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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

    ThoughtSpot

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AThoughtSpot is an Agentic Analytics Platform for enterprises where users ask data questions using natural language and get answers with AI. Code-first for data teams and code-free for business users, ThoughtSpot can handle large, complex cloud data at scale.

    $1,500

    per year (5 users)

    Pricing
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Thoughtspot Analytics - Pro
    $50
    per month (billed annually) per user (25-1000 users)
    Thoughtspot Analytics - Enterprise
    Custom
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    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 BIThoughtSpot
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Power BI is a good tool overall. The price tag is way lower than Tableau which is a plus, but as you can expect, with a lower price you will probably miss out on a feature here or there. Tableau definitely is more feature rich with the customization and functionality of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    I thinking Microsoft Power BI is a great start for someone who wants something more powerful and distributable than Excel. During my relatively short evaluation, I did not find Power BI to be up to the task of more powerful tools. However it might compete well if properly …
    Incentivized
    ThoughtSpot
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    Great ease of use for business users and self-service capabilites
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    It stacks up well against these modern BI tools. These are the most popular tools and its ability to perform well with live connections gives it an advantage. However, having more control over formatting/customization would allow it to go further. Plus, developing a stronger …
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    I think PBI was terribly slow and clunky. UI was outdated. Solution was expensive for what we needed. ThoughtSpot was worlds different (in a better way).
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    It is more flexible and PowerBI, easier work online, and share information with many users. Also the dashboards and beautiful, and the user experience is better. Performance used to be faster.

