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Apache Superset vs Tableau comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Superset
Ranking in Data Visualization
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tableau
Ranking in Data Visualization
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
295
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (2nd), Reporting (2nd), Embedded BI (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Data Visualization category, the mindshare of Apache Superset is 10.6%, up from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tableau is 27.2%, down from 31.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Visualization
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammed Shafad - PeerSpot reviewer
Scalable platform with efficient data set creation features
It is a good visual solution tool in an open-source category. Our customers want to improve the business into a SaaS model. They analyze the telecom-based transaction data with SaaS, including the number of subscribers, usage of 4G and 5G networks, etc. The platform improved data analysis for our customers by providing a visualization library. We can drag visualization graphs to create weekly sessions. There is no need to implement any extra coding. It has no code interface allowing us to track the dimensions and measure the canvas. It automatically generates the chat once we select the graph. The most efficient features are data set creation and data manipulation. We can directly use the raw data table and summarize it dynamically by processing the data manipulation window. SQL Editor enhances the data scoring process, helping us write queries directly during dashboard discrepancy issues. We can store the query for future analysis as well. It enables a customizable integration with other data sources. The main benefit of using the product is the ability to access the data source without using any coding. Any user can create reports easily with minimal training. I recommend Apache Superset for customers who are considering open-source vendors. I rate it an eight out of ten.
ROMIL SHAH - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides fast data access with in-memory extracts, makes it easy to create visualizations, and saves time
When it comes to visualizations, Tableau has a limitation as compared to Power BI. It has a limited set of visualizations. Power BI has the entire marketplace, so you can connect and import many visualizations and use them, whereas Tableau has only 10 or 15 visualizations. There should be more visualizations, and there should also be data integration with more cloud providers. Tableau has recently launched a paid version for the documentation. So, documentation has become a little bit challenging when it comes to Tableau development because we do not have any tool to export the data out of it. It is a license-based feature that you need to purchase to prepare documentation. So, on the documentation front, for preparing clear documentation for any dashboard, it would help if we get an embedded option, rather than buying a license for each user for the documentation. To document anything, if I have to connect to each workbook and see what has been written as a formula and then document in the Word document, it is pretty time-consuming. We have the Microsoft stack, and we are currently evaluating Power BI because Tableau has a limitation of 50 columns for a drill-down report. If we want more than 50 columns, we have found a hack, but there is no ready-made option for doing it. So, we have to use another tool in case we need a drilled report with more than 50 columns. There are many instances where users need 80 or 90 columns for their analysis, and switching between two technologies becomes a challenge. It is not a cost-effective approach for us. Their support should be improved. We are not happy with their support. Whenever we raised queries, we were pointed to a few blogs, and we didn't get a proper solution from them. Their licensing should also be improved. They want us to purchase a Tableau Creator license for business users, whereas Power BI Desktop is free for business users. They should come up with a basic license with one or two connectors that our business users can use for preparing their visualizations. Tableau also charges us per user for users who want the data only through email.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution supports a rich set of charts and enables users to create their own dashboards."
"When you click on any chart, you can apply the filter without any effort."
"The no-code interface is the most valuable as it allows us to operate without constant support from the data engineering team, fostering a self-service environment."
"It is a good visual solution tool in an open-source category."
"The most valuable feature of Apache Superset is the easy way to configure dashboards as reports or analyses and it's easy to use and intuitive. Users do not need a lot of training to use the solution."
"The best thing I like about Tableau is that you don't have to go for creating; it is calculated free."
"The product’s performance is better than other tools."
"Although Tableau isn't the best for us when it comes to processing and working on live data, it is very good at extracting data for analysis."
"The most valuable feature is the aggregation function."
"One of the most valuable features of Tableau is that it's a visual analytics solution, not just a dashboarding solution. Compared to Power BI, which is a dashboarding solution, there are no limitations with Tableau. For example, when you add a chart or a map to Power BI, it has a 3,000-point limitation. When you try to track your whole vehicle on the map, you only see the first 3,000 rows on the map, and Power BI doesn't tell you which part of the data is shown on the map. But Tableau doesn't have any limitations, which means that you can see five million data points on a map. It starts the project by creating the visuals that directly converts to SQLs. In that way, all the components have no limitations. When we compared Tableau to Power BI, we also found Tableau to be more fancy. Fancy means you can create more visual graphics and more visual dashboards. With Power BI, this isn't so—it's just some tables and some simple charts together. Tableau is more for business users who want to analyze data. Tableau can directly connect the analytics systems, like R or Titan, and get the results in screen, so it's a good solution for analytics scientists. It has some predefined capabilities to understand the data."
"The geospatial maps representation and the visualizations are nice."
"The most valuable feature is that we can integrate with our own database, and it will displays the KPIs. This is highly required from the business side."
"It most valuable feature is its ease of developing visualizations, not just charts and graphs."
 

