Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik Sense comparison

The compared Microsoft and Qlik solutions aren't in the same category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in BIT , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 8.1% mindshare in the category. Qlik is ranked #4 in DV , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 5.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Qlik users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Power BI

Read 331 Microsoft Power BI reviews

30,090 Views
19,559 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Qlik Sense

Read 125 Qlik Sense reviews

9,427 Views
4,996 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft Power BI

Qlik Sense

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Power BI and Qlik Sense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two BI (Business Intelligence) Tools solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense Report (Updated: January 2023).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense

January 2023

Download the complete report

Helped 892,868 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

6.5

Microsoft Power BI delivers high ROI with cost-effective deployment, enhancing reporting, analytics, and decision-making for businesses.

Sentiment score

6.2

Qlik Sense delivers high ROI through faster decision-making, cost savings, and enhanced insights, boosting operations and revenue growth.

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

Because of integration with Microsoft Power BI, its interactive dashboards, and how easily it integrates with other SQL data sources, business decisions from business users have become much faster.

Hemanthreddy Vakiti

Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

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

In my organization, we moved from OBI to Qlik Sense due to limitations with OBI, resulting in very high ROI.

reviewer2592669

Director Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

Microsoft Power BI support is positive, with responsive customer service, though technical support response times and expertise vary.

Sentiment score

5.4

Qlik Sense's customer service is praised for technical support, though response times vary, with community forums and partners being essential.

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

While tech support is comprehensive, the stability of Qlik Sense means I generally do not need it.

reviewer2592669

Director Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

Technical support requires improvement.

reviewer1586415

Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

In Turkey, the consultant firms are very professional, and they support you.

Hasan ÖZ

Business Intelligence Architect at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.9

Microsoft Power BI effectively scales for most users, though large datasets and high-capacity licenses pose challenges and costs.

Sentiment score

7.7

Qlik Sense is praised for scalability, efficiently handling large data sets and users, but requires careful licensing and server management.

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

It performs well in terms of performance and load compared to others.

reviewer1586415

Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Qlik Sense helps analyze data and can handle larger amounts of data compared to other BI tools.

Shraddha Waghulde

Solution Architect at Predoole Analytics

It is easily scalable with Microsoft, with other services Azure and other tools they provide.

reviewer2737320

student at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.4

Users find Microsoft Power BI stable and reliable but face performance issues with large datasets and real-time data limitations.

Sentiment score

7.6

Qlik Sense is highly stable, with users praising its reliability, effective support, smooth upgrades, and robust functionality.

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

The stability is very good.

reviewer1586415

Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Power BI needs performance improvements, better mobile accessibility, non-Microsoft database support, and simplified interface for non-technical users.

Qlik Sense users seek better customization, real-time features, data handling, visualization, ease of use, cost efficiency, and improved support.

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

Power BI has better visualizations and interactions with updates in 2023 that provide ease of use.

Hasan ÖZ

Business Intelligence Architect at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Providing an API feature to access data from the dashboard or QEDs could be beneficial.

reviewer2592669

Director Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

There should be more comprehensive documentation and explanatory videos available to help clients understand and calculate capacity-based pricing, making it easier to predict costs before implementing Qlik Sense Cloud.

Shraddha Waghulde

Solution Architect at Predoole Analytics

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Setup Cost

Microsoft Power BI offers competitive pricing, with discounts available and appreciated features, despite higher Premium costs.

Qlik Sense offers flexible, albeit pricier, licensing options praised for easy setup and quick ROI, but requires careful cost analysis.

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

It is just about how expensive it is to implement.

reviewer2737320

student at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Compared to Power BI, it is definitely costly.

reviewer1586415

Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Among the BI tools and data analytics tools, Qlik is the most expensive.

Hasan ÖZ

Business Intelligence Architect at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Valuable Features

Microsoft Power BI offers user-friendly interfaces, powerful data visualization, and seamless integration for efficient data analytics solutions.

Qlik Sense provides intuitive dashboard creation, seamless integration, and robust data handling with powerful analytics and flexible development capabilities.

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

From an end-user perspective, it's convenient and performance-oriented, providing something meaningful from all the organization's data.

reviewer2592669

Director Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

The true power is in the ability to connect with any database, get the data, and work with the data.

PawanSingh3

Director at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

It is a single product that I can use as an ETL database, BI, and more.

reviewer1586415

Associate Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qlik Sense report

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Power BI

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

331

Ranking in other categories

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

Qlik Sense

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Data Visualization (4th), Embedded BI (2nd), AI Data Analysis (13th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Power BI is designed for BI (Business Intelligence) Tools and holds a mindshare of 8.1%, down 21.4% compared to last year.
Qlik Sense, on the other hand, focuses on Data Visualization, holds 5.2% mindshare, down 8.4% since last year.

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Power BI	8.1%
Tableau Enterprise	6.2%
Amazon QuickSight	3.3%
Other	82.4%

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Data Visualization Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qlik Sense	5.2%
Tableau Enterprise	10.3%
Domo	4.2%
Other	80.3%

Data Visualization

Featured Reviews

Hemanthreddy Vakiti

Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Interactive dashboards have transformed restaurant data into faster daily business decisions

Microsoft Power BI has many features and there is not a lot to improve. However, the licensing can be confusing. When deciding between Pro and Premium, I find it difficult to distinguish what features are offered by Pro and what features are offered by Premium, including the particular differences to choose between both licensing models. Additionally, some features such as DAX, which I mentioned previously, involve DAX calculations and complex data modeling, which are somewhat advanced and not easily understandable. Prior knowledge is required or you need to go through the documentation. If the documentation is made comprehensive so that anyone with no knowledge on DAX can easily use it by going through the documentation, it would be really helpful. Additionally, if the integration with non-Microsoft tools is improved and performance is optimized, then Microsoft Power BI can become a top-ranked visualization tool. The user experience with Microsoft Power BI is quite good. The intuitive user interface makes it easy for both technical and non-technical users to create reports. However, only the advanced features are somewhat complex, and if the documentation is improved, it can be easily accessible.

