MySQL vs Tableau comparison

The compared Oracle and Salesforce solutions aren't in the same category. Oracle is ranked #1 in OSD , with an average rating of 8.5, and holds a 11.6% mindshare in the category. Salesforce is ranked #2 in BIT , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 18.3% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

MySQL

Read 148 MySQL reviews

7,973 Views
6,155 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Tableau

Read 295 Tableau reviews

18,562 Views
15,629 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

MySQL

Tableau

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Tableau and MySQL compete in the analytics and database management category. Tableau appears to have an edge due to its advanced analytics capabilities and ease of use, although its cost can be a drawback.

Features: Tableau offers advanced visual analytics, user-friendly data exploration, and predictive analytics capability. It supports connections to over 100 types of databases, including structured and non-structured databases. MySQL provides a strong platform for data storage and management with support for SQL standards. It is the backbone for applications requiring structured data management and supports integration with LAMP/WAMP.

Room for Improvement: Tableau could benefit from more affordable pricing models, enhanced machine learning functionalities, and better data security measures. Users also desire less complexity in handling large datasets. MySQL could improve in scalability and high availability features, and it lacks certain analytical capabilities that are critical for complex scenarios.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tableau is known for its straightforward setup and has a strong support community. Users at lower-tier support levels report responsiveness issues. MySQL's open-source nature provides flexibility and easy deployment. However, advanced support may require enterprise solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Tableau is expensive, especially for small to mid-sized companies, but users cite rapid ROI due to its advanced capabilities. MySQL is cost-effective with a free community edition, offering significant savings for users not requiring advanced support or enterprise features.

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February 2025

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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

MySQL

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

148

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (1st), Relational Databases Tools (3rd)

Tableau

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

295

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (2nd), Reporting (2nd), Data Visualization (1st), Embedded BI (1st)

Mindshare comparison

MySQL and Tableau aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. MySQL is designed for Open Source Databases and holds a mindshare of 11.6%, down 18.4% compared to last year.
Tableau, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 18.3% mindshare, down 19.0% since last year.

Open Source Databases

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Featured Reviews

Muzzamil Hussain

Assistant Vice President at National Bank of Pakistan

Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment

The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

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ROMIL SHAH

Deputy General Manger - Information Technology at Nayara Energy

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a good tool, a good database platform."

"It has a remote access feature to manage the database from a remote location. This enables in-work collaboration."

"One of the best features is this solution is easy to use."

"Apart from the features that are in the enterprise part, we find the database to be valuable. The connectors and the backup features are valuable as well. We use the basic database. We don't really use the extra features. Our clients like the security features in the database."

"The one interesting thing about this product is that it is open source. It comes from an open source product. MySQL has been positioned as open source, but it also provides support."

"What I've been most pleased with is the cost point, performance, and ease of use."

"We use it as a data store and from that perspective, we get everything we need."

"It has a community version. When I have to create a new database, I have no problems with licenses."

More MySQL pros

"It is an excellent tool for data capture, processing, and visualization."

"Data handling, visualizations, and aesthetics of it are the most valuable features."

"Tableau has comprehensive, insightful charts, which allow you to build stunning dashboards and enrich your support decision-making."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"I have found Tableau easy to use and the features are superb."

"This service is the combination of very pleasant, interactive graphical visualizations along with the application of advanced statistical models (in some cases)."

"Analysis is now more visual than in the past."

"The solution is configurable and flexible. We can customize the dashboards and configure the interface the way that we want. The data can be manipulated and arranged in different ways, such as columns."

More Tableau pros

Cons

"Improvements are required in character set support, scalability, and big data sets."

"Even for the best database, we always want the database to perform much better, so we wish MySQL would be much better, in terms of performance."

"There should be an arrangement for end-users to get trained to use the tool...Improvement-wise, a graphical interface could be added for new users, eliminating the need to memorize the complex syntax."

"While utilizing a comparable algorithm, is noted to be sensitive, especially when configuring the inner device."

"We want to continue using MySQL but it merged with Oracle and the scalage changed."

"MySQL's performance needs to be improved for enterprise-level applications compared to Oracle and Postgres."

"I would like to see more integrations of the solution with other platforms and improve the support on different data types."

"We want high availability and replication features, which are currently missing in this solution. It would be great if they can provide an in-built replication feature, similar to Oracle RAC, in MySQL."

More MySQL cons

"If I have to develop any, for example, pie charts, I can develop them just fine. However, if I have to develop a donut chart, that I cannot do it in a simple way. There are tricks that I need to use if I have to design a donut chart. It should be more flexible and provide more visualization options."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"Other tools are more competitively priced."

"More integration with Python or something related to machine learning would be a good improvement."

"The data entered into Tableau must be clean. Otherwise, it won't work properly."

"If they could add global filters in the stories, more chart types, and default colours, it would help."

"I am a BI consultant. I have worked on different reporting tools, such as Power BI and MicroStrategy. As compared to other tools, Tableau lags behind in handling huge enterprise-level data in terms of robust security and the single integrated metadata concept. When we connect to large or very big databases, then performance-wise, I sometimes found Tableau a little bit slow. It can have the single metadata concept like other tools for the reusability of the objects in multiple reports."

"The data processing in Tableau is pathetic compared to Qlik."

More Tableau cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's free."

"MySQL is a free and open-source solution."

"I rate the solution's pricing as four out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. For our basic needs, it's quite affordable. However, the cost increases when we need to scale up or require high availability. Our developer team of about 600 people uses MySQL without much issue. The pricing becomes more of a concern on the business side, as we have more end users and need constant database availability and scaling. In those cases, the solution gets a bit more expensive, even though it provides good value for the business."

