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QlikView vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
QlikView offers quick returns and valuable insights despite perceived costs, challenging ROI calculation but often realized within six months.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP Crystal Reports delivers over 1000% ROI through Visual Studio integration, boosting sales despite training and database understanding costs.
The biggest return on investment is the time saving for the customer.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
QlikView's customer service is praised for responsiveness, community support, and efficiency, though experiences may vary by location.
Sentiment score
6.0
SAP Crystal Reports' support varies; some praise it, others turn to online communities or face scheduling and complexity challenges.
I would rate the customer support a solid 10.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
QlikView is scalable with proper hardware, though high user counts may require infrastructure enhancements and favor Qlik Sense.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP Crystal Reports excels in scalability for large enterprises, but smaller setups may face SDK and cost challenges.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
QlikView is praised for stability and robustness, with some resource intensity issues during heavy data processing but overall reliable.
Sentiment score
7.4
SAP Crystal Reports stability improved since 2011, with updates resolving crash issues, though some memory problems persist.
 

Room For Improvement

QlikView's outdated interface, scalability issues, and high costs drive users towards modern tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Qlik Sense.
SAP Crystal Reports needs improvements in customization, interface, exporting, and compatibility for better user efficiency and experience.
In QlikView, I believe the improvement that should be made is to bring the costs down, as you'll have to be competitive with Power BI, aiming for at least a 30% reduction to stop the hemorrhaging to Power BI.
 

Setup Cost

QlikView's pricing varies significantly, with high setup and user costs compared to Power BI and SAP Crystal Reports.
SAP Crystal Reports can be costly, but discounts and free software help manage expenses, requiring careful license model evaluation.
The license cost per user or per year for QlikView is about 500 Euros annually.
 

Valuable Features

QlikView offers dynamic dashboards, self-service BI, and rapid data visualization with its Associative Query Logic and user-friendly interface.
SAP Crystal Reports offers flexible custom report creation with easy database connectivity, export options, and Business Objects integration.
The best features in QlikView are rapid development, the fact that I can do what I want in QlikView, and full control along with ease of use.
 

Categories and Ranking

QlikView
Ranking in Reporting
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
162
Ranking in other categories
Embedded BI (4th)
SAP Crystal Reports
Ranking in Reporting
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Reporting category, the mindshare of QlikView is 3.5%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Crystal Reports is 2.6%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Vishal_Goyal - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides ETL capability allowing the building of a complete data warehouse
I am working on Qlik Sense and previously worked on QlikView for data visualization and reporting purposes It provides a comprehensive data warehouse solution within Qlik Sense, eliminating dependency on external data sources and enhancing data visualization capabilities. QlikView is an…
GhulamMustafa - PeerSpot reviewer
Data management and graphs help with decision-making and good at customization
The overall environment is the best. Data management, graphs, and layout – everything is the best, in my opinion. It is good at customization in context with Crystal Reports. I use Crystal Reports on the front end, and SQL Server on the back end. So we can build any kind of report and face no difficulties in our routine reporting. So, flexibility is of great importance to me.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Reporting solutions are best for your needs.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about QlikView?
If you correctly use the product for your use cases, it provides value for money.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for QlikView?
Qlik Sense's licensing metrics are flexible. They provide packages based on needs, like named licenses, developer licenses, or shared pool licenses. There is also a core-based license option for or...
What needs improvement with QlikView?
QlikView lacks self-service capabilities, which means users depend on the IT team to make changes. Qlik Sense offers a more modern approach with self-service features, allowing users to build dashb...
What needs improvement with SAP Crystal Reports?
Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports. We use query language to build reports; this area could be improved more.
What is your primary use case for SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for reporting. We use it for financial reports like statements of accounts, trial balances, and other management reports, salary slips, and many other purposes.
What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Canon, Gatorade, Amcor, Panasonic, Fila, Cambridge University Hospitals, Global Retail Bank, North Yorkshire Police department, Lanoo Group Publishers, and AonGroep Nederland.
City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), LivePerson, Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY WEiJL, El Machetazo, Young Heroes, Mozzart, Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI) , Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, AL-KO KOBER GROUP
Find out what your peers are saying about QlikView vs. SAP Crystal Reports and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.