Microsoft Power BI vs. Tableau Public

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
Tableau Public
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Tableau Public is a free edition of the Desktop product. With this edition, data can only be published to the Tableau public website and does not allow work to be saved or exported locally.
$0
per month
Pricing
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
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 …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is easier to learn, a lot of examples on YouTube, internet documentation books helps to the implementation and personalization of the dashboards easier to use than other platforms.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Due to microsoft user and all the data into excel it was found more feasible from the organization to get Microsoft Power BI. Also due to access of microsoft licence we don't need to survey other vendors and feasibility. Also price wise it was more competitive then Tableau.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI is usually the cheapest solution and most user-friendly for most people (since we are all used to the Microsoft Suite). However the connectivity to non-Microsoft soft tools (databases and data analysis tools) are somewhat limited, especially when compared to its …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Tableau is a solution with more tools; is more robust, able to handle large volumes of data, but Power BI has a cost-benefit ratio superior to other existing solutions in the market. It gives you what you need at a very low cost, even free.
Tableau Public
Chose Tableau Public
The determining factor in us deciding to go with Tableau Public over Power BI Free was the ease of Tablueau's ability to easily process larger datasets in comparison to Power BI Free's limitations.
Chose Tableau Public
Tableau Public is most similar to Google Data Studio in terms of being freely available for public use. However, its capabilities and sophisticated visualizations are far and beyond anything offered by Data Studio: Tableau is ideal for creating professional caliber workbooks …
Chose Tableau Public
Tableau's core competency is to create a singular analytics platform and while Google and Microsoft provide viable alternatives, they don't quite match up. Tableau delves deeper into categories than Google and thus doesn't supply deep enough information. Microsoft on the other …
Features
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
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
Tableau Public
9.8
12 Ratings
17% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.3164 Ratings9.710 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.8192 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.0175 Ratings9.712 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
191 Ratings
1% below category average
Tableau Public
9.7
12 Ratings
20% above category average
Drill-down analysis8.2188 Ratings9.812 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.7188 Ratings9.712 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.3140 Ratings9.59 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.5186 Ratings9.811 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
Tableau Public
9.5
11 Ratings
14% above category average
Publish to Web8.3174 Ratings10.011 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.2169 Ratings10.09 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7141 Ratings9.89 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.3144 Ratings9.69 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9107 Ratings8.17 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
Tableau Public
9.8
11 Ratings
21% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2178 Ratings9.811 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1163 Ratings9.811 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.4133 Ratings9.79 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.434 Ratings00 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
Tableau Public
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)8.8165 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.5143 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.4155 Ratings00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.7137 Ratings00 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
Tableau Public
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access7.8147 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application7.7128 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.0150 Ratings00 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
Tableau Public
-
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
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
Small Businesses
Yellowfin
Yellowfin
Score 9.0 out of 10
Supermetrics
Supermetrics
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Supermetrics
Supermetrics
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
Dataiku
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Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(195 ratings)
8.5
(14 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(111 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(52 ratings)
9.6
(6 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BITableau Public
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
Tableau
Tableau public is the best platform to build dashboards for your personal profile and share with recruiters. It's always good to keep ourselves updated on the latest features, create sample dashboards and save them to a personal profile. Tableau public is free and doesn't need any subscription. anyone can create an account and start building reports.
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
Tableau
  • Data visualization: lots of different options, including bar, scatter, pie, waterfall charts to explore relationships between variables, and to present findings/trends to different teams
  • Integrates readily with limited, though different data sources: TXT, CSV, TDE, Access
  • Exports reports for review of different dashboards: client-ready/team-ready, with a clean and tidy presentation in PDF format (or hardcopy)
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
Tableau
  • Tableau Public (both Desktop and Server) like their "for a fee" counterparts offer very easy to learn and use tools to transform data into pictures and gain insights into your data. Most organizations report a reduction in development time of 10x vs. other similar tools, due to the intuitive user interface. That said, with Tableau Public, published workbooks are "disconnected" from the underlying data sources and require periodic updates when the data changes. Users are limited to 1 Gb of storage space per user ID and password as well.
  • I would like to see better options for public sharing of visualizations and data from within the "for a fee" products as more and more organizations are moving in the direction of data sharing with partners and their communities.
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
Tableau
It's free, right? I'll keep using the free version. So the real question to ask is this? Will I pay $999 for the Personal version or $1,999 for the Professional? Yikes! That is a big stretch. I'm not sure about that. The product comparison chart is at: http://www.tableausoftware.com/public/comparison
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
Tableau
Tableau public is a great training tool to understand the basics of Tableau before buying it. A great tool to extend Excel's visualization and to publish data for others. Not useful for anything you need secure. No ability to access databases. Static information only.
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.
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Tableau
I have not yet required to contact support as the documentation and help i found online has always worked so far
Read full review
Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Tableau
I found it sufficient, and fast. I could easily "kick the tires" with Tableau on my data so I got up and running fast.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
Read full review
Tableau
Start at the end and work backward. Identify the business case / issue and questions the end users have, then identify the data needed, and where to get it.
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
Tableau
Google Charts/Drive is sufficient for simpler data sets, but it does not integrate with other web platforms and the visualization does not look as professional. I'm not aware of any other competitors that offer the same package as Microsoft.
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
Tableau
  • Tableau Public visualizations have helped drive traffic to our content and sites
  • The lack of cost means it's easy to demonstrate our experience to attract paying clients
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