Tableau vs Microsoft Power BI

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Tableau and Microsoft Power BI are leading data visualization and business intelligence tools. Tableau excels in user-friendliness and visual exploration, while Power BI offers deeper analytical capabilities and better integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. Both cater to various business sizes and industries, making the choice dependent on specific needs and existing software infrastructure.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 5424 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 6 hours, 38 minutes of reading.

Tableau

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Microsoft Power BI

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About

Tableau is a popular data analytics platform that helps businesses make sense of their data. It offers powerful, user-friendly tools for visualizing data, creating interactive dashboards, and sharing insights across your organization. Tableau is suitable for companies of all sizes and is known for its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, even for non-technical users. It allows you to connect to various data sources, analyze information visually, and discover trends to make better business decisions.

Microsoft Power BI is a data visualization and business intelligence tool that lets you create interactive reports and dashboards from various data sources. It helps you analyze and understand complex data through easy-to-read visuals. Power BI offers a range of features, from simple drag-and-drop reporting to advanced data modeling and analytics. Share insights with colleagues online or embed them directly into your applications.

Summary

Main difference

Tableau is known for its intuitive interface and strong data visualization capabilities, making it a good choice for users who prioritize ease of use and visual exploration. Power BI, while also visually appealing, offers tighter integration with the Microsoft ecosystem and more advanced analytics features, making it better for organizations heavily reliant on Microsoft products and needing deeper data analysis.

Relative strengths of Tableau (compared to Microsoft Power BI)

Superior data visualization capabilities with a wide array of charts and graphs.
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for non-technical users to create and interact with visualizations.
Strong community support and extensive training resources.

Relative weaknesses of Tableau (compared to Microsoft Power BI)

Can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses.
Limited integration with Microsoft products compared to Power BI.
Data exporting options are less robust than Power BI.

What companies are using Tableau and Microsoft Power BI?

No data

University of South Florida (USF) Alumni Association

ABN AMRO Bank

Kraft Heinz

Who should use Tableau VS. Microsoft Power BI

Tableau empowers data professionals and business users to analyze and visualize data with its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Users praise its performance with large datasets and seamless data integration capabilities. However, some find the cost high and collaborations challenging. Tableau is ideal for organizations needing robust data visualization and reporting tools.

Microsoft Power BI is a user-friendly data visualization and business intelligence tool praised for its interactive dashboards and seamless integration with various data sources. Users appreciate its powerful visualization capabilities and robust data modeling tools. However, some have noted occasional performance issues with large datasets and a steep learning curve. It's best for small to large businesses in various sectors, particularly software, IT, healthcare, and related industries.

Best fit for medium and large companies.
Suitable for most industries seeking data-driven decisions.

Best fit for small, medium, and large businesses.
Ideal for Software, IT, Telecommunications, and Healthcare industries.

Tableau and Microsoft Power BI features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Data encryption

Supported

Tableau encrypts data at rest and in transit using AES-256 and SSL/TLS.

Supported

Power BI encrypts data at rest and in transit using Microsoft-managed keys and Azure encryption.
Drag and Drop Interface

Supported

Tableau offers a drag-and-drop interface for creating visualizations and dashboards.

Supported

Power BI offers a drag-and-drop interface for creating visualizations and dashboards.
Community Support

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Tableau offers community support with resources, training, and a forum.

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Power BI offers community forums, training resources, and a help pane.
Interactive dashboards

Supported

Tableau allows incorporating interactive elements like filters, drop-down menus, and interactive tooltips. Users can drill down into data, use filters, parameters and custom calculations. It supports actions such as filter actions, highlight actions, and URL actions for dynamic interaction.

Supported

Microsoft Power BI allows creating interactive dashboards with features like drilling down and filtering.
Data Visualization

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Tableau offers a wide range of charts and graphs, including pareto charts, stacked bar charts, line graphs, area charts, dual-axis combination charts, Gantt charts, and bullet charts, making it easy to visualize data.

Supported

Microsoft Power BI offers various interactive charts and graphs for data visualization.
BI Tool Integration

Supported

Tableau excels at integrating with other business intelligence tools.

Supported

Microsoft Power BI integrates with a wide range of business intelligence tools.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.78

Strongly negative sentiment

-0.16

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+0.47

Rather positive sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.71

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.9

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.14

Neutral sentiment

-0.03

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.1

Neutral sentiment

+0.38

Rather positive sentiment
Scalability

+0.18

Neutral sentiment

-0.35

Rather negative sentiment

Tableau and Microsoft Power BI Pricing

Tableau offers software in 3 editions: Tableau, Enterprise, and Tableau+ (available through sales). It is unclear if the listed prices are for Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server. All deployments require at least one Creator license. The software is available through a custom embedded analytics plan as well.

