Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs Tableau comparison

Microsoft and Salesforce are both solutions in the Reporting category. Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.6, while Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 3.4% mindshare in RT, compared to Salesforce’s 22.2% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Read 20 Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reviews

2,702 Views
1,727 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Tableau

Read 305 Tableau reviews

10,998 Views
9,353 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Tableau

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Tableau and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services compete in the data visualization and reporting tools category. Tableau often has the upper hand due to its dynamic interactivity and advanced visualization capabilities.

Features: Tableau is renowned for its exceptional graphical representation, data blending, and ease of creating interactive, flexible reports. It supports a wide range of data sources and offers statistical capabilities. SSRS, on the other hand, is more suited for basic reporting and static visuals, primarily serving as a traditional tool for report generation.

Room for Improvement: Tableau can improve in handling large datasets and performance with high-cardinality models. Users request more built-in analytics features and simplified user permissions. SSRS is often criticized for its outdated interface and limited interactivity, suggesting enhancements in modern feature integration and dynamic visualizations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tableau's deployment flexibility across Hybrid, Private, and Public Clouds enhances its scalability appeal. Its customer service is highly rated, fostering strong community support. SSRS primarily offers on-premises deployment with traditional support, posing challenges for cloud transitions.

Pricing and ROI: Tableau's licensing costs are noted as higher than alternatives like Power BI, a concern for smaller firms. However, the powerful features can justify the investment through rapid ROI. SSRS tends to have lower costs, particularly when bundled with SQL Server licenses, appealing to budget-conscious enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Tableau Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Tableau

April 2025

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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

Microsoft SQL Server Report...

Ranking in Reporting

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Tableau

Ranking in Reporting

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

305

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (2nd), Data Visualization (1st), Embedded BI (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is 3.4%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tableau is 22.2%, down from 23.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting

Featured Reviews

Gnanavel-Chakkarapani

Junior Consultant at CMA CGM

Offers useful templates but needs to improve the connectivity offered

In Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, not much of the interface part is used. With Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, its users face issues with the interface after they use Excel or create Microsoft SSIS Packages. The tool's interface is an area of concern requiring improvement. There needs to be an improvement in the product's connectivity so that the tool can connect easily with other third-party databases. In the dashboard, drag and drop functionality needs to improve, especially when compared to other tools like IBM Cognos Analytics and Qlik Sense. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is useful only for standard reports. In IBM Cognos Analytics, query studio can be used by users to drag the data and simply download the reports, so the user doesn't need to have any technical knowledge like developers. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is to be improved to offer features like query Studio, which is provided in IBM Cognos Analytics.

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Nattawat Choosuwan

Senior Data Consultant at a government with 11-50 employees

Real-time data connection enhances workflow and decision-making process

An area for improvement in Tableau is the Explorer license type. It is not as useful, and the product owner should enhance its benefits or clarify its role. Additionally, the frequent updates with many versions available for download can be confusing and could affect stability. They should avoid providing access to older versions on their website.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We get good support from Microsoft."

"The initial setup is easy."

"We can create quality reports in real time."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services has been functional whenever I needed to use it."

"I'm very satisfied with the customer service. And usually, whenever we have any issue or details, we get to the person for the support. I'm really satisfied with the service. Within a few minutes or within a few hours, the support person will be available."

"The stability of SSRS has been reliable, with minimal issues encountered during our usage."

"I am impressed with the product's seamless integration. It can work with different databases like Oracle."

"I like Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services' automated reporting feature."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services pros

"The solution helps users create dashboards and analyze data without relying on IT or product teams."

"Gradual scalability from simple to complex situations"

"This solution has transformed us from an Excel reporting environment to one of visual exploration."

"It's easy to use."

"The number one thing was just the ease of getting something up quickly. The other thing that was good about it was that it was fairly fast for decent-sized data sets in terms of performance and run time."

"I have found the solution easy to use and the interface is very good."

"The product has the best features for analytical views and filters."

"Overall, Tableau is a very good tool."

More Tableau pros

Cons

"It doesn't have quite the flexibility of a Tableau or something like that. Many users are more comfortable with Tableau and I'm not quite sure why that is right now, but it seems to be the case."

"We encounter some barriers while trying to build a report."

"It would be really nice to have better integration between the solution and Power BI."

"In this solution, the cost should be reduced for the enterprise edition."

"The solution's interface is old."

"Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services needs to improve performance."

"I would like the solution to add the scheduling feature for reports."

"We have had issues with the refresh interval since we have too many reports scheduled. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services is also expensive."

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services cons

"The charts in Tableau are quite limited."

"They need a write-back; that is what is missing. If they get the write back to the database, they will be fully automated, but for the time being, they are not."

"We would like a report model, because currently there is no schema that we can create in the tool."

"The process of embedding the dashboards on external portals and websites could be improved."

"The data entered into Tableau must be clean. Otherwise, it won't work properly."

"The performance could be better."

