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SAP Analytics Cloud 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

SAP Analytics Cloud
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Predictive Analytics (2nd)
Tableau
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
295
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (2nd), Data Visualization (1st), Embedded BI (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of SAP Analytics Cloud is 5.1%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tableau is 19.7%, up from 18.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

RamasamyTelungupalayam - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration, collaborative features, and enhances data exploration
There are several areas for improvement in SAP Analytics Cloud. Firstly, features available in SAP Lumira are missing in SAP Analytics Cloud. Secondly, the predictive analytics functions, although promising, are currently only suitable for Proof of Concepts (POCs) and not for industrial-scale use. Lastly, the pricing model for the planning functionality is quite high and presents an entry barrier.
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

"We mainly use Analytics Cloud because it integrates with other SAP solutions. Our ERP is an SAP product, and our back-end is SAP Business Warehouse, so integration is an essential factor."
"The solution is stable."
"The reporting, dashboards, KPIs, and visualization are the most valuable."
"Easy to use."
"A robust solution."
"Visualization is quite seamless and awesome. Once the data messaging is set up, it's straightforward and simple to select how it should be displayed. So, that's another advantage of SAP."
"SAP Analytics Cloud is a very good tool. The feature that's most useful for me is the reporting as it can be done via Google Chrome. The solution is also very nice, user-friendly, and easy to build. It's very easy to use the features of SAP Analytics Cloud."
"The Smart Predict, Smart Insights, and Smart Discovery predictive analysis features are quite good."
"The most important feature in Tableau is visual analytics."
"Technical support has been responsive."
"Tableau has comprehensive, insightful charts, which allow you to build stunning dashboards and enrich your support decision-making."
"From my perspective, it enables clients to better understand our data and make better decisions based on that information."
"The solution is being delivered to our customer, who appreciates the insights generated from the reports. It is easy for them to drill into the details and use interactive charts."
"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."
"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."
"Its performance is pretty good, and the development time is very low."
 

Cons

"There is no direct connector from SAP to Redshift, so we are required to use a third-party product that was recommended by SAP."
"Its integration or connectivity with non-SAP systems, big data, and social media, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, et cetera, can be improved. This is where SAP has limited features as compared to other solutions."
"The predictive analytics functions, although promising, are currently only suitable for Proof of Concepts (POCs) and not for industrial-scale use."
"I would also like to have more advanced features for predictive analytics."
"SAC, which is the cloud version, lost some good features from the previous planning product, like BPC or BPS."
"The customizations need to be better."
"SAP Analytics Cloud requires a lot of coding and I would like the coding to be somewhat minimal."
"It still lacks a lot of functionalities as compared to other tools such as Power BI or Tableau. Sorting is not working as well as it works in Tableau. A lot of other things are also not at the same level. Their technical support is not perfect and could be better. It takes a lot of time to have lacking functionalities implemented. Its integration with the BW backend should be better. Both solutions are from the same vendor. They position SAP Analytics Cloud as a reporting tool on top of the BW environment, but the integration between both is not yet 100%. For example, user management is still not synchronized."
"Licensing and pricing options could be made better so that more users would be able to use it."
"It's already using 32 gigabytes of memory, but the performance is not so good. It's very heavy."
"Navigating through activities like cleansing, reshaping, and wrangling extensive or complicated datasets could prove challenging within the Tableau environment."
"The extraction, transformation and loading of data in Tableau takes a lot of time and we do not have confidence that Tableau is showing all the data we need."
"What is happening, with so many tools coming up in the market, is that people have to continuously get educated in order to use some of the more advanced features."
"Implementation requires a technical background."
"Reports should be downloadable as PDF files."
"The pricing is a bit higher than the competition. They'll need to lower it to stay competitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of this product is reasonable."
"This solution offers value for money and you get what you pay for."
"The pricing is based on an annual license and is rated a four out of ten."
"I don't have the exact price for SAP Analytics Cloud, but it could be improved and made cheaper, especially when compared to Power BI."
"The product is expensive."
"The price is competitive. There is a power user license and normal user license, but the normal user license is reasonable."
"The premium option is very expensive at five thousand dollars. I use the nine hundred and ninety-nine dollar option."
"SAP Analytics Cloud is expensive. The price is a big issue if you compare it with other solutions from different vendors."
"This solution is a bit expensive. The pricing options have become more difficult over the years. I think they are bordering on pricing themselves out of the market. They need different pricing options for various-sized businesses. Where my organization is a large organization, we are happy to pay a higher price because we can leverage the products very extensively. For smaller enterprises, different pricing options would be good."
"Tableau is an expensive solution compared to Power BI."
"Its price is reasonable. Everything is included in the license."
"Basically, we prefer a permanent license. A one-time charge is much better."
"It is a bit difficult for some people when they hear $70.00 per month, as some solutions are available for less than $10.00 or for free."
"I'm using Tableau Public, which is free."
"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."
"Tableau is not as cost-effective as Microsoft BI."
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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…
 

Answers from the Community

ME
Sep 27, 2023
Sep 27, 2023
In case you are working for a small accounting firm, Tableau or Power Bi may cover all your needs. It is important, what kind of ERP system do you use. Are you running SAP S4/Hana, stay in SAP word. If you run other product look to other options. Does not make sense to use SAP AC only, far too expensive and will be hard to utilize fully. Solutions like Tableau or Power Bi are easy to use and wi...
See 2 answers
Kapil Rampal - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 27, 2023
Tableau is a fantastic product. It works really well and is remarkably easy to use. SAP Analytics Cloud is also a good product. Both are quite inexpensive. Personally, I prefer Tableau for its ease of use and quick results. 
Milan Orendac - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 27, 2023
In case you are working for a small accounting firm, Tableau or Power Bi may cover all your needs. It is important, what kind of ERP system do you use. Are you running SAP S4/Hana, stay in SAP word. If you run other product look to other options. Does not make sense to use SAP AC only, far too expensive and will be hard to utilize fully. Solutions like Tableau or Power Bi are easy to use and will give you great result. On the other side it is not so much about the system, but about data quality, this is the key. 
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about SAP Analytics Cloud?
In the data warehouse, you're free to make changes. You can make everything text, meaning it's always a string. Even numbers appear as text, giving you the flexibility to work with all columns.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Analytics Cloud?
The pricing model for SAP Analytics Cloud is quite competitive, but the cost for the planning functionality is high and can be a barrier to entry. The overall cost can be managed with better billin...
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...
What do you like most about Tableau?
Tableau is a fantastic tool that provides impressive dashboards and customized reports.
 

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects Cloud
Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Live Oak Bank
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 SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.