Microsoft Power BI vs SAP Analytics Cloud comparison

Microsoft and SAP are both solutions in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.9, while SAP is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.6. Microsoft holds a 21.6% mindshare in BIT, compared to SAP’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Power BI

Read 319 Microsoft Power BI reviews

22,103 Views
17,369 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

SAP Analytics Cloud

Read 70 SAP Analytics Cloud reviews

6,304 Views
4,176 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft Power BI

SAP Analytics Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Microsoft Power BI and SAP Analytics Cloud compete in the business intelligence and analytics sector. Power BI has the upper hand for Microsoft product users due to its integration capabilities, whereas SAP Analytics Cloud is strong for those already leveraging SAP environments, thanks to its advanced analytics and planning features.

Features: Microsoft Power BI is known for its flexibility, integration with Microsoft products, user-friendly interface, extensive data visualization capabilities, and integration with other data sources. In contrast, SAP Analytics Cloud is recognized for advanced analytics, planning functionalities, predictive analysis, and seamless integration with SAP environments.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Power BI could enhance mobile support, data integration with third-party platforms, and improve the user interface. Real-time data processing is a noted limitation. SAP Analytics Cloud faces criticism for high cost, limited connectivity with non-SAP systems, and needs improvements in predictive analytics and integration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Power BI is praised for its straightforward setup and community support, though official technical support can be inconsistent. It's available in cloud and on-premise options. SAP Analytics Cloud integrates well within SAP ecosystems but may be complex when connecting to non-SAP environments. SAP's customer support is noted as helpful, but deployment complexity can arise due to integration requirements.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Power BI is valued for cost-effectiveness, especially at entry-level pricing, though enterprise pricing can be costly. It generally offers a good ROI with a comprehensive feature set. SAP Analytics Cloud is seen as expensive compared to competitors, requiring significant investment, but it provides value for enterprises immersed in the SAP ecosystem.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

April 2025

Download the complete report

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Power BI

Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

319

Ranking in other categories

Reporting (1st)

SAP Analytics Cloud

Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Predictive Analytics (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Power BI is 21.6%, down from 22.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Analytics Cloud is 4.4%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Featured Reviews

James Balbach

Executive Director, Decision Support at Community Health Network

Robust system consistently elevates data visualization and seamlessly updates with user-driven advancements

Power BI is a general-use visualization system. I can express the performance of our network through high-level key performance indicators. It allows me to show detailed improvements in quality and safety and patient experience. I create improvement dashboards for task forces and work teams. I have built analytic dashboards that guide analytics, enabling research and dataset manipulation.

Read full review

RamasamyTelungupalayam

Product Manager - ERP Analytics and BI at Haleon

Seamless integration, collaborative features, and enhances data exploration

There are several areas for improvement in SAP Analytics Cloud. Firstly, features available in SAP Lumira are missing in SAP Analytics Cloud. Secondly, the predictive analytics functions, although promising, are currently only suitable for Proof of Concepts (POCs) and not for industrial-scale use. Lastly, the pricing model for the planning functionality is quite high and presents an entry barrier.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Premium features that used to cost $5,000 per company per month recently became a lot more accessible. Microsoft recently implemented a per user feature in Power BI Premium; it's $20 per month."

"It is very well integrated with other Microsoft products, including PowerApps and Excel, as well as Access, so it fits well into our workflow."

"Microsoft BI is very easy to set up and use."

"There are some great automation elements in the product."

"The solution is quite scalable."

"Other people can access data much more easily than before. Its usability is the main advantage, people in the company are using it."

"Easy to use. End-users can make changes to the graphics."

"It allows individuals to do the analysis themselves."

More Microsoft Power BI pros

"I have found that the feature to drag and drop widgets based on the data source, and import them into stories to be valuable. This way it helps the end user to create stories themselves."

"In the data warehouse, you're free to make changes. You can make everything text, meaning it's always a string. Even numbers appear as text, giving you the flexibility to work with all columns."