"Formatting controls could use some improvement."

"The customization in the front end is a bit difficult."

More Tableau cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is high."

"Value-wise, the solution's pricing is good for the price that we pay."

"The product pricing is reasonable in terms of suitable features for business."

"The solution is free to use for developers."

"The tool's licensing costs are expensive."

"The solution is cheaper than its alternatives."

"The price is pretty good."

"The solution is expensive."

"This license is on a yearly basis."

"It's an annual fee with everything included but it's quite expensive."

"I believe it has a lifelong license, and once you purchase it, you don't have to renew it, but I'm not sure."

"It is a bit difficult for some people when they hear $70.00 per month, as some solutions are available for less than $10.00 or for free."

"The value for money is definitely there."

"The solution is expensive but it depends on the customer's needs which will determine the cost of the licensing."

"In Indian Rupees, Tableau costs about 30,000 to 40,000 per year."

"The license is very expensive."

More Tableau pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user6330

Product Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

May 2, 2013

MicroStrategy vs. Tableau

After a recent presentation, several attendees asked me about the applications of Visual Insights and Tableau. Many companies are investing in both tools and are trying to figure out the right tool for specific applications Tableau has found its sweet-spot as an agile discovery tool that analysts…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

43%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

I mainly use the solution for the ease of reporting and for executive dashboards.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

I don't recall the current pricing as it changes frequently.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services?

They could improve the scalability and stability of SQL Server Reporting Services. I haven't used it recently, so I can't provide detailed suggestions on improvements.

See all answers

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...

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Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?

Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...

See all answers

Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?

Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...

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Comparisons

TIBCO Jaspersoft vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 18% of the time

IBM Cognos vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle OBIEE vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 12% of the time

SAP Crystal Reports vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 9% of the time

QlikView vs Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Competitors

Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau

Compared 19% of the time

Domo vs Tableau

Compared 12% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs Tableau

Compared 7% of the time

Databricks vs Tableau

Compared 6% of the time

SAP Analytics Cloud vs Tableau

Compared 4% of the time

More Tableau Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services

May 2025

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report

Download Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services product report

Buyer's Guide

Tableau

April 2025

Download Tableau product report

Also Known As

SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft SSRS, SSRS, MS SQL Server Reporting Services

Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online

Overview

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

We do business in 170 countries and are made up of 114,000 passionate employees dedicated to fulfilling our mission of helping you and your organization achieve more.

Microsoft

Tableau is a tool for data visualization and business intelligence that allows businesses to report insights through easy-to-use, customizable visualizations and dashboards. Tableau makes it exceedingly simple for its customers to organize, manage, visualize, and comprehend data. It enables users to dig deep into the data so that they can see patterns and gain meaningful insights.

Make data-driven decisions with confidence thanks to Tableau’s assistance in providing faster answers to queries, solving harder problems more easily, and offering new insights more frequently. Tableau integrates directly to hundreds of data sources, both in the cloud and on premises, making it simpler to begin research. People of various skill levels can quickly find actionable information using Tableau’s natural language queries, interactive dashboards, and drag-and-drop capabilities. By quickly creating strong calculations, adding trend lines to examine statistical summaries, or clustering data to identify relationships, users can ask more in-depth inquiries.

Tableau has many valuable key features:

Tableau dashboards provide a complete view of your data through visualizations, visual objects, text, and more.
Tableau provides convenient, real-time options to collaborate with other users and instantly share data in the form of visualizations, sheets, and dashboards.
Tableau ensures connectivity to both live data sources and data extraction from external data sources as in-memory data. This gives users the flexibility to use data from more than one source without any restrictions.
Tableau gives many data source option, ranging from spreadsheets, big data, on-premise files, relational databases, non-relational databases, data warehouses, and big data, to on-cloud data.
Tableau has a lot of pre-installed information on maps, such as cities, postal codes, and administrative boundaries.
Tableau has a foolproof security system based on authentication and permission systems for data connections and user access. Tableau also gives you the freedom to integrate with other security protocols.

Tableau stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of these include its fast data access, easy creation of visualizations, and its stability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

Romil S., Deputy General Manager of IT at Nayara Energy, notes, "Its visualizations are good, and its features make the development process a little less time-consuming. It has an in-memory extract feature that allows us to extract data and keep it on the server, and then our users can use it quickly.

Ariful M., Consulting Practice Partner of Data, Analytics & AI at FH, writes, “Tableau is very flexible and easy to learn. It has drag-and-drop function analytics, and its design is very good.”

Salesforce

Sample Customers

CMS Wire, The New York Times

Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Corp, Citigroup, Coca-Cola Company, Cornell University, Dell, Deloitte, Duke University, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Ferrari, French Red Cross, Goldman Sachs, Google, Government of Canada, HP, Intel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Macy's, Merck, The New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, US Army, US Air Force, Skype, and Walmart.

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft SQL Servering Services vs. Tableau

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Tableau

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs. Tableau and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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