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Knowage vs TIBCO Spotfire comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 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

Knowage
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
33rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (21st)
TIBCO Spotfire
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of Knowage is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Spotfire is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
TIBCO Spotfire1.3%
Knowage1.0%
Other97.7%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Margin Assurance Analyst at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
A stable open source suite for modern business analytics with a useful replication feature
It would be better if more resources were available to help us learn how to use it. I wanted to use Knowage for a more extended period, but learning materials around the product were not really available and were not really straightforward. I've also seen inconsistencies between versions. For example, under the tools, especially in the cockpit, the way you create reports is now different. You will also find some configurations within a particular state, like a line chart, which differs from version to version. I think consistency is an essential feature in a product, especially for business intelligence products.
reviewer2835996 - PeerSpot reviewer
Operations Analyst at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Interactive dashboards have transformed reporting and now support real-time data-driven decisions
One area that could improve in TIBCO Spotfire is performance with very large data sets. I use the advanced scripting feature less often, but the visualization and dashboard features are very useful in my daily work with TIBCO Spotfire. TIBCO Spotfire can be improved in handling very large data, faster dashboard loading, simpler advanced scripting, and better customization options for visualizations. Integration with some external tools in TIBCO Spotfire can be smoother, and the user interface for advanced features could be more beginner-friendly. A more intuitive navigation system, a cleaner interface, and an easier drag-and-drop option for report building would also make it more useful.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Customer Service: Excellent."
"Instead of just relying on emails to disperse our reports, having a central server to do this for us has helped our organization and has pushed us into a better place."
"The embedding feature is great."
"Our customers really appreciate the self-service BI functionalities."
"SpagoBI makes delivering reports to our clients very easy."
"I am satisfied with the product in general given what the company invested in it, which was just our time."
"The most valuable feature of SpagoBI is that it is open source and 100% free without limits."
"The concept of engines is quite powerful allowing the user to work with report authoring/provisioning tools of their choice."
"Building a dashboard is very fast, even if you have limited IT skills."
"We realize ROI through less maintenance, one-time work, easy accessibility, and less manual work."
"It has helped our organization become more agile."
"This solution allows us to integrate data from across all client departments, for effective reporting via a single dashboard."
"TIBCO Spotfire is easy to use. We initiated Spotfire as POC, with support from a tech team based in South Africa. While they assisted with the setup, we conducted the POC ourselves."
"On a per-user basis, we are saving several hours per week of analysis time."
"Spotfire is excellent for scientific applications, especially because of its integration with RNG."
"Live Query data on demand, R and Python integration, and the ability to write HTML and JavaScript text areas are all valuable features."
 

Cons

"Tomcat configuration was tricky in earlier versions."
"Yes, using Mobile and Desktop Editions, we would sometimes need to restart the service."
"We are not happy with the poor graphic user interface. It looks a bit old and sometimes it is not properly user friendly."
"We had stability issues."
"I encountered a lot of issues when I tried to integrate the map in order to realize Intelligent Location Dashboards."
"The demands of some jobs would slow Spago and lock the site, preventing any other job from processing."
"The only challenge here is that it's a Java-based platform. It requires very high technical skills."
"When it comes to Knowage, it's a bit heavy, it's time-consuming sometimes, it's not very fast, and definitely not as fast as other business intelligence tools in terms of getting graphical reports."
"Their mobile solution (i.e. to use on mobile devices) and export functions are relatively weak."
"The initial setup of TIBCO Spotfire is in the middle range of difficulty. The initial setup of Power BI is easier."
"I think TIBCO Spotfire could be improved by having better training, as the setup is probably the hardest aspect to get familiar with."
"Spotfire requires better documentation."
"There's one area I see that specifically needs improvement. That is when you do the data loading; it is slow."
"Spotfire needs to allow for more of a database feel when using multiple data files."
"The handling and consumption of realtime data could be improved."
"If you made a mistake in building a table, you need to start all over, there is no way to change it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Knowage is open-source, and an enterprise edition is also available."
"It allows the implementation of an effective reporting system using internal skills at a limited upfront cost."
"The ROI is nearly impossible to calculate."
"The solution is affordable one."
"This product carries a monthly licensing charge, with the amount depending on the features that are to be included. This costs also covers the use of technical support."
"In comparison to other solutions such as IBM Cognos, TIBCO Spotfire is more affordable."
"The Tibco sales teams have been very difficult to work with - ignoring requests, misrepresenting level of demand, etc."
"The cost of TIBCO Spotfire could improve. It should be less expensive. It's the most expensive visualization tool in our company."
"The pricing seems competitive and reasonable. The value delivered by the product far exceeds the cost."
"The cost is a few hundred dollars per user per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
23%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise44
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Spotfire?
I really had no control in the area of pricing, setup cost, and licensing as I was just the end-user of the product.
What needs improvement with TIBCO Spotfire?
I think TIBCO Spotfire could be improved by having better training, as the setup is probably the hardest aspect to get familiar with. Once you do, it becomes straightforward. Better training and ea...
What is your primary use case for TIBCO Spotfire?
My main use case for TIBCO Spotfire is to showcase and visualize large bodies of data in charts and categorize them to identify trends and determine what works and what does not work from an analyt...
 

Also Known As

SpagoBI
Spotfire
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

FIAT Group, Italian air navigation service provider, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Telecom Italia, ASL Genovese, San Giovanni Battista University Hospital
Allergan, ASSS de Montreal, Avantium, Blue River, Bank of Montreal, Citibank, FrieslandCampina, Hellmann Logistics, Merck, Novartis
Find out what your peers are saying about Knowage vs. TIBCO Spotfire and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
905,601 professionals have used our research since 2012.