IBM Planning Analytics vs Microsoft Power BI comparison

The compared IBM and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. IBM is ranked #6 in BPM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 5.3% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in BIT , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 10.8% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Planning Analytics

Read 25 IBM Planning Analytics reviews

2,944 Views
1,178 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Power BI

Read 327 Microsoft Power BI reviews

21,941 Views
13,603 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM Planning Analytics

Microsoft Power BI

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Planning Analytics and Microsoft Power BI based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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To learn more, read our detailed Business Performance Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Business Performance Management

December 2025

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Helped 879,259 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score

6.8

IBM Planning Analytics boosts budgeting productivity but faces challenges from rising costs, prompting some companies to explore alternatives.

Sentiment score

6.8

Microsoft Power BI enhances efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and user satisfaction through scalability, ease of use, and robust security features.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

In a world surrounded by data, tools that allow navigation of large data volumes ensure decisions are data-driven.

Michael Ostfeld

Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding

Power BI is easy to deploy within an hour, providing robust security against data leaks.

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.0

IBM Planning Analytics support is positive, yet response times vary; documentation, training, and multi-level support are valued.

Sentiment score

6.6

Microsoft Power BI's support is praised for resources and community but needs improvement in response time for complex queries.

We have a multi-level support system, with the initial level handled by the company we bought the license from and subsequent support from IBM.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

Instead, we rely on third-party partners recognized by IBM, who provide cost-effective support.

Ayman Alshabani

Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

The significant drawback I notice is that Microsoft's size makes it hard to get specific change requests addressed unless they involve a bug.

Michael Ostfeld

Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding

We have a partnership with Microsoft, involving multiple weekly calls with dedicated personnel to ensure our satisfaction.

James Balbach

Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network

The support is good because there is also a community available.

MohammedHamad

Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.5

IBM Planning Analytics excels in scalability and real-time data, though complexity and pricing pose challenges for some users.

Sentiment score

6.9

Microsoft Power BI offers scalable solutions for various enterprises, excelling in integration yet facing challenges with large data volumes.

Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

Scalability is straightforward but it is pricey since it's a SaaS model priced per user.

Ayman Alshabani

Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

You expect only a small percentage of users concurrently, but beyond a thousand concurrent users, it becomes difficult to manage.

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

With increasing AI capabilities, architectural developments within Microsoft, and tools like Fabric, I expect Power BI to scale accordingly.

James Balbach

Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network

As more data is processed, performance issues may arise.

Raymond De Rooij

Product Owner at ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

IBM Planning Analytics is stable and reliable, praised for robustness, supporting budgeting in various industries with few issues.

Sentiment score

7.4

Microsoft Power BI is stable and reliable, but may face slowdowns and issues with large datasets and updates.

This stability is really important as we use it for budget calculation, which is time-consuming.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

In terms of stability, there's no data loss or leakage, and precautions are well-managed by Microsoft.

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

We typically do not have problems with end-user tools like Excel and Power BI.

James Balbach

Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network

It is very stable for small data, but with big data, there are performance challenges.

MohammedHamad

Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Room For Improvement

IBM Planning Analytics needs improved integration, pricing, visualization, user interface, functionality, automation, design, speed, and predictive analytics support.

Microsoft Power BI needs better integration, flexible pricing, enhanced features, improved data handling, and seamless compatibility with various platforms.

The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

IBM's visualization needs significant improvement.

Ayman Alshabani

Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

This makes Power BI difficult to manage as loading times can reach one or two minutes, which is problematic today.

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

Access was more logical in how it distinguished between data and its formatting.

Michael Ostfeld

Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding

Microsoft updates Power BI monthly based on user community feedback.

James Balbach

Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Setup Cost

Enterprise IBM Planning Analytics has setup costs from consulting fees and varied licensing, offering market-standard ROI and compatibility.

Microsoft Power BI is competitively priced, offering flexible licensing with free to premium options, viewed favorably against competitors.

TM1 is quite expensive, and I'd rate the pricing as an eight out of ten.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly.

Ayman Alshabani

Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

I found the setup cost to be expensive

Sebastien TOUSSAINT

Responsable du département Projets et Applications at CHD Vendée

Power BI isn't very cheap, however, it is economical compared to other solutions available.

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

The pricing for Microsoft Power BI is low, which is a good selling point.

MohammedHamad

Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Valuable Features

IBM Planning Analytics enhances planning with flexible design, Excel integration, sandbox testing, machine learning, and user-friendly interface.

Microsoft Power BI provides seamless integration, intuitive visualizations, and real-time processing, ideal for organizations' efficient data analysis needs.

Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes.

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

It also integrates machine learning and AI engines, enabling us to use algorithms for inventory forecasting which optimizes our inventory and replenishment rates.

Ayman Alshabani

Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM Planning Analytics report

In today's data-driven environment, these tools are of substantial value, particularly for large enterprises with numerous processes that require extensive data analysis.

Michael Ostfeld

Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding

Within the organization, Microsoft Power BI is used to create dashboards and gain insights into data, enhancing data-driven decision-making.

