Power BI (Microsoft) and Tableau (Salesforce) are both popular business intelligence (BI) tools used for data visualization and analysis. Every year, they are both positioned as leaders in the market by Gartner because of their significant adoption and widespread use across various industries. However, they have some differences in terms of features, functionality, and target user base. Here are some key distinctions between Power BI and Tableau:
Ease of use: Power BI is generally considered to be more user-friendly, especially for beginners. It has a simpler interface, it’s easier to navigate and since it’s a Microsoft product, it integrates with many popular tools that are used in most companies, like Teams, Excel and PowerPoint. Tableau, on the other hand, has a steeper learning curve and can be more complex to use.
Data connectors: Power BI has a wider range of data connectors and can connect to more data sources than Tableau. For example, it’s a lot easier to connect Power BI to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a popular ERP software. On the other hand, since Tableau is part of the Salesforce group, it can access Salesforce data and reports more efficiently because it is not limited by the amount of data it can import from Salesforce.
Power BI:
Tableau:
Pricing: Power BI has a lower entry-level price point, with a free version and a more affordable Pro version at 10$ per month per user or developer. Tableau, on the other hand, is more expensive and has a higher entry-level price point. The monthly Tableau subscription for developers is 70$ per month per developer and the license per viewer is 15$ per month per viewer.
Power BI:
Tableau:
Integration: Both Power BI and Tableau offer integration capabilities with various data sources and other platforms. Power BI can be integrated and embedded in a wide range of applications, including Web Apps. It can also fully integrate with Microsoft Suite, such as Teams, PowerPoint, Excel and soon, Outlook. Tableau also allows users to embed dashboards on the Web and connect to a wide range of data sources, including databases, cloud storage platforms, spreadsheets, and web applications. Tableau and Salesforce seamlessly integrate with each other since Tableau is part of the Salesforce group. That enables productive data analytics that brings benefits to the users of the popular CRM. Tableau also offers many marketing and social media connectors that Power BI don’t, like Facebook Ads
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Tableau:
Customization: Tableau is generally considered to be more customizable and flexible than Power BI, because it has more visuals and advanced features for data analysis and visualization. However, Power BI allows you to download custom visuals created from the community of developers on the Power BI visuals marketplace.
Power BI visuals marketplace:
Power BI core visuals:
Tableau:
Collaboration: Both tools offer collaboration features, but now that Power BI has released its developer mode, it is considered to be more robust in terms of co-development, source control, Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD).
Ultimately, the choice between Power BI and Tableau depends on your specific needs, preferences and the other tools and software your company is already using. Power BI may be a better choice for businesses with limited budgets and less complex data analysis needs. Tableau may be a better choice for organizations with more complex data needs and a larger budget.