Compare Tableau Desktop and Microsoft Excel - Apr 2022

Shlomi LaviShlomi Lavi / Apr 22, 2022

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Bottom Line: Which is Better - Tableau Desktop or Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is more expensive to implement (TCO) than Tableau Desktop, and Tableau Desktop is rated higher (90/100) than Microsoft Excel (56/100). Tableau Desktop offers users more features (13) than Microsoft Excel (3). There is a clear winner in this case and it is Tableau Desktop!

Looking for the right Business Intelligence solution for your business? Buyers are primarily concerned about the real total cost of implementation (TCO), the full list of features, vendor reliability, user reviews, and the pros and cons. In this article we compare between the two software products:

Tableau Software Vs. Microsoft

Tableau Software: Tableau Software provides easy-to-use software applications for fast analytics and visualization. Its products include Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server

Microsoft: Microsoft Corporation is an American corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues.

Who is more expensive? Tableau Desktop or Microsoft Excel?

The real total cost of ownership (TCO) of Business Intelligence software includes the software license, subscription fees, software training, customizations, hardware (if needed), maintenance and support and other related services. When calculating the TCO, it's important to add all of these ”hidden costs” as well. We prepared a TCO (Total Cost) calculator for Tableau Desktop and Microsoft Excel.

Tableau Desktop price starts at $70 per user/month , On a scale between 1 to 10 Tableau Desktop is rated 2, which is much lower than the average cost of Business Intelligence software. Microsoft Excel price starts at $140 per license , When comparing Microsoft Excel to its competitors, the software is rated 4 - lower than the average Business Intelligence software cost.

Bottom line: Microsoft Excel is more expensive than Tableau Desktop.

Which software includes more/better features?

We've compared Tableau Desktop Vs. Microsoft Excel based on some of the most important and required Business Intelligence features.

Tableau Desktop: this software is considered "feature-rich" with more than 10 important features, here is a partial list: Ad-Hoc Analysis, Ad-Hoc Reporting, Automatic Scheduled Reporting, Customizable Dashboard, Dashboarding, Forecasting & Budgeting, Graphic Benchmark, Issue Indicators.

Microsoft Excel: Data Import/Export, Basic Reports, Online Customer Support.

Target customer size

Tableau Desktop is best for small to medium sized businesses and enterprises. There is no restriction of business size and industry to use Microsoft Excel.

Tableau Desktop

ITQlick rating
(4/5)

starts at $70 per user/month

Tableau is a cloud-based integrated business intelligence and reporting solution designed for small, midsize and large businesses. The solution helps the user analyze the critical business data as well as gener...

Categories: Data Analysis Tools, Business Intelligence, Dashboards & KPIs, Data Warehousing.

Microsoft Excel

ITQlick rating
(3.8/5)

starts at $140 per license

Microsoft Excel makes it possible to analyze, manage, and share information in more ways than ever before, helping you make better, smarter decisions. New analysis and visualization tools help you track and hig...

Categories: Spreadsheet.

Compare specifications

Compare features

Tableau Desktop: 13 Features

Ad-Hoc Analysis
Ad-Hoc Reporting
Automatic Scheduled Reporting
Customizable Dashboard
Dashboarding
Forecasting & Budgeting
Graphic Benchmark
Issue Indicators
Multy Languages
OLAP
Performance Measurements
Predictive-Analysis
Trend Indicators

Microsoft Excel: 3 Features

Data Import/Export
Basic Reports
Online Customer Support
ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
ITQlick score ITQlick Score is a 1 to 100, the calculation is based on pricing, and functionality Vs. alternative solutions
Pricing score pricing Score is a 1 to 10 (10 is high cost), based on the TCO (cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
License pricing license pricing (if provided by the software vendor)
Functionality score
Software review
Compare
Tableau ...
ITQlick rating
4/5
Score
90/100
Pricing
3/10
License pricing
$70 per user/month
Functionality
20
Compare
Microsof...
ITQlick rating
3.8/5
Score
56/100
Pricing
5/10
License pricing
$140 per license
Functionality
4
Qlik Sen...
ITQlick rating
4.3/5
Score
95/100
Pricing
3/10
License pricing
$30 per user/month
Functionality
15
SuiteAna...
ITQlick rating
4.1/5
Score
94/100
Pricing
3/10
License pricing
$499 per month + $99 per user
Functionality
10
Sisense
ITQlick rating
4.6/5
Score
94/100
Pricing
4/10
License pricing
$83 per employee/month
Functionality
35

Auditor - Shlomi Lavi

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Shlomi Lavi is an entrepreneur and founder of ITQlick.com. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information Systems Engineering from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Shlomi brings 17 years of global IT and IS management experience as a consultant and implementation expert for small, medium and large-sized (global) companies. Shlomi’s goal is to share the best knowledge and news about information systems so you can make smarter buying decisions for your business.