"The reporting, dashboards, KPIs, and visualization are the most valuable."

"The tool's most valuable features are the BI and planning functionalities. I value being able to integrate smart planning with BI for analysis. The solution is user-friendly."

"Planning and integration are the most valuable features. It is useful for planning, and it is useful for integrating with on-prem or cloud SAP solutions."

"The features that I have found most valuable with SAP ERP products are their good user interface, stability, functionality, and good interface options."

"All of the modules that we used to have separately in our on-premises solution are now integrated into one platform."

"I like the connectivity the solution provides with other products."

More SAP Analytics Cloud pros

Cons

"Microsoft BI has its own challenges in terms of user interface and how quickly somebody can learn how to use it."

"You need to purchase upgraded support separately."

"The solution's documentation needs improvement."

"Licensing could be improved."

"I would like for there to be some type of user manual that shows steps on how to navigate the solution."

"There are some limitations in Power BI; you have to work in the Power BI base. However, if you want something not out-of-the-box and you want something custom, you have to do a lot of work."

"My main complaint is that the error messages need to be made more clear. Currently, they are either too generic or outright misleading, and finding the real problem is like searching for a needle in a haystack."

"I have observed issues regarding stability."

More Microsoft Power BI cons

"The business intelligence features should be improved because there is a lack of functionality regarding that part."

"The security, authorization, and live connection to the back-office system features can be improved. A business analyst colleague who creates complex financial management reports has mentioned that he wants to see more fact and visualization features. It would be helpful to have more visualization features to be able to prepare more stories or reports for executives. For example, Tableau has some visualization features that are not present in this solution."

"SAP has always had one problem with its products, they make them very closed systems that are difficult to integrate."

"I think it would be easier if there was another module created to retrieve only data."

"I would like to see reporting to the Analytics cloud directly."

"I would like to see improved support for third-party systems, lower cost of acquisition, and better graphics and interface design."

"Sometimes there are speed issues with big deletion data."

"It should have the flexibility for scoping the story and models. When you use it in a three-layer architecture, you struggle with the fact that you usually have just one SAP Analytics Cloud tenant, and you have to switch the connections, which might be an issue for bigger developments. For the development role, there should be an option to switch between development and production scenarios."

More SAP Analytics Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a premium Power BI license in-house that's quite an expensive license. It's $10 a month for four users and then I think 35,000 at the premium rate."

"Power BI comes with enterprise Microsoft licensing. So for the user, you don't have to pay, but you do have to pay a one-time cost."

"I used a two months free trial to see if it had what I needed."

"Microsoft BI requires licenses."

"The current licensing model that Microsoft BI has is expensive. My customers have told me the cost is approximately $20 per user and this can get expensive fast. There should be a one-time purchase option if the customer has a lot of users."

"Its pricing is reasonable for the desktop stuff, but for enterprise-level, it is a little expensive."

"My company needs to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive."

More Microsoft Power BI pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is based on an annual license and is rated a four out of ten."

"Compute and storage features should be sold separately."

"The pricing of this product is reasonable."

"The product is expensive."

"It's quite expensive and costs a lot to maintain, especially with licensing."

"Its licensing is on a monthly basis."

"SAP Analytics Cloud is a bit higher [in price]. Because, if Microsoft can afford a better product and lower cost, SAP can afford at least the same, or even lower."

"SAP pricing tends to be premium, so it is slightly higher."

More SAP Analytics Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user79932

Senior Manager - BI Head at NVidia

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

Educational Organization

41%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

17%

Educational Organization

13%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?

Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP Analytics Cloud?

In the data warehouse, you're free to make changes. You can make everything text, meaning it's always a string. Even numbers appear as text, giving you the flexibility to work with all columns.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Analytics Cloud?

The pricing model for SAP Analytics Cloud is quite competitive, but the cost for the planning functionality is high and can be a barrier to entry. The overall cost can be managed with better billin...

