Microsoft Power BI vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

Microsoft and SAP are both solutions in the Reporting category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while SAP is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 18.8% mindshare in RT, compared to SAP’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Power BI

Read 327 Microsoft Power BI reviews

22,037 Views
9,035 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

SAP Crystal Reports

Read 52 SAP Crystal Reports reviews

1,754 Views
1,421 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft Power BI

SAP Crystal Reports

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

SAP Crystal Reports and Microsoft Power BI are leading products in the business intelligence and reporting category. Based on the results of the comparison, Microsoft Power BI has the upper hand due to its superior integration capabilities, user-friendly interface, and cost-effectiveness.

Features: SAP Crystal Reports offers flexibility in custom reporting with adaptable data sources, sub-reports, and powerful formula functions. It is known for producing pixel-perfect, consistently formatted reports from multiple sources. Microsoft Power BI is strong in integration capabilities, real-time data analysis, and interactive dashboards. It provides a broad array of connectors and a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface for creating reports easily.

Room for Improvement: SAP Crystal Reports needs to enhance its user experience and graphing capabilities. The interface is less intuitive and troubleshooting migrated reports can be challenging. Microsoft Power BI could improve real-time data processing, customization options for data visualization, and third-party integration. Its data manipulation can be complex, and there are concerns about its pricing model.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Crystal Reports is mostly used on-premises, with mixed reviews on technical support. While some users find the support adequate, others turn to online communities due to inconsistent directly provided support. Microsoft Power BI offers flexible deployment options including public, private, and hybrid cloud, enhancing its adaptability in different IT environments. It generally receives positive feedback for customer service, though usability improvements and faster support response times are suggested.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Crystal Reports is considered expensive, with costs encompassing training and licenses. While its price reflects its comprehensive features, it might not suit all budget limits. Microsoft Power BI, on the other hand, is viewed as more cost-effective with multiple pricing tiers including a free version, providing value for money due to its extensive feature set and wide accessibility.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Crystal Reports Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Crystals

December 2025

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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

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

Sentiment score

5.7

SAP Crystal Reports greatly enhances ERP reporting and efficiency, offering ROI over 1000%, despite costly user training.

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

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

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

Sentiment score

5.7

SAP Crystal Reports customer support is inconsistent, with mixed reviews, leading users to favor online resources and self-help solutions.

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

I have not encountered any problems requiring assistance.

Salman Mukhtar Baig

SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.9

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

Sentiment score

7.6

SAP Crystal Reports supports scalability and is suitable for medium to large enterprises, with room for scalability improvements.

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

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.4

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

Sentiment score

7.1

SAP Crystal Reports is stable on Windows, with Unix challenges and improved performance on specialized servers post-2011.

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

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Room For Improvement

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

SAP Crystal Reports needs better visualization, modern tech integration, improved analytics, compatibility, and enhanced documentation and 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

If it is closed due to any problem, it should be able to recover where I left off, similar to Excel, which should be a feature for SAP Crystal Reports.

Salman Mukhtar Baig

SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East

Enabling better practices and testing to enhance data accuracy and efficiency for company sectors.

MUHAMMAD_IMRAN

Inhouse SAP Business One Sr. Consultant at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees

It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, and similar cloud technologies.

Chamodr I'M

I'm at DTS Group

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Setup Cost

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

SAP Crystal Reports pricing perceptions vary; some find it costly, but discounts and volume deals can reduce expenses.

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

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Valuable Features

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

SAP Crystal Reports provides flexible data connectivity, custom design, and efficient reporting, enhancing decision-making and client communication.

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

SAP Crystal Reports has had a very positive impact and benefits. It's a powerful tool to design any kind of report if you have knowledge of the database, and it can attach to both HANA and SQL databases.

Salman Mukhtar Baig

SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East

The efficiency gained by our organization from SAP Crystal Reports is measurable through multiple export formats such as PDF and Excel.

MUHAMMAD_IMRAN

Inhouse SAP Business One Sr. Consultant at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees

The best features SAP Crystal Reports offers are powerful data connectivity, customized report design, interactive and visual reports, import, export, sharing options, and automation and scheduling.

Chamodr I'M

I'm at DTS Group

For more quotes and insights, download the SAP Crystal Reports report

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Power BI

Ranking in Reporting

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

327

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (1st)

SAP Crystal Reports

Ranking in Reporting

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft Power BI is 18.8%, down from 26.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Crystal Reports is 2.5%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Power BI	18.8%
SAP Crystal Reports	2.5%
Other	78.7%

Reporting

Featured Reviews

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

Salman Mukhtar Baig

SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East

Unlock data insights with seamless integration and robust reporting features

I assess the impact of SAP Crystal Reports' dynamic parameters on the customization and flexibility of my reports as very good. Sometimes it creates a problem when it suddenly closes during work due to improper shutdowns, but most of the time it's beneficial since I can fetch the data in one report very efficiently, which is great for the company. The sub reports in SAP Crystal Reports help me enhance the depth and detail of my reports by allowing me to use multiple sets of records, especially when I have very large requirements, such as company dashboards that show what sales, purchases, productions, and HR are doing. Using sub reports as the main report is very beneficial because I can pull multiple department data into the main report. Over the years, SAP Crystal Reports has had a very positive impact and benefits. It's a powerful tool to design any kind of report if you have knowledge of the database, and it can attach to both HANA and SQL databases. I can also connect this data with Excel, which makes it a very powerful tool for me.

Read full review

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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

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	22

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...

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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

What needs improvement with SAP Crystal Reports?

SAP Crystal Reports could be improved with more modern user-friendly interfaces and better integration with cloud platforms and AI tools. It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azur...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SAP Crystal Reports?

I have been using SAP Crystal Reports for six months. I am using SAP Crystal Reports to develop data-driven reports and use customer data printing. When I use SAP Crystal Reports for customer data ...

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?

We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.

See all answers

Comparisons

Tableau Enterprise vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 14% of the time

Domo vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 7% of the time

Databricks vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 4% of the time

KNIME Business Hub vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Power BI Competitors

IBM Cognos vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 10% of the time

QlikView vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 9% of the time

TIBCO Jaspersoft vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 9% of the time

Windward Core vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 8% of the time

More SAP Crystal Reports Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI

December 2025

Download Microsoft Power BI product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Crystals

December 2025

Download SAP Crystal Reports product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

Turn information from almost any data source into a sophisticated, interactive report with SAP Crystal Reports. This powerful, user-friendly application for small businesses and departments can help you deliver key insights to the right decision maker, at the right time, in the right format.

Click here for a free trial

SAP

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

City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), LivePerson, Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY WEiJL, El Machetazo, Young Heroes, Mozzart, Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI) , Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, AL-KO KOBER GROUP

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Crystals

December 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Crystal Reports

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Crystal Reports and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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We monitor all Reporting 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.