Software Alternatives & Startups

Power BI Desktop VS Plotly

Compare Power BI Desktop VS Plotly and see what are their differences

Power BI Desktop

Create interactive reports with data modeling tools from Power BI Desktop. Connect to any data and easily gain actionable insights—for free.

Rating
0 reviews
Plotly

Low-Code Data Apps

Rating
0 reviews

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Plotly should be more popular than Power BI Desktop. It has been mentioned 34 times since March 2021.

social mentions
7 vs 34
Business Intelligence popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
36 vs 240+

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Power BI Desktop
Plotly
Website community.fabric.microsoft.com plotly.com
Pricing —
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Power BI Desktop 5 features
Plotly 6 features
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Power BI Desktop offers a highly intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.
  • Data Visualization
    The tool provides a wide range of data visualization options that help users create insightful reports and dashboards to better understand their data.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Power BI Desktop seamlessly integrates with numerous data sources, including Microsoft Excel, SQL Server, Azure, and other services, allowing for easy data connectivity.
  • Cost-Effectiveness
    As a part of the Microsoft ecosystem, Power BI offers a free tier with significant capabilities, providing a cost-effective solution for many businesses.
  • Custom Visualization Support
    The platform supports custom visualizations, allowing users to create and share tailored visuals using the open-source R and Python programming languages.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Data Handling
    Power BI Desktop may struggle with very large datasets and complex calculations, which can affect performance and responsiveness.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic functionalities are easy to learn, mastering advanced capabilities, such as DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) or M (Power Query Formula Language), requires time and technical understanding.
  • Dependency on Microsoft Ecosystem
    Optimal use of Power BI often depends on compatibility with the Microsoft ecosystem, which might not be suitable for organizations using alternative platforms.
  • Limited Customization in Free Version
    The free version of Power BI Desktop has limitations in terms of customization and sharing capabilities compared to the premium versions.
  • Data Refresh Limitations
    There are restrictions on the frequency and volume of data refreshes, especially in the free version, which can be a constraint for real-time data analysis needs.
  • Interactivity
    Plotly offers highly interactive plots that allow users to pan, zoom, and hover over data points for more information. This enhances the user experience and provides deeper insights.
  • High-quality visualizations
    It provides aesthetically pleasing and highly customizable charts, making it suitable for publication-quality visuals.
  • Versatility
    Plotly supports multiple chart types including line charts, scatter plots, bar charts, and 3D plots, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.
  • Python integration
    Plotly is well-integrated with Python and works seamlessly with other popular data science libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and Scikit-learn.
  • Web-based
    The plots can be easily embedded in web applications or dashboards, making it ideal for sharing insights over the internet.
  • Open-source
    Plotly offers an open-source version, which allows users to create and share visualizations without any cost.

Possible disadvantages

  • Performance
    Rendering very large datasets can sometimes be slow, which may not be suitable for real-time data visualization requirements.
  • Learning curve
    Even though the library is well-documented, the extensive range of features can have a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Cost for advanced features
    While the basic functionality is free, more advanced features, such as export to certain formats and additional customizable options, require a paid subscription.
  • Dependency management
    Plotly has a number of dependencies that need to be managed properly, which can sometimes complicate the setup process.
  • Complexity
    For simple visualizations, Plotly might be overkill and simpler libraries like Matplotlib or Seaborn could be more appropriate.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Power BI Desktop
Plotly

Overall verdict

  • Power BI Desktop is a powerful and cost-effective business intelligence tool that excels at data modeling, visualization, and reporting, backed by an active Microsoft Fabric community for support and learning.

Why this product is good

  • Free to download and use for individual report creation and data analysis
  • Robust data connectivity with hundreds of built-in connectors to databases, cloud services, and files
  • Powerful data modeling and transformation capabilities via Power Query and DAX
  • Rich, interactive visualizations that make insights easy to explore and share
  • Strong integration with the broader Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, Azure, and Microsoft Fabric
  • Active community forum (community.fabric.microsoft.com) offering tutorials, troubleshooting, and best practices
  • Regular monthly updates adding new features and improvements

Recommended for

  • Data analysts and business intelligence professionals building interactive dashboards
  • Small to large organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem
  • Individuals learning data visualization and analytics on a budget
  • Teams needing to transform and model data from multiple sources
  • Report developers who benefit from community-driven support and resources

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Plotly is a strong choice for those looking to create dynamic and interactive data visualizations, thanks to its range of features and ease of integration with web technologies.

Why this product is good

  • Plotly is considered good because it offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating interactive visualizations that can be used in web applications, reports, and dashboards. It supports many different types of plots, is easy to use for both beginners and experienced developers, and integrates well with popular programming languages like Python, R, and JavaScript.

Recommended for

    Plotly is recommended for data scientists, analysts, and developers who need to create interactive and visually appealing data visualizations. It's particularly useful for those who work with Python or R and want the ability to embed their visualizations in web applications or dashboards.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Power BI Desktop 0 videos + Add
Plotly 5 videos + Add

No Power BI Desktop videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Create Real-time Chart with Javascript | Plotly.js Tutorial

More videos

  • - Introducing plotly.py 3.0
  • - Is Plotly The Better Matplotlib?
  • - Plotly Tutorial 2021
  • - Data Visualization as The First and Last Mile of Data Science Plotly Express and Dash | SciPy 2021

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Power BI Desktop
Plotly
100% 100%
0% 0%
11% 11%
89% 89%
0% 0%
100% 100%
10% 10%
90% 90%

User comments

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Power BI Desktop no reviews yet
Plotly no reviews yet

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Power BI Desktop 7 mentions
Plotly 34 mentions
  • Using Power BI to visualize Edge data sent to Azure IoT Hub
    Navigate to the official website and click Download free. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Powerful new feature upcoming in Power BI
    There is a hidden gem in the August 2022 release of Power BI Desktop: a secret new DAX function EvaluateAndLog that is not listed in the feature summary of the official blogpost. Yet this function will become a great learning and... Source: about 4 years ago
  • Using Azure SQL and PowerBI to report on Speaking Events
    You will need PowerBI Desktop installed on your machine for this next stage. You can download the latest version form here. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago

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Alternatives to Power BI Desktop and Plotly

When comparing Power BI Desktop and Plotly, you can also consider the following products.