Cons

"Automation in terms of APIs for creating roles, and giving privileges to the user can be improved."
"The platform's reporting feature needs enhancement."
"Apache Superset could be improved by enhancing its interactivity and engagement capabilities."
"With Apache Superset, we had some problems with the permissions when we had too many users."
"Dynamic dashboarding could improve to enable smooth navigation when transitioning from a higher to a lower view, allowing for easy accessibility."
"Tableau support could be improved."
"The tool's OpenAI integration was announced last year. However, it is late. Tableau is a good solution for end customers. However, there are some concerns regarding the stability and performance of its server architecture, including SaaS services. The server side appears unstable, and performance issues are noticeable, often accompanied by unclear error messages."
"In the next release, there should be more information describing each chart because users have a difficult time telling them apart. They should also include the animations/videos, similar to Power BI."
"In the next release, I would like to be able to have the option to see more raw data that I'm converting on the dashboard."
"There should be stronger data modules for the platform."
"SAP BusinessObjects has some semantic layer designs that give the flexibility to do ad hoc reporting or dashboard designing. If that can be brought into Tableau, it would be great. We have the data in the database, but we should also be able to bring something between the database and the dashboard and do some semantic layer modeling for ad hoc reporting requirements."
"The forecasting feature in Tableau in my view is too limited because it must have dates but I should be able to predict the outcome of an event without having a date as part of the input."
"Bursting email is needed to deliver the reports to many people in their inboxes and this functionality is not provided by Tableau."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Apache Superset is less than some of its competitors."
"Apache Superset is open-source and free."
"Apache Superset is an open-source solution."
"Apache Superset has a three-year licensing model."
"The professional version of Tableau is quite expensive."
"The price is definitely a point because smaller firms don't use Tableau as it's an expensive tool."
"It is more expensive than other solutions."
"Basically, we prefer a permanent license. A one-time charge is much better."
"If they want to be competitive in the market, the price must be improved."
"The company chose to purchase a creator license for me, which was $70. With that license, you can also be an administrator. We also have 20-25 extra licenses and they cost around $20-$35 each. Those are for normal users who will be viewing the dashboards. Those are monthly charges."
"Best advice on pricing is to anticipate the desire for more licenses once the results of this product are acknowledged in other parts of your company."
"Its price is higher than Power BI and QlikView. Tableau costs around $70 per user per month, whereas Power BI is around $8 to $9. QlikView is around $30. Tableau has various prices for various models such as Creator, Designer."
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Comparison Review

it_user6330 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 2, 2013
MicroStrategy vs. Tableau
After a recent presentation, several attendees asked me about the applications of Visual Insights and Tableau. Many companies are investing in both tools and are trying to figure out the right tool for specific applications Tableau has found its sweet-spot as an agile discovery tool that analysts…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Superset?
It is a good visual solution tool in an open-source category.
What needs improvement with Apache Superset?
With Apache Superset, we had some problems with the permissions when we had too many users. Some permissions were not really clear even after reading the documentation.
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...
Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?
Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...
Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?
Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Corp, Citigroup, Coca-Cola Company, Cornell University, Dell, Deloitte, Duke University, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Ferrari, French Red Cross, Goldman Sachs, Google, Government of Canada, HP, Intel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Macy's, Merck, The New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, US Army, US Air Force, Skype, and Walmart.
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Superset vs. Tableau and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.