"It has a community version."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."

"This product has a good price point."

"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"For our organization, the cost hasn't been an issue."

"Tableau is a little cheaper as compared to Power BI and other technologies that we have used in the past. However, if the business users in our organization want to make presentations, Tableau has been asking us to purchase a Tableau Creator license, and $35 per month is expensive for business users. Power BI is giving a free desktop version for business users to connect to any data source and build their own dashboards. That's why we have proposed to use Power BI for most of the business users in our organization."

"Tableau's licensing is pretty straightforward and simple."

"Tableau is not as cost-effective as Microsoft BI."

"I like the payment model. For the people who need to create, they buy their licenses. Everyone else can use the free Tableau Viewer. This is much better than some of the competitor products, which require full licences for everything."

"For the use and the capability of the software, it's $70 per month, and that is quite inexpensive."

"We pay for the enterprise license for Tableau. The licensing could be cheaper and more flexible."

"The pricing of Tableau should be better to remain competitive in the market, especially when compared to alternatives."

More Tableau pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user6330

Product Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

44%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?

MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...

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Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?

I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...

See all answers

What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?

One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

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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 ...

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Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MySQL

Compared 28% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MySQL

Compared 16% of the time

SAP HANA vs MySQL

Compared 9% of the time

MariaDB vs MySQL

Compared 6% of the time

More MySQL Competitors

Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau

Compared 20% of the time

Domo vs Tableau

Compared 13% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Tableau

Compared 7% of the time

Databricks vs Tableau

Compared 6% of the time

SAP Analytics Cloud vs Tableau

Compared 4% of the time

More Tableau Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MySQL

February 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Tableau

February 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online

Overview

MySQL is a cost-efficient and scalable relational database management system widely used in web, mobile applications, and academic projects.

MySQL is utilized for backend operations, data analysis, reporting, financial transactions, and ERP databases. It supports deployment on local servers, Cloud, and Kubernetes. Its free, open-source nature along with strong community support make it popular among companies. MySQL's compatibility with multiple platforms and programming languages enhances its appeal. While it remains stable and easy to use, areas such as replication, clustering, and backup require improvement to better serve enterprise applications. Enhanced security, error messages, and monitoring tools are also desired for a better user experience.

What are the most important features of MySQL?

Free and Open-Source: No licensing costs, perfect for budget-conscious projects.
Compatibility: Works with multiple platforms and programming languages.
High Performance: Efficient performance across large datasets.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business needs.
Clustering and Replication: Ensures data availability and redundancy.
Easy Installation: Quick setup process on various operating systems.
Community Support: Extensive resources and community assistance.
Cross-Platform: Operates seamlessly on different operating systems.
Data Management Interface: Simplifies data handling and manipulation.

What are the benefits of using MySQL?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce expenses with a free, open-source database.
Scalability: Adapt to increasing data demands effortlessly.
Performance: Handle large datasets with ease and speed.
Community Support: Access a vast pool of knowledge and resources.
Flexibility: Integrate with various platforms and languages for diverse use cases.
Data Reliability: Clustering and replication for high data availability.

In multiple industries, MySQL supports internal applications, billing systems, academic teaching purposes, and ERP databases. Companies leverage MySQL for Cloud and local deployments, ensuring effective data manipulation and backend operations in diverse projects. Its role in financial transactions and reporting further emphasizes its versatility.

Oracle

Tableau is a tool for data visualization and business intelligence that allows businesses to report insights through easy-to-use, customizable visualizations and dashboards. Tableau makes it exceedingly simple for its customers to organize, manage, visualize, and comprehend data. It enables users to dig deep into the data so that they can see patterns and gain meaningful insights.

Make data-driven decisions with confidence thanks to Tableau’s assistance in providing faster answers to queries, solving harder problems more easily, and offering new insights more frequently. Tableau integrates directly to hundreds of data sources, both in the cloud and on premises, making it simpler to begin research. People of various skill levels can quickly find actionable information using Tableau’s natural language queries, interactive dashboards, and drag-and-drop capabilities. By quickly creating strong calculations, adding trend lines to examine statistical summaries, or clustering data to identify relationships, users can ask more in-depth inquiries.

Tableau has many valuable key features:

Tableau dashboards provide a complete view of your data through visualizations, visual objects, text, and more.
Tableau provides convenient, real-time options to collaborate with other users and instantly share data in the form of visualizations, sheets, and dashboards.
Tableau ensures connectivity to both live data sources and data extraction from external data sources as in-memory data. This gives users the flexibility to use data from more than one source without any restrictions.
Tableau gives many data source option, ranging from spreadsheets, big data, on-premise files, relational databases, non-relational databases, data warehouses, and big data, to on-cloud data.
Tableau has a lot of pre-installed information on maps, such as cities, postal codes, and administrative boundaries.
Tableau has a foolproof security system based on authentication and permission systems for data connections and user access. Tableau also gives you the freedom to integrate with other security protocols.

Tableau stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of these include its fast data access, easy creation of visualizations, and its stability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

Romil S., Deputy General Manager of IT at Nayara Energy, notes, "Its visualizations are good, and its features make the development process a little less time-consuming. It has an in-memory extract feature that allows us to extract data and keep it on the server, and then our users can use it quickly.

Ariful M., Consulting Practice Partner of Data, Analytics & AI at FH, writes, “Tableau is very flexible and easy to learn. It has drag-and-drop function analytics, and its design is very good.”

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.

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.

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February 2025

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