Business Intelligence Software Comparison (2026)

This comparison covers business intelligence software, plus the spreadsheet options Excel teams already have. Elyx is an agent inside the workbook. It is not a BI server.

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Elyx, an AI agent inside Excel.

Summary

1. Microsoft Power BI

• Power BI Desktop is free. You model data and build a report on your computer.
• Sharing that report in the Power BI service needs a paid license. Excel files are a common source.
• It does not edit the workbook the way an agent inside Excel does.

2. Tableau

• Tableau builds visual dashboards. Tableau Public is free when you publish the workbook publicly.
• Private business use is on a paid plan. The price is on Tableau's site.
• Salesforce owns Tableau. It runs outside the Excel window.

3. Looker

• Looker is Google Cloud's BI product. Teams model the data once, then explore dashboards on that model.
• Check Google Cloud for the current offer.
• It is a different product from Looker Studio.

4. Looker Studio

• Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) builds dashboards in the browser.
• Building and sharing a dashboard is free. Looker Studio Pro, and some connectors from other vendors, are paid.
• It reads a source such as a sheet or a database. It does not change the Excel file in place.

5. Qlik Sense

• Qlik Sense is a BI product. You select a value, and the related charts filter together.
• Check Qlik's site for the current offer.
• It is not an add-in inside Excel.

6. Excel

• PivotTables, charts, and Power Query are the reporting many teams already run in the file.
• A colleague opens the same workbook to see the report.
• It is not a shared BI service with one governed model for the whole company.

7. Elyx

• You describe the chart or the pivot. Elyx builds it in the workbook.
• It does not publish a dashboard for other people, and it does not hold a shared data model.
• There is no permanent free plan. Elyx does not run in Google Sheets.

8. Metabase

• Metabase asks questions and builds dashboards on a database.
• You can host the open-source edition yourself. Metabase Cloud is the paid hosted offer.
• It does not run inside Excel. A spreadsheet can be an export.

9. Domo

• Domo is a cloud BI platform. Dashboards and data prep run in Domo's service.
• Excel can be a file you upload. Domo does not run in the Excel window.
• Check Domo's site for the current offer.

10. Microsoft Copilot in Excel

• On an eligible license, Copilot in Excel can create a chart or a PivotTable from a description.
• It works in the open file. It does not publish a company dashboard.
• The button is missing when the license or the organization does not include it.

Questions

What is business intelligence software?

Software that turns stored data into reports and dashboards people can filter. Power BI and Tableau are examples. Excel PivotTables are the version many teams already use.

Is Elyx business intelligence software?

No. Elyx is an AI agent inside Excel. It can build a pivot table or a chart in the file. It is not a shared BI service.

Where do you check a price this page does not state?

On the vendor page. When the current amount is not certain, the table says "Free offer and paid plans" and does not invent a figure.

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