Tableau Software Reviews

“Easy dashboards from spreadsheet data”

Pros

Bringing in data from Excel and .csv files is very easy. Building sheets, applying filters and pulling everything together into useful dashboards is simple enough to learn quickly and it is also easy to present and explain to senior leadership.

Cons

It doesn't offer as many capabilities as some other dashboarding and business intelligence platforms especially when compared with tools like Power BI.

“pretty advanced tool”

Pros

Tableau comes with very advanced tools for building dashboard visualizations. There are plenty of ways to present data and share it across the organization which makes it very useful for different teams.

Cons

Getting started takes time and there's a fairly long learning curve before you can build reports comfortably. It also helps to have some programming knowledge and connecting tables can be challenging.

“Deep analysis with strong dashboards”

Pros

Managing multiple dashboards and users is pretty easy. Also it makes it simple to maintain user access which helps a lot with data security. The filtering capabilities are especially useful because they let you move from a high-level overview down into very detailed analysis without much hassle.

Cons

One thing it still lacks is some of the newer features available in other BI tools, such as natural language search and automated insight generation which it has not added yet.

“Create nice dashboards in minutes”

Pros

As a business user, I can put together attractive insights and dashboards in just a few minutes. On the BI side, dashboards are also simple to tailor to what users need without having to rely on hard coding.

Cons

Data manipulation and ETL work are not as easy here as they are in some other tools. Tableau Prep can help with certain transformations at times but performance still becomes an issue occasionally.

“Good visuals for business teams”

Pros

It comes with lots of features and a simple interface which makes it especially helpful for business users who do not have a strong technical background.

Cons

Things can still become a bit complicated sometimes especially when you just want to perform a few simple calculations.

“Flexible dashboards with useful data views”

Pros

Filtering makes it simple to pull the exact kind of data needed and it's a really effective way to present dashboards for others to use and explore.

Cons

A few of the filtering options can still be tricky to fine-tune especially when working with date fields and trying to get exactly the right result.

“Drill down easily with good visuals”

Pros

Right out of the box, Tableau delivers really strong visuals and the interactive drill-down features are especially smart. It also has very capable tools for building relational data structures and connecting tables within the program.

Cons

Because it came along before the cloud era, it seems a bit less user friendly than you might expect from a 2021 product. Even the cloud version doesn't feel like a fully cloud native tool. The pricing itself is reasonable but requiring licenses for every viewer can push the overall cost up quite a bit. Some parts also lag behind in simplicity, for example, viewing the underlying data depends on a small button that you have to already know to look for. I am also not sure whether it supports setting up alerts for data, like notifying you when a goal has or hasn't been met.

“Flexible dashboards with easy data handling”

Pros

Getting started with Tableau took very little time. Building dashboard components is also easy, with little to no coding needed and you can just drag and drop those pieces onto the main dashboard and arrange them however you want. It also works very well with data, handling different data types without much trouble.

Cons

There is not much to complain about since the software is very user friendly. At times it does not recognize date and time values in the right format so you have to manually correct the column's data type but that is usually a simple fix.

“Easy to use and quick to adopt”

Pros

The interface is very user friendly so even someone brand new to the tool can pick it up quickly and start using it without much trouble.

Cons

I don't really have any major complaints but it does seem quite expensive and getting it set up for organization-wide use looks a bit challenging.

“Broad connections with good visuals”

Pros

Right from the start Tableau feels like a very powerful data visualization platform. You can build a wide range of polished, interactive and dynamic charts which is one of its biggest strengths. It also works with many different data sources so connecting your data is usually not something you have to stress about. On top of that if you run into questions while using it, the Tableau forum is really helpful. You can post an issue there and, in most cases, get a response within 24 hours.

Cons

Speed is the biggest frustration here. Once you start working with a large dataset, performance becomes a serious problem. A query can take several minutes to run which is already bad enough. Even more frustrating, canceling that same query can also take several minutes. It is hard to understand why stopping a query should take that long. Because of that, you really have to think carefully before clicking anything or you may end up waiting around for five minutes.

