What’s the difference between Power BI and Tableau?

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These two software products, one developed by Microsoft (Power BI) and the other by Tableau, are data visualization tools. Both meet business intelligence needs, but they offer different advantages that should be considered according to your business context.

Since Tableau has been available for a longer period of time, it currently has a larger user base than Power BI. However, over time, Microsoft’s solution has been gaining momentum and tends to compete very strongly with Tableau.  Let’s take a look at the differences between the two solutions.

Definition

Power BI

Tableau

  • Unified and scalable platform to support strategic business decisions. It centralizes data, allows visualization and generates complex analytics. Power BI is compatible with other Microsoft Azure solutions and integrates easily with the Office ecosystem (Excel, Project, etc.).
  • Data visualization and analytics tool. Its attractive user interface allows you to generate reports, dashboards and analytics of data from various sources.

Data capacity

Power BI Tableau
  • Basically, a subscription provides access to 10GB of storage space.

 

  • Additional data can be stored on the Microsoft Azure Cloud.
  • A subscription offers up to 100GB of data stored on the Tableau Cloud.

 

  • Tableau is compatible with robust cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services.

Advanced features

Power BI

Tableau

  • Ability to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning.
  • Does not offer artificial intelligence or machine learning features.

 

  • Allows reports to be structured as dynamic stories.

Performance

Power BI

Tableau

  • Enables quick and easy visualization of data from various sources.

 

  • Able to generate complex analytics such as predictions, data clusters and decision trees.

 

  • Allows you to visualize data from various sources in a visually appealing form.

 

  • Able to generate complex analytics such as predictions and data clusters.

Audience

Power BI

Tableau

  • With the drag-and-drop feature, Power BI is easy to use, even for users with little or no experience with this type of tool.

 

  • Suitable for companies of all sizes.
  • This solution requires a little more experience than Power BI to master.

 

  • More suitable for medium and large companies.

Price

Power BI Tableau
  • The subscription starts at $9.99/user/month.

 

  • Additional fees may apply if you need to store more than 10GB of data on the cloud.
  • For business use, the subscription is available from $35/user/month. Several packages are available, depending on your needs.

 

  • Expect additional costs when connecting with third-party applications.

 

 

Conclusion

Both Power BI and Tableau have pros and cons. Their performance, however, is similar.  The better of the two solutions, in fact, is the one that best suits your needs, skills and requirements.

Want to make an informed decision?

Contact us – we’ll be happy to help you choose the solution that best suits your business needs.