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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

    Tableau Public

    Score9.9 out of 10
    N/ATableau 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
    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
    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 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 BITableau Public
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Tableau
    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.
    Incentivized
    Chose Tableau Public
    Qlik
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    110 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    103 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    73 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Microsoft Power BITableau Public
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.1
    198 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Tableau Public
    9.8
    12 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.1169 Ratings9.710 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.6197 Ratings10.012 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.7180 Ratings9.712 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    196 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Tableau Public
    9.7
    12 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Drill-down analysis8.4193 Ratings9.812 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.7193 Ratings9.712 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings9.59 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.1191 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Tableau Public
    9.5
    11 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Publish to Web8.1179 Ratings10.011 Ratings
    Publish to PDF7.7174 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.7145 Ratings9.89 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.3148 Ratings9.69 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers7.9111 Ratings8.17 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.7
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Tableau Public
    9.8
    11 Ratings
    23% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.3183 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1168 Ratings9.811 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.2138 Ratings9.79 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.339 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.3
    180 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Tableau Public
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.6169 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.1148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.1160 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.149 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.5141 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    162 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Tableau Public
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.5152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application7.5133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.8155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Tableau Public
    -
    Ratings
    REST API7.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API7.485 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API6.769 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)7.291 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Power BITableau Public
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Chartio (discontinued)
    Score7.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Jet Reports
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Kibana
    Score8.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Power BITableau Public
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (199 ratings)
    8.5
    (14 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (115 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (52 ratings)
    9.6
    (6 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    8.2
    (9 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    8.8
    (9 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
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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)
    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
    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.
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have not yet required to contact support as the documentation and help i found online has always worked so far
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    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
    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
    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