“Strong reporting with helpful filters”

Pros

Tableau is a very powerful tool for building reports and it lets you present them visually with plenty of filters and options to match specific requirements.

Cons

When it's connected to a very large database, performance can become an issue and the reports end up being quite slow.

“A complete analytics solution”

Pros

It looks like a complete BI platform for us. We bring all of our data into it, from website traffic and financials to customer data and it handles everything in one place. Connecting different data sources is simple and once the data is in, it helps uncover new insights you might not have noticed before.

Cons

It's a pretty complex program so there's a lot to learn before you can use it confidently. Getting started can take quite a bit of effort and having a data engineer involved really helps during the setup and early stages.

“Powerful and highly adaptable”

Pros

Whether the reporting need is simple or complex, Tableau can be shaped to fit it. It feels highly flexible with data and never really boxes you in when it comes to functionality.

Cons

The cost can get pretty high when you need access for a lot of users and the learning curve is definitely steep. Even after learning the basics, there is still a lot more to build on and understand before you can really get enough value out of the software to justify the price.

“Boosts your data analysis work”

Pros

Working in strategic planning means dealing with a huge amount of data and Tableau has been a big help with that. Through its integration with our company's data sources, we can pull information without much hassle, then analyze it and turn it into clear visualizations. It saves us a lot of time overall.

Cons

Its pricing is on the higher side. At times filtering can also take longer than expected although that may be related to our data sources rather than the tool itself.

“Rich customization with strong dashboards”

Pros

The visual side of Tableau really stands out to me. The charts look polished, there's a lot of room to customize them and the dashboards come out very presentable. It also helps that so many large companies use it which says a lot about its adoption and credibility.

Cons

The biggest downside is the cost especially considering the limited number of licenses. It also isn't very easy to learn at first and getting visibility into the underlying code can be difficult. On top of that database connections aren't always simple to identify.

“Analytics we actually enjoy using”

Pros

Tableau has been a fantastic tool for us. We know the platform well, really appreciate everything it can do and would absolutely recommend it to anyone just getting started. On top of that Tableau's customer support is excellent and very quick to respond whenever help is needed.

Cons

Every now and then it can feel a little confusing. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it can definitely be frustrating. Even so, it hasn't stopped us from continuing to use it.

“Good visuals for reporting needs”

Pros

There's a wide range of visualizations available which makes the software extremely useful for building reports and dashboards.

Cons

Getting comfortable with it takes time because the learning curve is fairly steep and the free version is quite limited.

“Real-time insights with good charts”

Pros

It is pretty easy to use and it's also simple to walk others through. I really enjoy the charting options and the way I can present the data. The real-time data capability is a major advantage.

Cons

The setup takes a fair amount of time and there's a lot of data that needs to be loaded into the system. If you plan to use this product, make sure you've set aside enough time for it.

“Good visuals for business insights”

Pros

Uploading a large dataset into Tableau made the whole process of building charts and tables is very easy. It helped me create basic visualizations with the key information we needed to manage our business processes better. The software is very user friendly and clearly designed so that even people without a business intelligence background can put together strong, useful overviews.

Cons

That said even though it is user friendly, getting the most value from it really benefits from having a specialist involved. I would recommend someone who has worked with it regularly across different organizations. That kind of person can do more than just show you how to build effective visuals. In our case, this expert also shared practical insight into how those visualizations had been used to manage processes in other companies he had worked with.

“Great for blending data together”

Pros

One of the biggest advantages is being able to pull in multiple data sets at once. The most valuable part for us is combining data from our proprietary platform with our CRM which has helped create better communication and efficiency across different departments.

Cons

Dashboard customization seems pretty limited especially when it comes to how items and tiles are displayed. There are times when it would be really helpful to quickly rename a title or adjust a legend, key or color in just a few clicks.