Power BI - Comparison with Other BI Tools



In this chapter, a comparison between Power BI and other BI tools such as Tableau, Microsoft Fabric, and SSRS is carried out.

Power BI vs Tableau

Tableau is considered one of the leading tools in the BI market. Power BI is considered an emerging tool in close competition with Tableau because of its backend data manipulation features and connectivity with the list of data sources. Tableau is one of the best data visualization tools in the market and is used by medium and large enterprises. Power BI is closely integrated with Office 365 suite, and hence it is compatible with other sources such as SharePoint.

Feature Tableau Power BI
Data Visualization Tableau provides b data visualization and is one of the main data visualization tools in the market. Power BI provides a b backend data manipulation feature with access to simple visualizations.
Size of Dataset Tableau can connect much larger datasets as compared to Power BI. Power BI has a limit of 1GB of data in the free version.
Data Sources Tableau covers a vast range of data sources to connect with for data visualization. In Tableau, you select the dataset first and visualizations are used on the fly.

Power BI covers most of the data sources available in Tableau. It is closely integrated with Office 365, hence provides connectivity to SharePoint.

Power BI online version also supports direct visualization on Search Engine, though, only Bling is supported at this point.

Costing Tableau is expensive as compared to Power BI but still under budget for small and medium enterprises. Power BI provides a free version with a 1GB limit on the dataset. Power BI Pro is also a cheaper solution when compared with any other BI tool.
License and Pricing

Tableau Desktop Profession: USD70/user/month and it can connect to hundreds of data sources.

Tableau Desktop Personal: USD35/user/month and it can connect to data sources such as Google Sheets and Excel files.

Tableau Server: Minimum 10 users with the cost of USD35/user/month

Tableau Online with the private cloud: USD 42/user/month.

Power BI: Free

1 GB storage

10k rows/hour data streaming

Power BI Pro:

USD9.99/user/month

10 GB storage

1 million rows/hour.

Implementation Tableau provides different implementation types as per organizational needs from a few hours to a few weeks. Power BI uses cloud storage and includes a simple implementation process.

Power BI vs SSRS

The following table compares and contrasts the features of Power BI and SSRS −

Feature SSRS Power BI
Data Visualization SSRS is mostly used for Pixel Perfect reporting and average dashboarding features. Power BI provides a b backend data manipulation feature with access to simple visualizations.
Size of Dataset No such limit in SSRS. It can connect to much larger datasets as compared to Power BI. Power BI has a limit of 1GB of data in the free version.
Data Sources SSRS covers a vast range of data sources to connect with for BI reporting.

Power BI covers most of the data sources available in Tableau. It is closely integrated with Office 365, hence provides connectivity to SharePoint.

Power BI online version also supports direct visualization on Search Engine, though, only Bling is supported at this point.

Costing SSRS pricing details are available only upon request. Power BI provides a free version with 1GB limit on the dataset. Power BI Pro is also a cheaper solution when compared with any other BI tool.
License and Pricing SQL Server Enterprise License. It is available on cloud - AWS, Azure, and other providers.

Power BI: Free

1 GB storage

10k rows/hour data streaming

Power BI Pro:

USD9.99/user/month

10 GB storage

1 million rows/hour

Implementation SSRS implementation is complex as compared with Power BI. Power BI uses cloud storage and includes a simple implementation process.

Microsoft Fabric vs Power BI

The following table compares and contrasts the features of Microsoft Fabric and Power BI −

Feature Microsoft Fabric Power BI
Data Visualization Microsoft Fabric provides a Notebook tool that is enriched with numerous functions with access to simple visualizations. Power BI provides a b backend data manipulation feature with access to simple visualizations.
Sizes of Data Set Microsoft Fabric has the potential to link with more complex and giant datasets as compared to Power BI. Power BI has a limit of 1GB of data in the free version.
Data Sources Microsoft Fabric covers most of the data sources embedded in Power BI. It is closely integrated with data science, data analysis, data engineering, and real-time analytics. Power BI covers most of the data sources like Excel, Sharepoint, MySQL, etc. It is closely integrated with Office 365, hence provides connectivity to SharePoint.
License and Pricing Microsoft Fabric: SKU: F64, USD 11.52/hour, USD 8409.6/month. SKU: F128, USD 23.04/hour and 16,819/month.

Power BI: Free

1 GB storage

10k rows/hour data streaming

Power BI Pro:

USD9.99/user/month

10 GB storage

1 million rows/hour

Architecture Microsoft Fabric has a complex architecture like One lake that presents a challenge for data analysts. Power BI architecture is simple as compared to Microsoft Fabric.
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