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Qlik Sense vs SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Qlik Sense
Ranking in Data Visualization
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
Embedded BI (2nd)
SAP BusinessObjects Design ...
Ranking in Data Visualization
21st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Visualization category, the mindshare of Qlik Sense is 7.4%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Visualization
 

Featured Reviews

Vishal_Goyal - PeerSpot reviewer
In-memory data storage boosts performance
The advantages compared to other BI tools show architectural differences. The main feature is that it keeps all the data in memory. It doesn't retrieve the data from data sources when I need it on the dashboard; instead, it quickly provides the desired data, making it very fast compared to other BI tools. The ROI is very high using Qlik Sense. It offers many benefits of BI. It is flexible from a developer's point of view, allowing me to accomplish many tasks compared to other BI tools. From an end-user perspective, it's convenient and performance-oriented, providing something meaningful from all the organization's data.
reviewer2329704 - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive product with valuable dashboard and reporting features
SAP BusinessObjects offers a comprehensive solution with all BI functionalities. It includes valuable features like a dashboard, reporting, visualization, etc The platform's pricing needs improvement. It is very expensive. They should work on this particular area. We have been using SAP…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Leveraging and reusability of already existing QlikView assets and knowledge."
"Qlik Sense is very stable. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. Even for rare issues, we receive good support from Qlik. It's a very stable solution."
"I would rate it more than nine out of ten."
"We have had an easy time supplying content to our customers."
"This solution has improved our organization by making our analysis results available to customers."
"The time it takes to deliver a dashboard is real quick."
"Placing buttons on my sheets creates a unique user experience and clears up clutter at the same time."
"My organization now has data from disparate systems at their fingertips in a way that lets them get the answers they need when they want it."
"It includes valuable features like a dashboard, reporting, visualization, etc."
 

Cons

"I would like to see Qlik add more DevOps functionality to their product. Currently, we have to turn to 3rd party products to handle things like Source Control, Code Deployment through environments, etc."
"Qlik Sense has better performance, particularly in its archival system. However, Power BI has better visualizations and interactions with updates in 2023 that provide ease of use. Power BI is more user-friendly than Qlik Sense."
"We want the next version of this solution to be cloud-based so that each user can access it from anywhere in the world with their phone, tablet, or computer without a VPN connection."
"The product could be improved by implementing a user-feedback ranking system."
"More pivot table options, like the ability to have the totals row at the bottom of the table, would be helpful."
"One area of improvement is that it doesn't offer an API for accessing processed data stored in the QED files."
"One area of improvement is that it doesn't offer an API for accessing processed data stored in the QED files."
"Reload time is a limit since everyone wants real-time data."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have 20 licenses for Qlik Sense, and it is a special license that allows people in the whole company to use it over time. You buy this license and there are some minutes that can be used. For example, for the users that used only a few minutes in a month, we use this license. All the people have the ability to work with Qlik Sense. However, the number of licenses is not the number of users. The number of users that uses Qlik Sense is approximately 35 people."
"Costs are a little high on the license/token side. However, if you look at the TCO, it is not too bad, particularly against Power BI."
"The license mechanism of Qlik is quite complicated and not exchangeable. Such as 2016, they charge licenses by token, 1500$ for a token / 1 user. 2018: they change to 2 kinds of licenses: professional 1500$ / user, analyzer 800$ / user. 2019: they support subscription with 70$ Monthly for professional, 40$ monthly for analyzers, but for those you’re using perpetual licenses, they don't support acquiring more subscription licenses. The maintenance fee yearly are also high, 20% of the perpetual license."
"For personal use, the desktop version of Qlik Sense is absolutely free, and you can share visualizations with others and to a personal cloud space, though limited with storage space."
"I would rate Qlik's pricing four out of five."
"I believe pricing is similar to other products in the same category, if you have it on-premise."
"The product is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"You will spend more time on educating your staff than licensing the product."
"The platform's pricing needs to be revised."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
59%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
What do you like most about Qlik Sense?
The most valuable features of Qlik Sense are its speed and seamless development of web technologies.
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio?
It includes valuable features like a dashboard, reporting, visualization, etc.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio?
The platform's pricing needs to be revised, and thus, one of its disadvantages.
What needs improvement with SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio?
The platform's pricing needs improvement. It is very expensive. They should work on this particular area.
 

Also Known As

QlikSense
SAP Design Studio, BusinessObjects Design Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Abbvie, Airbus, Barclays, BT Openreach, BMW, Daimler AG, HSBC, IKEA, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Mail Group, Sanofi, Siemens, Wendy'', Vodafone, Volvo
Wipro, Tetra Pak, MIGROS
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, Qlik, Splunk and others in Data Visualization. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.