Microsoft Power BI vs. Zoho Creator

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.5 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
Zoho Creator
Score 8.8 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Zoho Creator is a low-code application development platform for building enterprise-class applications that run on mobile, tablet, and web. It is designed to allow users to create custom forms, configure workflows, build pages, and deploy apps quickly.
$8
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Standard
$8
per month per user
Professional
$20
per month per user
Enterprise
$25
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsAdd-ons: Customer Portal: $100/month onwards Premium Support : 20% of license fees Enterprise support: 25% of license fees
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
Features
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
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
Zoho Creator
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports8.3164 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.8192 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.0175 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
191 Ratings
2% below category average
Zoho Creator
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis8.2188 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.7188 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.3140 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.5186 Ratings00 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
Zoho Creator
-
Ratings
Publish to Web8.3174 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.2169 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7141 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.3144 Ratings00 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9107 Ratings00 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
Zoho Creator
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2178 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1163 Ratings00 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.4133 Ratings00 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
Zoho Creator
-
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
Zoho Creator
-
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
Zoho Creator
-
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
Low-Code Development
Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
-
Ratings
Zoho Creator
8.0
18 Ratings
5% below category average
Visual Modeling00 Ratings7.717 Ratings
Drag-and-drop Interfaces00 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Platform Security00 Ratings8.118 Ratings
Platform User Management00 Ratings8.018 Ratings
Reusability00 Ratings7.218 Ratings
Platform Scalability00 Ratings8.118 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
Small Businesses
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Quixy
Quixy
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Kyvos Insights
Kyvos Insights
Score 9.5 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(195 ratings)
9.1
(24 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(111 ratings)
7.9
(18 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(52 ratings)
9.8
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BIZoho Creator
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
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Zoho
If you are using some application of Zoho and want some more functionality into it, Use Zoho creator to develop a separate app as per requirement and integrate it with your Zoho App. Small organization can use creator to make apps but it can be used for small range of storage, For Large organization , it may be not feasible.
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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.
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Zoho
  • Accountability for each employee work which is very vital for any organization
  • Making operations very simple even that a simple lay man would be able to perform detailed work like a pro
  • Data tracking in live was made possible
  • Using proper Manpower for the work they are apt.
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
Zoho
  • In C6, the new setup of permissions is not logical. Admins now have access to every application rather than specific applications, which impacts data confidentiality.
  • In C6, the new feature for having multiple environments is very limited as it does not work for ZOHO Creator applications that are linked to other Zoho Creator applications in the same workspace - which is not logical at all.
  • In C6, the revised permissions for Developers do not allow the developer to assign permissions to users or to publish forms, reports, pages, etc....which again is not logical.
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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.
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Zoho
Today Zoho Creator is included in our current plan from Zoho One, but if it was needed to pay apart it should be done because the software we created became very important for our team. The use of Zoho Creator contributes to endorse the Zoho One subscription year after year.
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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.
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Zoho
Its quite easy if one has the need, interest and passion to build applications and solutions through low-code. One example would be, that my finance head who has absolutely nothing to do with tech and apps, is now able to create apps and manage Zoho Creator all by himself. So its all about the interest and how much time we put to learn the tool. Having said that, its quite easy to learn the tool and create anything that's within our scope of knowledge.
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Zoho
In an earlier comment, I mentioned Zoho's excellent uptime. I have been using the system for over 6 years, and have experienced only momentary outages, and of those, only a hand full over the years. It is extremely reliable
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Zoho
We do not integrate Zoho with other systems at this time, but rarely are searches, database exports, record edits or creation tasks ever slow enough to notice. It is quite usable
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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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Zoho
I recommend Zoho Creator very often. A lot of companies go big earlier than they need to and spend way too much on SalesForce & Marketo. I worked for a small company with some limited budget that pivoted to sell it's product to the Enterprise. Zoho Creator was incredibly easy to set up, intuitive to use, and contains all the most essential features that most users need and seek in SalesForce. We integrated with MailChimp & Unbounce and were able to be incredibly useful in acquiring leads, nurturing them, and tracking pipeline in Zoho Creator. Our small sales team found it very easy to use and loved it.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
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Zoho
Even if it is a easy to use platform, it got some issues on the implementation that could easily handle by IT teams. In our scenario this team don't exist anymore, and the business/marketing team had their expectations that it was quickier to be implemented. So, consider a professional help on this implementation could be cost more (of cource) but it would be helpful to manage the issues and expectations.
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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.
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Zoho
Zoho Creator stands out for its balance of affordability, ease of use, and powerful customization options. While it may not offer the same level of enterprise-scale features as platforms like OutSystems or Mendix, it provides a robust solution that meets the needs of many businesses, especially those looking for an integrated, cost-effective low-code platform with strong support for both simple and complex applications.
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Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Zoho
Zoho is incredibly versatile. Much thought was put in to the way the platform functions. I've yet to face a situation where Zoho would not be able to do what I needed. That being said, because of its power, it can also be a bit intimidating technically. Simple needs are simple. More complex needs are ... more complex! Overall, it's a powerful, robust platform
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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.
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Zoho
  • With using Zoho Creator we are able to build apps that we may otherwise pay a pretty penny for. We may risk some features we could get from a 3rd party app but the fact that the data we do collect can easily syn with our CRM and Accounting systems makes up for this.
  • Negatively speaking, it takes time to fine tune and really craft your application. I am not a coder, nor do I have a coding background, so patience is key as you design and build out your application.
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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

Zoho Creator Screenshots

Screenshot of Multi-Platform App builderScreenshot of Dashboards created using Zoho CreatorScreenshot of An overview of Hotel management dashboardScreenshot of Schedule and manage eventsScreenshot of BI and AnalyticsScreenshot of Help Desk overview