

This is a big roadblock for small companies or teams that don’t have access to an in-house SQL expert. Given the platform’s popularity, you may be wondering why it’s even worth it to consider a Tableau competitor, but there are plenty of reasons to look at other BI software besides Tableau.įor starters, while Tableau has a lower learning curve than some other competitors in the BI space, it still requires a certain level of technological know-how to make the most of the product, most notably familiarity with SQL queries. Tableau is a business intelligence industry leader for a reason, and it regularly receives high marks for its eye-catching data visualizations, powerful analytics, and relative ease of use. Most businesses opt for the Tableau Creator plan, which bundles together Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and one one license for either Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server for a comprehensive solution. Tableau Reader: This free desktop application allows users to open and interact with data visualizations made in Tableau Desktop.Tableau Prep: This self-service data discovery and preparation tool helps to clean, sort, and combine data to get it ready for use in one of Tableau’s other products.Tableau Public: This free version of Tableau allows users to create data visualizations at no cost and then publish them to Tableau’s public cloud although, files cannot be saved locally or privately due to the free nature of the service.Tableau Cloud: Formerly known as Tableau Online, this product is a fully cloud-based version of Tableau that allows users to do everything without having to download an additional app.


Learn more about Looker What Does Tableau Do? Looker connects to existing company databases and keeps data up to date, and business users can use natural language that matches with the company’s custom LookML settings to build their own reports.

Use their LookML to define business data, and then business users have the freedom to combine, drill down, and analyze that data in real time in dashboards and reports. Looker is a business intelligence and data visualization platform made for companies with an existing data analytics team.
