With the visualization zoomed, users can interact with it and, consequently, generate more in-depth insights from their dashboard. Besides, it has quite a valuable feature missing in Tableau: with the focus mode, a user can zoom any visualization they want to see closer. Although Tableau traditionally offers more flexibility in dashboard design, Power BI is no less a handy tool here. Regarding dashboard creation, both tools use drag-and-drop: a user simply needs to drag a visualization item and put it in an empty spot on the dashboard. What is more, Tableau allows using different forecasting models. For example, Tableau provides opportunities for visualizing geographical data with maps and including graphics in tables. Due to Tableau’s ten-year head start, the tool has certain tiny but pretty valuable features that are absent in Power BI. However, many believe that in terms of data visualization, Tableau is still a cut above Power BI. As visualization and dashboard creation remain the central functions of these tools, both of them deliver more than 20 different types of baseline visualizations, including heat maps, line charts, scatter plots, histograms, packed bubbles, and others. Indeed, it’s pretty hard to detect any bells and whistles in Power BI that miss in Tableau, and vice versa. Generally speaking, both Tableau and Power BI have quite the same capabilities. In 20, Power BI started to pressure the competitor, slowly moving toward its definitive victory in 2019.
The situation was quite different in 2015, though so far, it was the last year Tableau was a sole and clear frontrunner. Although Tableau still took the lead, it totally kept in step with Microsoft’s product. In 2018, Tableau and Power BI were two clear leaders. As Microsoft continuously enhanced the tool, it shortly became quite a rival to Tableau, going up against it in the Gartner Magic Quadrant.
Released as a part of the Microsoft pack, it picked up a lot from Excel, resembling a bunch of its add-ons combined with charts and dashboard sharing. Speaking of Power BI, it saw the light later, in 2011.
Besides, it seems like users feel right at home with Tableau: as stated on their website, the tool serves over 70,000 organizations globally. Indeed, Gartner recognized it as a leader among BI tools for seven consecutive years between 20. With its sophisticated functionality, the tool literally ranked second to none. Released in 2003, Tableau didn’t wait long before becoming the gold standard in data visualization. The history of “Tableau vs Power BI” debate is as old as the hills, and it’s unlikely to end so soon. Whatever the reasons behind these market positions, there is little ground to assume that Tableau will wait long until it fires back.
Its advancing functionality and relatively affordable price might have assured Power BI’s success over the rather expensive Tableau. Indeed, for the last 12 months, Power BI has been continuously releasing monthly updates, improving reporting, modeling, data preparation, and other features. As less than a month ago Salesforce announced its purchase of Tableau for quite a heavy sum, many started to doubt what the future holds for this BI platform.Īt the same time, it’s possible that Power BI’s great performance is mostly due to Microsoft’s constant investment into the tool. Many might assume that it’s not merely Power BI’s advancement-it’s more about Tableau’s uncertain future. For those wondering what exactly brought Microsoft’s product to such a success, it might be hard to establish one single factor.