BI software comparison by features

The implementation of governed self-service BI is paramount for several reasons. It empowers business users to gain timely and relevant insights from data, enabling them to make more informed decisions and fostering a data-driven culture throughout the organization. Governance mechanisms ensure that these insights are based on accurate and reliable data, that the definitions of key business metrics are consistent across different reports and departments ('single source of truth'), and that sensitive information is protected via appropriate access controls and row-level security rules.

A key challenge is finding a balance between empowering business users with the flexibility to explore and analyze data and maintaining the necessary control by IT over the data environment. Modern BI tools should be suitable for a fundamental shift in how organizations approach BI, moving from a model where IT serves as the primary provider of reports to a more collaborative environment where IT acts as an enabler, providing the infrastructure and a way how business users can perform their own analysis.

Tool/Feature Report Creation Ease of Use Visualization Options SQL Support Drag-and-Drop Interface Report Sharing Methods Embedding Access Controls Governed Self-Service Features Semantic Layer User Roles/Permissions Pricing Model Self-Hosted Option
Metabase Easy Wide range Custom SQL queries Yes Email, Slack Yes Yes Models No native layer, integrates with Cube Yes Free, paid plans Yes
Tableau Intuitive basics, advanced can be complex Extensive, highly customizable Custom SQL queries Yes Tableau Server/Cloud, embed Yes Granular permissions Data governance features Yes Comprehensive User-based subscriptions Yes
Power BI User-friendly Wide range Custom SQL queries Yes Publish, share, embed Yes Row-level security Integration with Microsoft Purview Yes Yes Free, Pro (per user), Premium (per user/capacity) Yes
Looker Steep learning curve (LookML) Standard set Strong (LookML) Limited Embed Yes Robust Semantic modeling (LookML) Yes (LookML) Yes Customized, can be expensive Yes
Looker Studio Easy Wide range Yes Yes Links, embed, schedule email Yes Looker Studio Pro: Enhanced Looker Studio Pro: Team workspaces Yes (LookML) Looker Studio Pro: Advanced team permissions Free, Pro (per user/project) Yes
Mode Intuitive SQL editor, drag-and-drop SQL + Python visualizations, dashboards SQL editor Yes Collaboration features, embed Yes Not specified in detail Not specified in detail Not specified in detail Not specified in detail Cloud-based, not fully detailed No
Apache Superset User-friendly interface, no-code builder & SQL IDE 40+ pre-installed, customizable SQL IDE Yes Embed, shareable links Yes RBAC Semantic layer , RBAC Yes RBAC Open-source, cloud hosting via Preset Yes
Amazon QuickSight Interactive dashboards, but potentially less intuitive Interactive, but potentially limited variety Limited Yes Embeddable dashboards Yes AWS security model AWS ecosystem integration Not specified in detail Yes Usage-based No (cloud only)
Domo User-friendly, low-code interface Comprehensive, customizable Yes Yes Embed, collaboration features Yes Strong controls Strong governance Yes Yes Enterprise-focused, can be expensive Yes
Holistics Drag-and-drop report builder Variety, custom visuals via Vega-lite Strong SQL modeling Yes Slack, Email, Sheets, SFTP, Webhooks, embed Yes Row & column level Semantic layer, Git integration, access controls, usage monitoring Yes Row & column level Tiered pricing based on users and features Yes
Redash Lightweight, SQL-focused Various chart types SQL editor Yes Links, embed, email, Slack, webhooks Yes Role-based Permissions management No native layer Yes Open-source, hosted options Yes
SeekTable Very easy, upload data and report in seconds Web pivot tables, charts, tabular reports Direct SQL connection supported Yes Team sharing, public links, embed, email, API Yes Team sharing with rules, row-level Shareable cubes, data-level security Yes (shareable cubes) Team roles, access rules Team sharing subscription, self-hosted options Yes
Qlik Sense Intuitive drag-and-drop Smart visualizations, rich charting Yes Yes Hub, embed, print, export, share Yes Roles, security rules Roles, security rules, governed libraries Yes Yes, customizable roles Subscription-based, can be complex Client-managed option