microsoft Power BI

N/A
0 Ratings
8.0

SAP Crystal

80%
2 Ratings

Support Rating

8.5

Microsoft Power BI

85%
53 Ratings
8.0

SAP Crystal

80%
36 Ratings

In-Person Training

Microsoft Power BI

N/A
0 Ratings
10.0

SAP Crystal

100%
1 Rating

Implementation Rating

Microsoft Power BI

N/A
0 Ratings
8.8

SAP Crystal

88%
28 Ratings

Product Scalability

Microsoft Power BI

N/A
0 Ratings
7.0

SAP Crystal

70%
1 Rating

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft Power BI

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.

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Jose-Angel Mangas | TrustRadius Reviewer
Jose-Angel Mangas
View all 141 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

Generation of templated reports is the strong suit of SAP Crystal. Allows users to change formats in templates bases on requirement with minimal effort.Automated report delivery requires the user to be aware of sql which cannot be expected from all users.Should support more document export formats and improve the UI for SAP B1 Users

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Issac Paul | TrustRadius Reviewer
Issac Paul
View all 157 answers on this topic

Pros

Microsoft Power BI

  • 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.

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Afia Tamanna | TrustRadius Reviewer
Afia Tamanna
View all 141 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

  • Crystal Reports allows us to create a consistent template for all of our reports.
  • Crystal Reports and Server allows us to house a repository for all of our reports to make them easy to find and update when necessary.
  • Crystal Reports can connect to a wide variety of data sources.
  • Crystal Reports can be a little daunting when first implementing. There are a lot of nuances in learning how to truly master this software and it can be frustrating at times.

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Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Verified User
View all 157 answers on this topic

Cons

Microsoft Power BI

  • 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

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Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Verified User
View all 141 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

  • The export of reports to Excel is very cumbersome and the results are difficult to format.
  • The design of reports and the graphical features (e.g. charts) feel quite rigid.
  • The learning curve for a non-programmer is incredibly steep, making Crystal a specialty tool.

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Frank Hunt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Frank Hunt
View all 157 answers on this topic

Pricing Details

Microsoft Power BI

General

Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—
Entry-level set up fee?
No

Starting Price

$9.99 per month

Microsoft Power BI Editions & Modules

Edition
Power BI Pro$9.991
Power BI Premium$20.001
Power BI Premium$4,995.002
  1. Per User/Per Month
  2. Per Capacity/Per Month
Additional Pricing Details
—

SAP Crystal

General

Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional

Starting Price

$295 per single user license

SAP Crystal Editions & Modules

Edition
SAP Crystal Reports 2020 64-Bit$4951
Upgrade Version to SAP Crystal Reports 2020$2951
SAP Crystal Reports 2016 32-Bit$4951
SAP Crystal Server 2020 1 NUL$8692
SAP Crystal Server 2020 5 CAL$8,7443
  1. per single user license
  2. per user license + first year maintenance to be added
  3. 5 concurrent users + first year maintenance to be added
Additional Pricing Details
* SAP Crystal Reports 2020 Viewer allows you to view static data within a SAP Crystal Reports file. * SAP Crystal Reports 2020 - Full version allows you to create powerful, richly formatted, and dynamic reports from virtually any data source, delivered in dozens of formats, in up to 28 languages. If you already have an older version of Crystal Reports, buy a license for SAP Crystal Reports 2020 - Upgrade at a discounted, upgrade price. * SAP Crystal Server 2020, 1 NUL includes 1 license of: SAP Crystal Reports 2020 - SAP Crystal Server 2020. * As an add-on to SAP Crystal Server 2020 1 NUL, SAP Crystal Server 2020 5 CAL allows you to support a wider, intermittent audience of end users, up to five logged on at the same time.

Likelihood to Renew

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI 10.0
Based on 1 answer
I find it helpful and easy to use

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jim paroly | TrustRadius Reviewer
jim paroly
View all 1 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal 10.0
Based on 19 answers
We have been using this product for so many years and it has truly become a cornerstone to our business processes when it comes to developing and distributing information via reports. We currently have over 500 reports developed to date over about 30 systems and that will continue to grow as user needs change.

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Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Verified User
View all 19 answers on this topic

Usability

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI 8.6
Based on 57 answers
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.

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Tanish Pruthi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Tanish Pruthi
View all 57 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal 9.3
Based on 28 answers
Crystal is very robust, but not always easy to use. It create wonderful looking reports, and so deserves a high rating. However, I have to take a couple of points off for the simple fact that I cannot hand it to a user and expect them to be able to do development with it.

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Greg Goss | TrustRadius Reviewer
Greg Goss
View all 28 answers on this topic

Support Rating

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI 8.5
Based on 53 answers
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.

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Greg Watkins | TrustRadius Reviewer
Greg Watkins
View all 53 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal 8.0
Based on 36 answers
The support community can be difficult to navigate. I've also run into issues with my login. The SAP system has a bizarre mechanism for validating users that requires users to have what is called an S-ID. A basic ID may not give you access to all the features in the portal. The limitation may include not being able to perform a simple task like downloading patches and updates. This isn't a big deal for single user license but for teams it can be a pain.

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Nathan Patrick Taylor | TrustRadius Reviewer
Nathan Patrick Taylor
View all 36 answers on this topic

In-Person Training

Microsoft Power BI

No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal 10.0
Based on 1 answer
Trainer was patient and thorough in going through the basics and willing to answer questions by email after the initial training

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Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Verified User
View all 1 answers on this topic

Implementation Rating

Microsoft Power BI

No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal 8.8
Based on 28 answers
Just like any other implementation: When designing the differing reports, get end users' input, make sure to design the reports so that they display the information that the company requires, in the best and clearest way possible.
Test, test, test, revise when needed, and, particularly, do sufficient training so users are comfortable using Crystal Reports!

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John Suit | TrustRadius Reviewer
John Suit
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Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Power BI

[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 .

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Dustin Ghia | TrustRadius Reviewer
Dustin Ghia
View all 141 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

Crystal reports is useful in case we want to import data from data base . We can write queries in it but Google Charts require to be implemented in our application using code so crystal reports is better than Google Charts.

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Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Verified User
View all 157 answers on this topic

Return on Investment

Microsoft Power BI

  • 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.

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christian Maxwell | TrustRadius Reviewer
christian Maxwell
View all 141 answers on this topic

SAP Crystal

  • It is a decent buy for specific departments in terms of reporting capabilities but updates and cost (frequent) demands are higher with the benefits offered.
  • So long as the requirements are not ever changing, with scheduling functionality, it's a handsome tool.

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Rohit Narang | TrustRadius Reviewer
Rohit Narang
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Screenshots

Microsoft Power BI

—

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