Read full review

Shraddha Waghulde

Solution Architect at Predoole Analytics

Unlocks actionable insights through user-friendly analysis features

The self-service capabilities that Qlik Sense offers are significant. They offer natural language processing, allowing users to ask questions in layman language, and Qlik Sense will create charts and narratives automatically. Users can access any dashboard developed in Qlik Sense from familiar portals such as Okta or other company portals through embedding features. The integration with chatbots, particularly Microsoft Teams, allows users to access dashboards and ask questions directly within Teams. The collaboration feature enables users to share analysis by taking snapshots and tagging team members within the Qlik Sense interface, eliminating the need for lengthy emails or screenshots. The storytelling feature allows users to create presentations directly in Qlik Sense using dashboard analysis, making it easier to answer questions during meetings. The subscription feature enables users to receive charts and sheets via email instead of navigating to the dashboard, facilitating monitoring purposes. Qlik Sense offers alerting capabilities where users can set thresholds for KPIs and receive notifications when these thresholds are reached. The platform also includes AI/ML features for predictive modeling through a no-code component, allowing business users to create and deploy AutoML models without depending on data scientists. The Qlik Answers component, featuring generative AI capability, enables users to get answers from unstructured data including Excel, HTML documents, or Microsoft Word documents by creating a knowledge base. The user-friendly interface operates on a drag-and-drop approach, with Qlik Sense suggesting appropriate charts based on selected dimensions and measures. The associative engine capabilities allow data association between tables, implementing selections across related tables. The platform uses a color-coding system (white, gray, and dark gray) to show related, excluded, and unrelated data selections, providing insights beyond traditional BI tools.

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which BI (Business Intelligence) Tools solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

892,868 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

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	135
Midsize Enterprise	59
Large Enterprise	169

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	40
Large Enterprise	88

Questions from the Community

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

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

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qlik Sense?

It is not about performance. It is just about how expensive it is to implement.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qlik Sense?

Everything depends on the use case, but I would prefer Power BI because of how mainstream it is. There is not much information available. It is not a mainstream tool that many companies use, so if ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon QuickSight vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 17% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 12% of the time

Domo vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 6% of the time

QlikView vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 2% of the time

MicroStrategy vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 1% of the time

More Microsoft Power BI Competitors

Apache Superset vs Qlik Sense

Compared 7% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Qlik Sense

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Qlik Sense

Compared 3% of the time

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence vs Qlik Sense

Compared 3% of the time

Adaptive Insights vs Qlik Sense

Compared 3% of the time

More Qlik Sense Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI

April 2026

Download Microsoft Power BI product report

Buyer's Guide

Qlik Sense

April 2026

Download Qlik Sense product report

Also Known As

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

QlikSense, Qlik Analytics Platform

Overview

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

Qlik Sense offers drag-and-drop dashboard creation, multi-data source integration, and self-service analytics. Users benefit from associative data modeling and real-time insights. The platform enhances quick deployment across any device with its flexibility and ease of use.

Qlik Sense provides rapid dashboard creation and seamless multi-data source integration, supporting real-time analytics and high-speed ETL capabilities. Users enjoy advanced visualizations and natural language processing within an intuitive interface. The solution's in-memory engine ensures fast data processing while offering flexibility and quick deployment on all devices. Its open API facilitates extensive customization and integration with chatbots and third-party extensions.

What are the key features of Qlik Sense?

Rapid Dashboard Creation: Enables quick creation of insightful dashboards using a drag-and-drop interface.
Multi-Data Source Integration: Supports seamless integration across various data sources for comprehensive analysis.
Self-Service Analytics: Empowers users with intuitive tools for independent data exploration and insights generation.
Associative Data Modeling: Enhances understanding of complex datasets and relationships.
Advanced Visualizations: Offers sophisticated visual options to present data clearly and engagingly.
Real-Time Insights: Provides up-to-the-minute data analysis capabilities.
Open API Integration: Allows extensive customization and integration with third-party tools.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Fast Deployment: Enjoys rapid setup and integration across devices, facilitating immediate data access.
Enhanced Flexibility: Customization options allow tailored solutions that meet specific user needs.
Comprehensive Integration: Capable of integrating multiple data sources, improving analytical scope.
Improved Data Accessibility: Offers easy access and understanding of complex data.
Automation Efficiency: Streamlines reporting and analytics tasks, boosting productivity.

In industries such as finance and sales, Qlik Sense enables interactive data analyses and dashboard creation across departments. It supports business intelligence for financial reporting, sales analysis, and decision-making. By automating reporting and combining data from multiple sources, it facilitates users in generating insights and enhancing data accessibility for informed business decisions.

Qlik

Sample Customers

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

Abbvie, Airbus, Barclays, BT Openreach, BMW, Daimler AG, HSBC, IKEA, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Mail Group, Sanofi, Siemens, Wendy'', Vodafone, Volvo

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense

January 2023

Free Report: Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense and other solutions. Updated: January 2023.

DOWNLOAD NOW

892,868 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Microsoft Power BI vs. Qlik Sense report.

We monitor all BI (Business Intelligence) Tools 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.