Raymond De Rooij

Product Owner at ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

To reduce the need for highly skilled personnel, we can engage someone who is just familiar and has a basic understanding of Microsoft Power BI, while AI can handle the major tasks through either agent AI or requirement analysis.

Shrikrishna Kashid

Senior Technical Service Engineer Expert at Fujitsu

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Power BI report

Categories and Ranking

IBM Planning Analytics

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Performance Management (6th)

Microsoft Power BI

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

327

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (1st), Reporting (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Planning Analytics is designed for Business Performance Management and holds a mindshare of 5.3%, down 9.2% compared to last year.
Microsoft Power BI, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 10.8% mindshare, down 22.1% since last year.

Business Performance Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Planning Analytics	5.3%
Anaplan	8.0%
Oracle Hyperion	6.2%
Other	80.5%

Business Performance Management

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Power BI	10.8%
Tableau Enterprise	7.6%
Amazon QuickSight	4.1%
Other	77.5%

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Featured Reviews

reviewer1517922

Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees

Ensured functionality meets user needs, yet complexity remains a challenge

Since I'm using TM1 as an old version of Planning Analytics, it wouldn't be fair to specify what needs improvement because it's possible these issues have already been addressed in newer versions. If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks. The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to. This complexity makes it hard to maintain and evolve developments.

Read full review

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

Facilitates seamless data aggregation with some outdated visual elements hindering user appeal

Real-time data integration is an area for improvement. Although I've worked on several solutions involving real-time integration, it's not very user-friendly and often lags, especially with over a million data rows. This makes Power BI difficult to manage as loading times can reach one or two minutes, which is problematic today. There are challenges with scalability, requiring multiple pages in dashboards to manage these issues. Visualization could be improved as it appears outdated. Users, especially newcomers, find it unappealing and not user-friendly.

Read full review

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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Business Performance Management solutions are best for your needs.

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879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Comparison Review

it_user79932

Senior Manager - BI Head with 5,001-10,000 employees

Feb 4, 2015

Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho

1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Retailer

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	135
Midsize Enterprise	57
Large Enterprise	165

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Planning Analytics?

The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database where all data are centralized.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Planning Analytics?

While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly. Comparatively, IBM rates may be better than those of competitors, such as Hyperion ( /pro...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Planning Analytics?

IBM is behind competitors like Tableau ( /products/tableau-reviews ) and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties. IBM's visualizatio...

See all answers

Seeking lightweight open source BI software

There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...

See all answers

Is Power BI a complete platform or only a visualization tool?

Power BI is an advanced visualization tool oriented to big data with a very complete set of widgets to visualize information, control users accessing information, the configuration of governance po...

See all answers

How does Oracle OBIEE compare with Microsoft BI?

Oracle OBIEE is great in allowing design and creativity per the individual needs of the organization. Dashboards are fully customizable and very user-friendly. This solution is very stable. Oracle ...

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP Analytics Cloud vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 14% of the time

Anaplan vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Cognos vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Hyperion vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 7% of the time

Jedox vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM Planning Analytics Competitors

Tableau Enterprise vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 13% of the time

Domo vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 7% of the time

Databricks vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 5% of the time

QlikView vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Power BI Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Planning Analytics

December 2025

Download IBM Planning Analytics product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI

December 2025

Download Microsoft Power BI product report

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1

SSRS, SSAS, MSBI, MS Reporting Services, Microsoft BI Tools, Microsoft Big Data, Power BI Pro, MS BI

Overview

IBM Planning Analytics is an integrated planning solution that uses AI to automate planning, budgeting, and forecasting and drive more intelligent workflows.

Built on TM1, IBM’s powerful calculation engine, this enterprise performance management tool allows you to transcend the limits of manual planning and become the Analytics Hero your business needs. Quickly and easily drive faster, more accurate plans for FP&A, sales, supply chain and beyond.

IBM

Microsoft Power BI is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization. This tool stands out for its ability to merge and analyze data from various sources. Widely adopted across different industries and departments, Power BI is instrumental in creating visually appealing dashboards and generating insightful business intelligence reports. Its intuitive interface, robust visualization capabilities, and seamless integration with other Microsoft applications empower users to easily create interactive reports and gain valuable insights.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

ManpowerGroup, Convergys, AIG, Orchard Brands, Citibank, InterGen, Northwestern University, EF Education First, Ironside, Bazan Group, CSOB Insurance, Macquarie Group, Charles Stanley, SATO, Government of Sint Maarten, BMW Financial Services

Accenture Adidas Aetna AIG Airbus Alibaba Allstate Amazon American Express Aon AT&T Audi Bank of America BASF Bayer Berkshire Hathaway Boeing Coca-Cola Comcast Cisco Coca-Cola Dell Disney Emirates Equinix FedEx Ford GE Google H&M Home Depot Honda IBM Intel JPMorgan Chase Kellogg's Kroger L'Oréal McDonald's Merck MetLife Microsoft Nike Oracle P&G PepsiCo Procter & Gamble Prudential Financial SAP Siemens Snapchat Spotify Starbucks Target Toyota T-Mobile Unilever Visa Walmart WeWork World Bank Xerox

Buyer's Guide

Business Performance Management

December 2025

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We monitor all Business Performance Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.