Plans

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-0.78

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.16

We couldn't find a pricing page for Microsoft Power BI.

Tableau and Microsoft Power BI review insights

5402 reviews analysed from and

Users love

User interface with exciting visualisation tools.
Works very well as a BI Reporting Tool.
Seamless Data Integration
The best part about Tableau is the performance and speed which enables me to analyze big data without any slowdowns.

User-friendly interface praised for its ease of use.
Powerful visualization capabilities.
Seamless integration with a wide variety of data sources.
Robust data modeling and transformation tools in Power Query.

Users dislike

Some time is slow and have some visualizations flexibilities issues.
The cost is what comes into my head when I first think of Tableau and the collaborations issues as it isn\'t smooth in the desktop version when cimpared to its competitor Power BI
Tableau can be expensive, especially for small businesses or individual users.
The Tableau trial period is too short, If they release the free version with limited features it would be beneficial for students to get hands-on experience.

Occasional performance issues with large datasets.
Steep learning curve for new users.
Limited data exporting options.
Query editor has several limitations.

Tableau and Microsoft Power BI Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(2074)
Capterra

4.6/5

(2209)
TrustPilot

1.9/5

(22)
Glassdoor

4.1/5

(18141)

G2

4.5/5

(1128)

Company health

Employee growth

2% increase in the last year

3% increase in the last year

Web traffic

7% decrease in the last quarter

11% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

July 2022 - $65M

No data

How do Tableau's pre-built visualization templates compare to Power BI's customizability?

While Tableau offers some pre-built visualization templates through resources like Tableau Public and Tableau Accelerators, Power BI is generally considered more highly customizable. Power BI's flexibility allows users to tailor visuals extensively to meet specific needs, offering greater control over the final presentation of data.

Which product better integrates with existing Microsoft tools and infrastructure?

Microsoft Power BI integrates better with existing Microsoft tools and infrastructure. As a Microsoft product, it offers seamless integration with other Microsoft services like Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365. This native integration simplifies data sharing, user management, and deployment within an existing Microsoft ecosystem.

What are the advantages of Tableau?

Tableau's advantages include its market-leading position in BI, renowned drag-and-drop interface for ease of use, and strong community support. It offers a wide array of visualization options, including pre-built templates, and excels in interactive visualizations for data exploration. Users praise Tableau's intuitive interface and performance, especially with large datasets.

What are the disadvantages of Tableau?

Tableau's pricing can be a significant disadvantage, especially for smaller businesses or individuals. Users have also reported occasional performance slowdowns and visualization limitations. The short trial period has also been cited as a drawback.

Alternatives to Tableau and Microsoft Power BI

Metabase

Metabase is a business intelligence tool that makes it easy for anyone in your company to analyze data and create reports, even without technical skills. It connects to your existing databases, allowing you to build interactive dashboards and visualize data without writing code. Metabase offers a user-friendly interface with features like a visual query builder and pre-built dashboards. It's available in both free open-source and paid versions, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. Metabase prioritizes ease of use and accessibility for non-technical users, empowering teams to make data-driven decisions.

Amazon QuickSight

Amazon QuickSight is a cloud-based service designed to help businesses understand their data. It allows you to create interactive dashboards and reports, ask questions about your data in plain English, and embed these insights directly into your own applications. This means everyone in your company can access and explore data to make better decisions. QuickSight is a scalable solution used by companies of all sizes, aiming to simplify data analysis without needing technical expertise.

Databricks Data Intelligence Platform

Databricks Data Intelligence Platform is a cloud-based platform designed to help mid-size to large businesses manage and analyze data. It offers a range of tools for data warehousing, data engineering, data science, and machine learning, all in one place. Databricks aims to simplify data processes, reduce costs, and enable companies to build and deploy AI solutions. They are well-known for their work with open-source technologies, making them a popular choice for businesses invested in those ecosystems.

Alteryx

Alteryx is a data analytics platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface to prepare, analyze, and visualize data without needing coding skills. Alteryx excels at automating data tasks, helping you uncover insights faster and make better decisions. It's used across various departments and industries to improve efficiency and gain a competitive advantage.

Microsoft Power BI Embedded

Microsoft Power BI Embedded lets you integrate interactive data visuals directly into your company's apps and websites. Instead of building your own analytics dashboards, you can use Power BI's existing tools and visuals. This means your team can access and explore important data within the tools they already use, leading to faster, more informed decisions.

Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense is a visual analytics platform that helps you analyze your company data. It consolidates information from different sources, revealing hidden trends and insights. You can create interactive dashboards and reports to easily understand complex data and share findings across your company. Qlik Sense is suitable for various departments like sales, marketing, and finance, and is designed for mid-size to large companies seeking a powerful, user-friendly analytics solution.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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