Key takeaways:
Qlik Sense and Power BI are the leading BI tools in the market.
Power BI shares close integration with Microsoft product offerings whereas Qlik Sense is a standalone platform.
For businesses with a preference for strong integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem and flexible pricing models, Power BI is an ideal bet. Whereas businesses with large data handling requirements can opt for Qlik Sense.
Introduction
In our series of comparing robust business intelligence tools of 2024, we last discussed Power BI vs Google Data Studio, and before that, we discussed Power BI vs Tableau.
Advancing to the next fold of our discussion, it’s time to compare another set of powerful BI contenders – Qlik Sense vs Power BI.
Did you know?
Gartner Magic Quadrant has acknowledged Microsoft as a Leader in Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms for the 16th year straight.
Interestingly, Gartner Magic Quadrant has also recognized Qlik as a Leader in Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms for the 13th straight year in 2023.
Does it make your decision even more difficult?
Worry not!
If you’re on the fence about deciding between Power BI vs Quik Sense, this straight-talk business intelligence platform review is here to help you make an informed decision.
It breaks down Power BI & Qlik Sense, its key features, fundamental differences, and its plus and minuses.
With a bonus: How to decide between Power BI versus Qlik Sense?
Ready to discover, decide, and take action?
Let’s go!
Starting our debate around Qlik Sense vs Power BI — Let’s first get to know our two contenders.
Let’s Start With – What is Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI – an acronym for Power Business Intelligence, is a collection of connectors, apps, and software services that work unitedly to turn disparate data sources into coherent and immersive insights.
Whether your data is – on-premises, in the cloud, on a spreadsheet, or streaming in real time, Power BI’s powerful features and self-explanatory interface empower you to derive hidden insights and make informed business decisions, effortlessly.
Next, in the comparison between Qlik vs Power BI, it’s time to scoop the capabilities of the second contender – Qlik Sense.
What is Qlik Sense?
Qlik Sense is a modern and web-based data analysis platform, representing the 3rd-generation BI technology which means it is the most user-friendly iteration of analytics available, today.
With Qlik Sense, you are empowered with the capability to seamlessly explore, discover, and build compelling stories to present the data across different verticals.
Moreover, its responsive design ensures that your visualizations appear beautiful on every device.
Have you made up your judgment?
Don’t rush your decision just yet.
Both BI platforms are robust in their own right and there is a lot you should consider before investing in one.
Next, in decoding your dilemma between Qlik Sense vs Power BI, we will zoom into the important aspects that will take you closer to your decision.
Let’s get going.
What is Power BI Used for?
Power BI is used by businesses large, small, and medium to –
- Gather real-time insights
- Make sense of complicated data
- Extend business intelligence value with AI and ML
- Identify trend patterns
- Set up automation
- Perform online analytical processing
- Conduct Ad hoc analysis and reporting
- Utilize complete reporting and data visualization toolset
- Engage with the Q&A question box
- Accelerate decision making
What is Qlik Sense Used For?
Qlik Sense is primarily used by medium and large sized-businesses to –
- Empower their teams with self-service analytics and visualizations
- Create interactive dashboards
- Utilize search and conversational analytics
- Set up alerts and automation
- Generate reports
- Customize and embed analytics
- Perform real-time analytics
- Integrate with Big data sources
- Utilize a rapid development environment
- Access standard APIs
- Collaborate on reports and dashboards
Long story short: Both Power BI and Qlik Sense equip robust business intelligence capabilities and empower businesses to understand, visualize, and share data through different approaches.
Realize that in the tug-of-war between Qlik Sense vs Power BI, the latter aims for businesses of all sizes, with mixed budgets, and requires no strong proficiency, while the prior BI platform caters to medium and large enterprises with bigger data storage needs and calls for proficient data professionals.
When we compared the leading business intelligence tools Qlik vs Tableau vs Power BI, here is what we found.
| Tableau | Power BI | Qlik Sense | |
| No. of companies using the product | 120,182 | 97,538 | 14,233 |
| Market share | 16% | 13% | 5% |
Source: Enlyft
Moving on, it’s time to dive deeper, into the face-off of Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik Sense, nail down their features, and help you find “the one” for your BI needs.
Qlik Sense vs Power BI Features Comparison
Now, it’s time to explore the side-by-side differences between Qlik Sense vs Power BI and discover which BI platform deserves your vote.
