Tableau Software Reviews

“Good visuals for large datasets”

Pros

Working with large volumes of data feels much more manageable with this visualization software and the visuals it creates are impressive and make the data look professional and appealing.

Cons

The pricing is a bit on the expensive side and the free version is fairly limited compared with what you get in the paid plan.

“Nice visuals for strategy teams”

Pros

this feels like the gold standard when it comes to professional data visualization. It's especially valuable for strategic work, where the attractive charts really help presentations feel more engaging and impactful.

Cons

The only real downside is the pricing. Although the free version lets you view all its documents, the Desktop version can be expensive for teams covering the cost themselves.

“Strong features for analytics work”

Pros

The range of capabilities in this tool is really impressive and there's a lot you can accomplish with it.

Cons

It can take quite a while to learn so having a clear idea of what you want to build or analyze makes a big difference.

“Summarize data clearly”

Pros

It goes beyond what's promised. There are tons of ways to summarize data in a clear organized format that's really easy to understand.

Cons

One frustrating part is that the customer service team has tried to raise the price each time the contract comes up for renewal. Having multi-year contract options would definitely help.

“Creative visuals I enjoy making”

Pros

There are lots of ways to get creative with visualizations and I also appreciate how many resources and learning paths are available to help you understand the app and use it properly.

Cons

It does let you add images but it still feels somewhat limited when it comes to working with external images flexibly.

“Full analytics from start to publish”

Pros

Anyone working in Data Science, Data Analytics or Business Intelligence has probably come across Tableau at some point and for good reason. If you still have not picked it up, I would definitely recommend learning it. The platform gives you a strong way to analyze datasets, dig into them and manage everything without much hassle. It also helps you follow the full data journey, from preparation all the way to publishing insights and findings. The desktop edition is likely the strongest option although having an online version available is also a nice alternative.

Cons

One thing I wish it offered is a more affordable edition, maybe a lighter version with fewer features but priced in a way that makes it more reachable for data professionals who cannot afford the current plans or do not have a team to share the cost.

“Tell stories with strong dashboards”

Pros

Right now this is like the best option for data visualization and storytelling. Building dashboards in Tableau is actually enjoyable and the reports can be made very interactive and visually rich. The built-in forecasting feature is also something I really appreciate.

Cons

At times, it does slow down and bringing in data can take a while. The pricing is also very expensive.

“Good visuals with organized data”

Pros

When the data follows a consistent naming convention, Tableau gives you really strong data visualization capabilities.

Cons

Getting all the queries set up to pull in the data usually requires someone fairly technical.

“Transformed how we see data”

Pros

This software has completely changed how we view and understand our data.

Cons

I am a bit nervous about what the Salesforce acquisition might end up bringing into the product.

“Strong analytics with clear insights”

Pros

Tableau feels like a very complete platform. It lets you perform a wide range of analysis and look at your data from different perspectives which really helps you understand exactly what you're working with.

Cons

There's definitely a learning curve if you want to use it to its full potential. It isn't very simple to grasp at first so it takes study and hands-on practice to really get comfortable with it.

“Quick to pick up and use”

Pros

It is pretty simple and just about anyone can pick it up without much trouble. The learning curve is short so it doesn't take long to become comfortable using it.

Cons

One downside is that software updates tend to roll out slowly and there haven't been many new features or meaningful enhancements added.

“Customize with great visuals”

Pros

Tableau is a pretty simple tool and the visualizations look really good right away. It comes with a lot of features and gives you plenty of control if you want to customize things in very detailed ways.

Cons

While creating standard charts is fairly simple, building more customized visualizations can take a lot of learning and comes with a steeper learning curve.

“Fast dashboards with good date handling”

Pros

Putting together dashboards in this software is quick and easy which makes visualizing data much faster. It also handles date fields really well something a lot of other tools seem to fall short on.

Cons

At the same time, it's pretty easy to make mistakes with calculated data and that can lead to a misleading or incorrect view. Users really need to have a good understanding of their data to avoid that.

“nice dashboards”

Pros

One thing I really enjoy about Tableau is the number of customizable filters available. They let you drill down through several levels when analyzing metrics which makes the data much more useful. The interface is also very visually appealing and the Excel export feature comes in handy when I need to work with the data offline.

Cons

A small annoyance is that some filter options come preselected by default and I am not sure whether there's a simple way to change that. I have also run into broken links at times when trying to open older versions.

“lets us customize analytics our way”

Pros

Tableau gives you a huge amount of flexibility for data analysis and you can shape, explore and work with data in almost any way you can imagine.

Cons

It does take some effort to use it to its full potential and the learning curve feels tough at first but the payoff is definitely worth it.

“See data from anywhere in the world”

Pros

Working with clients that generate revenue across the world, Tableau helps me clearly visualize the data so I can decide where to focus my testing efforts.

Cons

Getting started with all the software's capabilities comes with a pretty steep learning curve and I'd really like to see more tutorial videos and helpful tips for new users as they get familiar with it.

“Live SQL links with strong dashboards”

Pros

Creating visualizations and reports in Tableau is very easy and the end result is something my stakeholders can actually use without much trouble. Another big advantage is how simply it integrates reports to live data coming from SQL databases.

Cons

Getting the exact settings and customizations I want can be frustrating because the platform is very nuanced when it comes to fine-tuning details. It also feels more complex than other visualization tools like R and it struggles when working with very large datasets of 80M+ rows.

“Top-tier visuals for BI”

Pros

Hands down, this feels like the best BI platform available. The graphics are incredibly high quality and the interface is very user friendly.

Cons

One thing to note is that connecting a dashboard to a database can sometimes take a little while.

“Great visuals with a strong community”

Pros

Tableau delivers really strong visualizations, the interface is fairly easy to work with and one of the biggest advantages is the large online community around it.

Cons

The downside is the price since it feels a bit expensive compared with Power BI.

“Friendly reports with useful exports”

Pros

The interface is user friendly and moving through the different reports is easy. Having the option to download information directly from the reports is something I really like.

Cons

One downside is that the software can take a while to display results.