See all answers

Comparisons

Tableau vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 14% of the time

Domo vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 8% of the time

Databricks vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 8% of the time

Qlik Sense vs Microsoft Power BI

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Power BI Competitors

Tableau vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Compared 18% of the time

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Compared 15% of the time

IBM Planning Analytics vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

Anaplan vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Qlik Sense vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

More SAP Analytics Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI

April 2025

Download Microsoft Power BI product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Analytics Cloud

March 2025

Download SAP Analytics Cloud product report

Also Known As

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

SAP BusinessObjects Cloud

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

SAP Analytics Cloud is an all-in-one Software-as-a-Service business intelligence tool that provides the key functionalities of an analytics tool to SAP business users. This tool is built on HANA Business Intelligence (BI) platform, providing analytics from data collected from multiple sources, such as ERP, Microsoft SQL, and Salesforce, among other solutions.

You can use SAP Analytics Cloud to compile data and perform ad-hoc reporting and analysis for predictive planning. SAP Analytics Cloud collects and analyzes the raw data from transactional systems into intelligent insights that allow you to make better decisions.

SAP Analytics Cloud uses machine learning to clean up data, identify errors, and issues, and suggest optimization or filtering options. You can use the modeling feature in Analytics Cloud to create hierarchies and get deeper data insights.

The three core functions of SAP Analytics Cloud consist of Planning, Predictive Analysis, and Business Intelligence as a holistic SaaS solution that offers real-time analysis to business leaders.

SAP Analytics Cloud Capabilities

Data discovery
Machine learning
Integrated financial and business planning
Predictive analysis
Automated data cleansing
Custom widgets
Mobile extension
Role-based customization
Data exploration and visualization

SAP Analytics Cloud Key Features

Augmented analytics: SAP Analytics Cloud allows organizations to make the most of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered analytics through augmented analytics. It includes a Search to Insight feature that enables users not skilled or experienced in data science to access and use the platform.

These smart insight tools allow organizations to visualize business data without manual intervention. By combining multiple machine learning algorithms, SAP Analytics Cloud automates predictive analysis so that organizations can have significant insight into secured data.

Enterprise planning: As SAP Analytics Cloud is an all-in-one financial planning and analysis solution, organizations can use it to align strategies across all departments. It allows end-to-end, data-driven planning decisions via financial modeling, allocations, smart insights, and automated reporting.

The Zero-based budgeting feature allows for an effective resources allocation with built-in collaboration tools. The finance team can collaborate easily, create budget templates and make accurate decisions.

SAP Analytics Cloud Benefits

Real-time cloud insights: SAP Analytics Cloud makes it easy for users at every level to generate instant insights and improve data-driven decision-making. With SAP Analytics Cloud, you can have immediate and central access to all figures, diagrams, insights, and evaluations for every employee on every device and updated in real time.
Customizable dashboard: You can customize your dashboard according to your requirements. This customization means you can easily access all the relevant data on a single pane of vision tailored to your business.
Collaborative planning: As an all-in-one platform, SAP Analytics Cloud integrates the multiple aspects of a business into a single solution, including finance, HR, sales, and supply chain management.
Data on any device: You can integrate SAP Analytics Cloud with SAP S/4 HANA and deploy insights to Android and iOS devices. The SAP S/4 HANA integration also enables the rolling out of changes to multiple files and devices from a central location, so you can carry your business operations on the go over a secured cloud network.
In-memory technology: Since it is based on SAP HANA in-memory technology, SAP Analytics Cloud can process massive amounts of data in a short time.

Reviews from Real Users

Segun O., SAP HANA Developer at SOA PEOPLE, says that "The most valuable features are on the application side, where you can design applications into your analytics on the platform."

The Head of Finance Enterprise Application at a computer software company adds that "The visualization feature is the most valuable. SAP Analytics Cloud is also very easy to use."

"Its many features make it the best in the market," sums up a Consultor SAP Business Object, Sap Analytics Cloud at a tech services company.

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

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Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Power BI vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

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