Tableau Software Reviews

“Strong and quick to learn”

Pros

Tableau is like one of the quickest tools to get up and running with. It offers nearly unlimited capabilities without forcing you through an overwhelming learning curve. Sure, the more advanced work takes time to master but it's still possible to become productive very quickly.

Cons

The pricing feels a bit expensive compared to similar tools. Tableau Prep is a valuable addition but its performance can be slow at times.

“Useful insights with strong reporting”

Pros

It gives you a full-featured way to pull insights from data and turn them into useful reports.

Cons

It does take some time to learn and fully understand how it works properly.

“Good visuals but not much depth”

Pros

It is well known for its visualizations and that reputation is deserved. The built-in visuals are excellent and getting them configured is pretty easy. They make it possible to present data in a way that tells a compelling story. From an end-user perspective, the visualizations, charts, matrices and similar outputs are also simple to access. The documentation and online materials are widely available and are usually very high quality.

Cons

Putting together accurate and meaningful results in it can be challenging because of the back-end data work involved. When I compare it with other BI platforms, it does not feel as powerful. Because of that, there are limits to when and why I would choose Tableau instead of another BI tool.

“A central hub for data visuals”

Pros

Bringing data in from different sources is really convenient with Tableau and it does a very good job of turning that information into visual reports or measurable insights. It works well both as an analytics platform and as a dashboarding tool.

Cons

That said, if the setup is not done correctly, it is not very customizable for non-technical users. It tends to need quite a bit of developer involvement to put measurements in place and keep things working the way you want.

“Fast dashboards with flexible connections”

Pros

Getting comfortable with Tableau didn't take long at all as I was up and running in about two weeks. Since then, I have been able to handle analysis and build dashboards without much trouble. Another big plus is how many data sources it can connect to, whether that's text files, CSV files or even direct connections to databases.

Cons

There are still moments when it could be clearer since a few features can feel a bit confusing. On top of that it would really help to have more tutorials and stronger documentation that explain everything the platform can do.

“Smart design with great visuals”

Pros

It is smart and thoughtfully built. It lets you put together effective, even striking visualizations without needing deep expertise right away. That convenience does come with a catch though because it can also make misleading charts pretty easily so it's important to sanity-check the results and make sure labels and titles are added.

Cons

At the same time a handful of features are surprisingly complex which makes teaching others more difficult than it should be. I have shared feedback with it but it hasn't really gone far. One example is geospatial data as having aggregation turned on by default doesn't make much sense to me since you have to go to Data -> Aggregate Measures to display each map point individually. Even describing that issue sounds confusing and a bit overwhelming for someone new, yet it comes up almost every time I try to build a map.

“Quick charts with great visuals”

Pros

Tableau is very easy to use and using it seems user friendly. It offers lots of color options and other features to customize graphs and charts which makes them look more professional and visually appealing. Even when building complex charts, it usually doesn't take long because so many features are ready to use out of the box.

Cons

At times, certain chart or graph types are unavailable when working with specific kinds of data.

“Customize with strong dashboards”

Pros

Building dashboards is easy and the customization options make it simple to create the reports I need.

Cons

It can feel a bit overwhelming or confusing when you're just getting started as a new user.

“Strong dashboards with reliable reports”

Pros

Creating reports and dashboards is very easy which makes the whole process quick and convenient.

Cons

The pricing doesn't feel very cost-effective and the online support could definitely be better.

“Useful insights”

Pros

Tableau is a smart platform that's widely used to support important, revenue-impacting business decisions. It offers a range of useful features, including Tableau Dashboard which helps users build reports from large volumes of data and turn that information into something meaningful. The visualization options especially maps, are very helpful and Tableau Online is also available for free trials. Another plus is that it comes with documentation support when needed.

Cons

It can be a bit complicated at first but with the right guidance, it makes the work much more manageable.

“Broad connectivity with great visuals”

Pros

It works with a wide range of data sources and gives you a huge selection of data visualization options to build from.

Cons

The only setback on my side was licensing. Since my company wasn't prepared to buy licenses yet, I had to rely on Tableau Public. Because everything there is public, I couldn't continue using our company data due to privacy and security concerns.

“Clean interface”

Pros

A clean user interface makes Tableau pleasant to work with and building dashboards is easy and efficient.

Cons

The weak spot is the limited version control and the per-license pricing can get expensive.

“Quick to learn”

Pros

It is user friendly and it doesn't take much time upfront to learn how everything works.

Cons

Every now and then the interface can be a bit frustrating and the publishing process is too. That said those issues stand out mostly because the rest of the platform is so easy to use.

“Share and visualize with ease”

Pros

There's a lot you can do with this software. It lets you break down data in different ways and turn it into really strong visual reports. Sharing those reports with end users is easy as well and linking SQL tables is a fairly simple process.

Cons

Putting reports together does take a certain level of skill and hands-on experience. For someone just starting out in report development, this software would likely be pretty challenging to use.

“Strong charts and easy visuals”

Pros

Tableau is like an excellent tool for data visualization. Creating graphs is very easy and the layout of the interface makes the whole process approachable. Even someone new to analysis or visualization can build useful charts with little to no training.

Cons

While putting together decent visualizations is pretty easy, getting them to look truly polished takes a lot more effort. The advanced formatting tools in it are not especially user friendly so making really attractive graphs can be tedious and requires quite a bit of extra work. On top of that it has an odd limitation where it does not let you compare aggregate and non aggregate values in calculations which makes tasks like normalizing or benchmarking data unnecessarily frustrating.

“Create visuals without any coding”

Pros

You can get a lot out of Tableau without being a coder or some highly certified computer engineer. It takes your own data and turns it into really cool, attractive visualizations.

Cons

The online training videos could be more informative than they currently are.

“Lots of options for your data”

Pros

There are practically endless capabilities available, with tons of ways to pull exactly the data you need.

Cons

It can start responding slowly when you're working with very large datasets. At times some of the features and options can also be a bit difficult to use.

“Dynamic KPI tracking works great”

Pros

Since getting this tool we've been able to monitor all our KPI metrics quickly and efficiently. One thing I really appreciate is how dynamically the data can be filtered. On top of that the role management works well and the mobile app is thoughtfully designed.

Cons

As a designer, I can still picture a much more visually appealing interface that feels more in line with current design trends.

“Strong analytics that anyone can use”

Pros

It's a powerful analytics tool that seems accessible, easy to use and even better since it's free.

Cons

One thing that could make it even better would be adding a wizard or quick-start guide that helps users go from their initial idea to building something right away.

“Flexible dashboards with great reports”

Pros

Having both an online option and an installable desktop version gives users a lot of flexibility. The reporting is excellent and the data visualization, graphics and dashboard features are available right out of the box. There are mobile versions too which makes access convenient for users on the go. The drag and drop interface combined with point-and-click functionality makes it very user friendly. The role-based pricing model also makes it a practical choice for small businesses.

Cons

There is a bit of a learning curve since it can take time and some expertise to become a power user and fully take advantage of all the features.