    We use Looker for different use cases but, when it comes to reporting and sharing …
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    ThoughtSpot provided a twist on the typical Analytics / report builder interface. The natural language query building is just so much easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    we were looking for something which provides self service capabilities and something which very eay to use from users perspective.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    ThoughtSpot is my top choice from the above two as the UI is the most modern and user-friendly as well.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    ThoughtSpot is the leader in embedded analytics and is much easier to work with massive volumes of data. None of the other tools listed had both of those functionalities, which were most important to us. There are other features that they have such as easier drill down, …
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    much more extensible and much easier to embed
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    Compare to Kibana, which was we used previously, ThoughtSpot is definitely better in terms of UI, visualizations, usability, and the SpotIQ/ML components. The only disadvantage for ThoughtSpot is the lack of drill-down function/click-on filters.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    The main reason for selecting Thoughtspot was to share reporting with other external vendors and ease of doing business.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    We selected ThoughtSpot with the promise that it would evolve into a Google search for business insights. To date, it has not gotten close in my opinion.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    I have only used ThoughtSpot. I have not used any other product like it before.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    ThoughtSpot has more possibilities, is easier to use and can combine much more info to get the report you want.
    Also, because you can replace other software, it's cheaper.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    I think it took me less time to learn how to use ThoughtSpot, and that I could use it for doing a lot more things.
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    In ad-hoc reporting...ThoughtSpot is superior in speed-to-results. The other products are capable, however, they require SQL coding and setup that ThoughtSpot only requires on initial load of data. Both PowerBI and ThoughtSpot use a text-based "natural language" query engine, …
    Incentivized
    Chose ThoughtSpot
    ThoughtSpot is just as good at creating the initial graphic for the end user, it might even be better because the user really does not need much technical knowledge in order to create a basic graphic. Currently, ThoughtSpot cannot yet compete with the other tools when it comes …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    110 Answers
    86%
    Would buy again
    37 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    103 Answers
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    29 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    37 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    24 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    73 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    29 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.1
    198 Ratings
    1% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    7.3
    89 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.1169 Ratings6.021 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.6197 Ratings8.189 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.7180 Ratings7.725 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    196 Ratings
    1% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    7.5
    91 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Drill-down analysis8.4193 Ratings8.390 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.7193 Ratings7.090 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings5.949 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.1191 Ratings8.888 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    8.1
    84 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Publish to Web8.1179 Ratings8.155 Ratings
    Publish to PDF7.7174 Ratings8.478 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.7145 Ratings7.918 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.3148 Ratings8.364 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers7.9111 Ratings7.935 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.7
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    7.2
    86 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.3183 Ratings7.585 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1168 Ratings7.079 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.2138 Ratings7.565 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.339 Ratings6.913 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.3
    180 Ratings
    2% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    8.1
    86 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.6169 Ratings8.282 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.1148 Ratings7.974 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.1160 Ratings7.678 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.149 Ratings7.816 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.5141 Ratings8.772 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    162 Ratings
    2% above category average
    ThoughtSpot
    7.3
    53 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.5152 Ratings7.051 Ratings
    Mobile Application7.5133 Ratings6.734 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.8155 Ratings6.746 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft Power BI and ThoughtSpot
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    2% below category average
    ThoughtSpot
    7.2
    51 Ratings
    7% below category average
    REST API7.7104 Ratings7.342 Ratings
    Javascript API7.485 Ratings6.835 Ratings
    iFrames8.055 Ratings8.134 Ratings
    Java API6.769 Ratings7.013 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)7.291 Ratings7.235 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings7.115 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (199 ratings)
    8.4
    (91 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (115 ratings)
    8.2
    (85 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (52 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    7.8
    (5 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    8.4
    (5 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Power BIThoughtSpot
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    It is well suited when the same data is consumed by many different people with different analytics and visualization requirements because, if you have the data available in ThoughtSpot, every user can prepare different views. Also, it is a good reporting tool, you can get rid of slides if you have a good dashboard prepared, gaining flexibility and agility.
    Incentivized
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    • Beautiful visualizations. The visuals are distinct, clean, and easy to discern from one another.
    • Intelligent querying functionality. When looking to manipulate the data, the search function makes it easy to manipulate the features in the data, along with aggregating them in the way you'd like.
    • Embedding! It has been a smooth process thus far for our product & technical teams to work with ThoughtSpot and bring it into our product.
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    • It would be great if ThoughtSpot can add the feature to filter by clicking on visualizations. i.e if I click on a particular data point in the chart if the full dashboard can filter just for that particular data point.
    • Color coding the heatmap with different colors like green to orange to red.
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    I give it just waiting because passport is brilliant and it has helped our organisation In advancing to the next stage in the age of AI. It has allowed or non-tech people to better service and clients in a cost-effective way. George port has allowed us to create new products for us and for our clients increasing our revenue streams and reducing clients churn
    Incentivized
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    The rating is because of the ease of use of the interface as it has a no code interface that makes it easy to setup data pipelines without extensive programming. Cloud native integration: It integrates seamlessly with cloud based data warehouses. Automated data loading, Scalability, Cost Effective, Transformations, Data Governance and security.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    ThoughtSpot
    it's available unless there is a server or system update etc. sometimes the timing of this is bad (for example during a month end close)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    ThoughtSpot
    It does what it is supposed to. Would be nice to have a bit more insights
    Incentivized
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    I give it this meeting because the team is not only help able to help us in the current solutions but also amazing and taking feedback and feeding it back to their development team which includes more products and features into ThoughtSpot
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    ThoughtSpot
    inhouse in-person training. Took a bit to long to get the basics.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    ThoughtSpot
    poor instructions
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ThoughtSpot
    Understand use case and model and design accordingly
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    We also explored Tableau Ask Data. Tableau is our standard for BI in our organization. We want to use the smallest amount of tools in our company to have the best adaption. ThoughSpot will fill a few gaps that we have with our current set up and will also enhance out offering for our employees in the transition of being more data driven within in near future
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    ThoughtSpot
    Because it is very reliable, inside the situation, we need strong internet connection to access a lot of data but easily never had any downtime except during the upgrades
    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
    ThoughtSpot
    • Time to market ROI is massive vs hiring the full-time dedicated team to build and maintain a frontend multi-tenant SaaS data viz product.
    • It will be interesting to see over time how the advanced features play out in terms of usability and end value, such as Natural Search, which we are very excited about, and the machine learning tools.
    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

    ThoughtSpot Screenshots

    Screenshot of the ThoughtSpot home screenScreenshot of SpotIQ, which offers AI-driven insightsScreenshot of the Spotter AI agent that surfaces insights through natural language queriesScreenshot of AI Assist producing SQL in real timeScreenshot of SpotIQ, which offers AI-driven insightsScreenshot of the integration with dbt models and metrics