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Microsoft Power BI vs Zoho Analytics 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:
 

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
4.7
Zoho Analytics boosts decision-making, saves time, enhances sales, and offers great value with real-time data and positive feedback.
In a world surrounded by data, tools that allow navigation of large data volumes ensure decisions are data-driven.
Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding
Power BI is easy to deploy within an hour, providing robust security against data leaks.
Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd
The integration with Zoho People is particularly important because I can access real-time data at any time, including what's happening in the last minute.
Associate Data Analyst at Monocept
After incorporating Zoho Analytics, now all our decisions come from its reviews.
Pricing Analyst at Transcend
Any time I've integrated customer data using Zoho, I've received great feedback and referrals, and Zoho has gotten me referrals and more customers.
Zoho Analyst BI Consultant at The Digital Monkeys
 

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
5.4
Zoho Analytics offers generally effective customer service, though response times and solution completeness can vary based on user experiences.
The significant drawback I notice is that Microsoft's size makes it hard to get specific change requests addressed unless they involve a bug.
Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding
We have a partnership with Microsoft, involving multiple weekly calls with dedicated personnel to ensure our satisfaction.
Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network
The support is good because there is also a community available.
Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
The support team doesn't have full awareness of the system capabilities.
Senior people and systems analyst at B_labs & Mylo
Zoho support provides assistance through live chat to guide us.
Senior Zoho Developer at a cloud solution provider with self employed
If you need help with any issue you face, you can directly call them.
Senior Software Engineer at Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd.
 

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
6.3
Zoho Analytics is scalable, managing 1,000 to 2 million records, but needs improvements for better large-scale adaptability.
You expect only a small percentage of users concurrently, but beyond a thousand concurrent users, it becomes difficult to manage.
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.
Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network
As more data is processed, performance issues may arise.
Product Owner at ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Zoho Analytics can easily adapt to our needs when they grow, and you don't need much knowledge to adapt it; even basic Excel knowledge is sufficient.
Pricing Analyst at Transcend
You can utilize URL features to redirect users to their records in Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk with just a click.
Software Engineer at Stackbox 360
Zoho Analytics is scalable.
Data Analyst at Mobolution
 

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
7.2
Zoho Analytics is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime, though some users report challenges with specific features.
In terms of stability, there's no data loss or leakage, and precautions are well-managed by Microsoft.
Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd
We typically do not have problems with end-user tools like Excel and Power BI.
Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network
It is very stable for small data, but with big data, there are performance challenges.
Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
A major missing feature compared to Power BI is the ability to create multiple DAX measures or row-level context, which would be useful for showing custom profit and loss statements.
Data Analyst at Mobolution
The stability and reliability of Zoho Analytics have been good over time.
Software Engineer at Stackbox 360
The stability and reliability of the product is crucial for optimal performance.
Software Developer at Cloud Lion
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Power BI needs better integration, flexible pricing, enhanced features, improved data handling, and seamless compatibility with various platforms.
Zoho Analytics users seek enhanced visual tools, better support, improved AI, connectivity, and pricing, with faster sync times.
This makes Power BI difficult to manage as loading times can reach one or two minutes, which is problematic today.
Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd
Access was more logical in how it distinguished between data and its formatting.
Corporate HR Financial Controller at STMicroelectronics Holding
Microsoft updates Power BI monthly based on user community feedback.
Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network
The collaborative features of Zoho Analytics have faced one issue: they have tried to reduce the sync time with most Zoho applications, but even with CRM, the sync still takes one hour.
Software Engineer at Stackbox 360
While Power BI uses Power Query, an intuitive and powerful tool that allows data manipulation in any way, Zoho Analytics has limitations.
Data Analyst at Mobolution
Having to pay for 25 users when only 11 are needed creates an issue with the pricing structure.
Senior Zoho Developer at a cloud solution provider with self employed
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Power BI is competitively priced, offering flexible licensing with free to premium options, viewed favorably against competitors.
Zoho Analytics provides cost-effective pricing with flexible billing, competitive against Tableau and Power BI for budget-conscious enterprises.
I found the setup cost to be expensive
Responsable du département Projets et Applications at CHD Vendée
Power BI isn't very cheap, however, it is economical compared to other solutions available.
Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd
The pricing for Microsoft Power BI is low, which is a good selling point.
Business Development Director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
The annual subscription cost of Zoho Analytics is equivalent to about half of the monthly cost of tools such as Tableau or Power BI.
Data Analyst at Mobolution
The pricing for Zoho Analytics is actually cheaper than the competitors for the kind of service they provide.
Senior Product Analyst at Bureau
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Power BI provides seamless integration, intuitive visualizations, and real-time processing, ideal for organizations' efficient data analysis needs.
Zoho Analytics enhances decision-making with customizable dashboards, AI-driven insights, seamless integration, and user-friendly reporting and visualization tools.
In today's data-driven environment, these tools are of substantial value, particularly for large enterprises with numerous processes that require extensive data analysis.
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.
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.
Senior Technical Service Engineer Expert at Fujitsu
The AI called Zia in Zoho Analytics is extremely useful. Whenever I build a chart or dashboard, I can generate a summary of insights using this AI tool, which is very convenient for both leadership and manager level teams to understand the data concepts.
Data Analyst at Mobolution
The best feature is that in the same tool, we can use SQL and business intelligence capabilities.
Associate Data Analyst at Monocept
Regarding integration capabilities, I have found Zoho Analytics' 100+ integrations very effective in consolidating data from various sources.
Business Analyst at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Power BI
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
1st
Ranking in Reporting
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
327
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoho Analytics
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
7th
Ranking in Reporting
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (7th), Embedded BI (6th)
 

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 Zoho Analytics is 1.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Reporting Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Power BI18.8%
Zoho Analytics1.6%
Other79.6%
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Shoury Priyanshu - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
VR
Data Analyst at Mobolution
Has supported trend analysis and forecasting but needs major fixes in customization and reliability
There are some areas where Zoho Analytics needs improvement compared to Power BI. Uploading and interpreting data inside the interface needs enhancement. While Power BI uses Power Query, an intuitive and powerful tool that allows data manipulation in any way, Zoho Analytics has limitations. I usually prepare data in Excel before uploading it to Zoho Analytics. The charts in Zoho Analytics are not as customizable as in Power BI. While all chart types are available, they can only be modified at a basic level, not an advanced level. Though trend analysis features are provided, creating anything out of the box is challenging.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Reporting solutions are best for your needs.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business135
Midsize Enterprise57
Large Enterprise165
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What do you like most about Zoho Analytics?
Zoho Analytics's most valuable feature is the ability to provide excellent analytics through a single platform.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Analytics?
Compared to other analytic tools, Zoho Analytics is cost-effective. The annual subscription cost of Zoho Analytics is equivalent to about half of the monthly cost of tools such as Tableau or Power ...
What needs improvement with Zoho Analytics?
For our strategic initiatives, the AI functionality is not useful because it cannot provide requirement-specific insights. It only gives an overview of the report. One major issue I face in Zoho An...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

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
Suzuki, American Pacific Mortgage, KPMG, Air Canada, University of Michigan, BricozOr, WorldWide Express, The University of Melbourne, Novartis, SAIC
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Power BI vs. Zoho Analytics and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.