What are the Major Differences Between Qlik Sense and Power BI?
As leading business intelligence tools, both Microsoft Power BI and Qlik Sense share the ultimate goal of empowering businesses to unlock actionable insights from their data.
Yet both tools share primary differences between their underlying ecosystems and technologies.
Qlik Sense and Power BI – Here are the Differences
1. Power BI vs Qlik Sense: Vendor and Ecosystem
Microsoft Power BI offers effortless integration with other Microsoft product offerings such as Azure, and MS Power Platform along with non-Microsoft product ranges such as Google Sheets, SalesForce, etc.
Created by Qlik, Qlik Sense is a standalone business intelligence product.
Although Qlik doesn’t share the same level of integration with Microsoft’s product range, it offers standard integration connectivity to a variety of data sources including spreadsheets, data warehouses, cloud-based platforms, and many more.
If your business is heavily invested in Microsoft ecosystem Power BI is your best choice.
2. Qlik Sense vs Power BI: Storage Capacity
Power BI provides cloud storage from 10 GB to 100 TB depending on your subscription plan.
Whereas Qlik Sense provides 500 GB of cloud storage.
Whatever data storage capabilities your business intelligence initiative demands, MS PowerBI may be the best bet as you can choose from different subscription plans flexibly.
3. Power BI versus Qlik Sense: Visualization and User-Interface
Power BI is known for its user-friendly features and self-explanatory interface.
Many users find it easy to learn, especially when compared to complex business intelligence tools such as Tableau or Qlik Sense.
On the flip side, Qlik Sense is also an easy-to-use, clean, modern BI tool that empowers users from all backgrounds to learn and interact with data.
Nonetheless, in this category of Qlik Sense vs Power BI debate, Microsoft Power BI offers quicker and better custom data visualizations.
4. MS Power BI vs Qlik Sense: Supported Devices
Power BI supports Windows, Android, and iOS devices.
If you must maintain your data on-premises, you need to get the special version of the Desktop app called Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server.
Qlik Sense also shares seamless compatibility with the latest iOS versions, Windows, Android, and web-based platforms. For your on-premises reporting needs, you need to install Qlik Sense Enterprise on Prem
Decoding your dilemma of Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik Sense, device compatibility plays a significant role and both BI tools offer extensive support for various devices.
5. Qlik Sense vs Power BI: Reporting
Both Power BI and QlikSense offer robust reporting capabilities.
Creating and distributing reports in MS Power BI is both easy and rewarding for all users from diverse technical backgrounds thanks to Power BI’s drag-and-drop interface and self-explanatory features.
Qlik, on the other hand, empowers users to create detailed reports by incorporating charts and graphs.
The winner of this category is subjective and depends on your business’s specific reporting and distributing preferences.
6. Qlik vs Power BI: Mobile App
For iOS and Android, Power BI and Qlik Sense both provide mobile apps with responsive design and offline access.
Users may view reports and dashboards on their mobile devices with ease ensuring cutting-edge data protection and support for real-time collaboration.
Power BI Mobile App is best used to monitor and access your Power BI data on the go.
Whether the data is on-premises or in the cloud, you may view and interact with all Power BI reports and dashboards, share them with your team and discover insights within minutes.
Qlik Sense also walks in with a Qlik Sense Mobile SaaS app for iOS and Android mobile devices that allows users who have been allocated User access, or a Professional or Analyzer access license to connect while restricting anonymous access.
Both the BI platforms Power BI and Qlik Sense pose equal competition when it comes to providing mobile accessibility and protecting data while supporting real-time collaboration. Thus, the winner of this bracket depends on your business preference and additional features.
7. Qlik vs Power BI: Pricing
Lastly, in the discussion around Qlik Sense vs Power BI, we have the biggest deciding factor – Pricing.
Power BI Desktop
Cost: Free
Power BI Pro
Cost: $10 per user/month
Power BI Premium Per User
Cost: $20 per user/month (Free if you have Microsoft 365)
Power BI Premium (per-capacity)
Cost: $4995 Per month for P1 SKU
Qlik Sense Pricing:
Qlik Sense Trial
30-day Free Trial
Qlik Sense Business
30 USD/month/user/
Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS
Quote -based
The prize winner of this category is Power BI due to its flexible pricing options and straightforward pricing model.
Whereas QlikSense comes with a complicated token pricing model, making Power BI a cost-effective and user-friendly choice for many businesses.
Dig deeper: Find Your Fit by Learning Power BI Cost, Benefits, and More.
Phew! That was quite a comparison between Qlik Sense vs Power BI.
This in-depth Power BI vs Qlik Sense comparison will move you close to your decision.
Moving on, it’s time to explore the pluses and minuses of the BI tools in question.
Exploring the Pros and cons of Power BI vs Qlik Sense
Whether your gut feeling says Power BI or Qlik Sense, exploring the good and bad of each tool will provide you with a clearer perspective, allowing you to make an informed decision without solely relying on your intuition.
Let’s get going.
Pros and Cons of Qlik Sense
| Pros of Qlik Sense | Cons of Qlik Sense |
| Highly scalable platform | Complicated token pricing model |
| Easy collaboration on data projects | Steep learning curve for non-data professionals |
| Robust security features to protect sensitive data | Costlier than some other BI and data visualization tools |
| Best suited for medium and large-sized enterprises | Limited integration options with other business tools and systems |
Pros and cons of Power BI
| Pros of Power BI | Cons of Power BI |
| Free version | Costly to scale |
| Very easy-to-use | Lack of in-memory data processing |
| Backed-by Microsoft | Unjustifiable cost for Power BI Premium |
| Flexible licensing model | Limited capabilities with the Free Version |
| Rich and personalized reports and dashboards | Higher dependency on Microsoft product offerings |
| Seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem | |
| Customizable visualization and security features |
This was all about the Qlik Sense vs Power BI differences that you should be aware of before arriving at your decision.
Now it’s time to clear the air around the dilemma…
How to Decide Between Power BI vs Qlik Sense in 2024?
There is no one-word answer to this question.
In 2024, Microsoft Power BI and Qlik Sense stand at the forefront of the business intelligence and data visualization industry, offering a myriad of perks that solidify their positions as leaders in the industry.
So how do you find the perfect BI solution for your business?
- Consider the following aspects to find the best fit –
- Your unique data environment and current ecosystem
- Scalability needs and future growth plans
- Volume, variety, and complexity of data processing
- Price factor
- Level of analytical capabilities required
- Level of customization required
- Data security and compliance measures
- Mobile friendliness & accessibility
- In-house and external technical expertise required
- User adoption and training
- Community support
After carefully assessing these factors, you’ll have a thoughtful answer to the question – “Which BI tool fits best for my organization’s BI needs?”
Impressed with the capabilities of Microsoft’s Power BI, have you decided to opt for it?
Cheers!
We are happy to have helped you arrive at your best judgment.
Do you want to make the most of Power BI effortlessly?
It’s ideal to partner with a Power BI consulting and implementation services provider and leverage their expertise.
This blog is brought to you by Integrative Systems, a reputed Power BI consulting services provider and certified Microsoft Partner based out of Chicago, USA.
With our proven expertise in maximizing the capabilities of Power BI for businesses large and small, we would be happy to help you achieve your business intelligence goals.
Have questions for us?
Reach out to us at [email protected] and our team of experts will get back to you within 2 business days.
Frequently Asked Questions about Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik Sense – Data Visualization
1. Is Power BI Better Than Qlik?
Power BI is better than Qlik Sense in multiple ways. Such as – Cost-effectiveness, ease of use, flexible pricing model, variety of customization options, and much more. However, Qlik Sense has its own advantages such as bigger cloud storage and an associative-based data engine.
2. Is Qlik Sense Good or Bad?
Qlik Sense is a powerful data visualization tool. It’s a good choice for businesses seeking a flexible and customizable tool with self-service analytical capabilities. However, it may not be an ideal choice for businesses seeking flexible data extraction capabilities, a simplified token pricing model, and seamless integration with Microsoft product range.
3. What are the Disadvantages of Qlik?
Some of the disadvantages of Qlik include:
- Complicated pricing model
- Steep learning curve
- Limited integration capabilities
4. What is the Best Data Visualization Tool?
Microsoft Power BI is the best data visualization tool, meeting all the requirements of an ideal data visualization tool in 2024.
5. Is Qlik Sense Free or Paid?
Although Qlik Sense is not available for free, its users can avail of the 30-day free trial before making a decision. Qlik Sense paid versions include
1. Qlik Sense Business: Per user/month
2. Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS: Quote-based pricing
