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Best Data Visualization Tools

Advertiser Disclosure Updated: Mar 21, 2024, 6:20pm

The Best Data Visualization Tools Of 2024

Katherine HaanContributor

Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

Katherine Haan

Katherine HaanContributor

Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

Contributor

Rob WattsManaging Editor, SMB

With over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.

Reviewed

Rob Watts

Rob WattsManaging Editor, SMB

Managing Editor, SMB

Reviewed

Updated: Mar 21, 2024, 6:20pm

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

In any data-driven business, data visualization is necessary. It turns data into visuals, making it easier to understand, digest and make important business decisions from. Data visualization creates actionable insights your team might not have found otherwise.

There are many data visualization tools available, and we’ve done the research to determine the best for small businesses. These tools should be versatile, easy to use and allow you to visualize data in a variety of ways to suit your business’s needs.

Data Analytics

Show Summary

The Best Data Visualization Software of 2024

Microsoft Power BI: Best for business intelligence (BI)
Tableau: Best for interactive charts
Qlik Sense: Best for artificial intelligence (AI)
Klipfolio: Best for custom dashboards
Looker: Best for visualization options
Zoho Analytics: Best for Zoho users
Domo: Best for custom apps

Best for Business Intelligence

Microsoft Power BI

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence platform that enables users to collaborate with data and track goals. It provides real-time analytics and trend analysis to help users make confident decisions. Microsoft Power BI integrates with many Microsoft products and cloud services, making it a versatile solution for businesses.

It offers data security features to protect user data. Microsoft Power BI is a powerful platform for building engaging, immersive dashboards and reports that allow you to take action.

Who should use it:

Businesses that use Microsoft products and services and need a business intelligence solution.

Pros & Cons

Has a mobile app
Competitive pricing
If you know how to use Excel, you’ll have an easy time learning this

Heavy CPU usage
Desktop version not compatible with Mac

Best for Interactive Charts

Tableau

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Tableau is a data visualization and analytics platform that enables users to explore data and share insights. Data exploration is simple for anyone thanks to Tableau’s flexibility and power. Users can build visualizations with drag and drop, employ AI-driven statistical modeling with a few clicks and ask questions using natural language.

Tableau saves time and money by allowing for greater scale in the areas of governance, security, compliance, maintenance and support. Users also receive more than just an analytics tool—they get the knowledge and support they need to achieve greater scale.

Who should use it:

Businesses that need data visualization and analytics capabilities to scale their data operations.

Pros & Cons

Storytelling dashboards
It’s backed by Salesforce
Integrates with Slack

Steep learning curve
Prices are higher compared to similar products

Best for Artificial Intelligence

Qlik Sense

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Qlik Sense is a data visualization tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help users understand and use data more effectively. It offers deeper interactivity and broader context than other data visualization tools, as well as lightning-fast calculations and the ability to connect and combine data from hundreds of data sources.

Qlik Sense is a part of the Qlik Active Intelligence Platform, which offers analytics performance and scalability to businesses of all sizes. Additionally, it’s available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution or as a hybrid service that extends SaaS analytics to on-premises data.

Who should use it:

Businesses that need artificial intelligence capabilities to scale their data operations.

Pros & Cons

Automated action triggers
AI insights
Drag-and-drop interface

User interface needs work

Best for Custom Dashboards

Klipfolio

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

With Klipfolio, access and combine data from hundreds of services without writing any code using curated instant metrics, all of which are pre-built. With its powerful data modeler, you can leverage data in everyday decision-making. Users can import, edit and analyze data to get comprehensive and exact insight.

Its flexible payment plans require no lengthy contracts or onboarding fees. Nonprofit organizations receive a discount on plans but will need to contact Klipfolio’s sales team for details.

Who should use it:

Klipfolio’s unlimited dashboards with every plan make it an ideal solution for businesses requiring custom dashboards.

Pros & Cons

Offers a free plan
Has hundreds of integrations
Each plan has unlimited dashboards, metrics and viewer users

Free plan doesn’t include downloadable PDF reports

Best for Visualization Options

Looker

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Looker is a powerful tool that allows users to see data in many ways thanks to its plugin marketplace. Here, you can find a directory of different types of visualizations, such as bar gauges, aster plots, cartoons, calendar heat maps, liquid fill gauges and spider visualization.

It has pre-made analytical blocks that let users employ templates for certain data or analyses, which helps to accelerate analytics. Looker’s at-a-glance visualization tools make it easy to make data-driven decisions faster.

Who should use it:

Businesses that need a variety of data visualization capabilities to scale operations.

Pros & Cons

Plugin database for a variety of visualization types
Stunning visuals
Drag-and-drop interface

Data-heavy visualizations can slow down the tool
Not as customizable as other tools

Best for Zoho Users

Zoho Analytics

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Zoho Analytics is a data visualization tool that allows users to import data from a variety of data sources for in-depth analysis. With a drag-and-drop interface, users can create insightful reports and dashboards with a range of data visualization tools.

Users can collaborate on reports and dashboards with their coworkers and decide what others may see and do with the reports provided to them. Publish reports and dashboards via email or embed them on websites. It integrates with other Zoho applications and even offers a free plan.

Who should use it:

Any business already using Zoho applications will appreciate the easy integration with Zoho Analytics.

Pros & Cons

Sign up in less than a minute
Offers a free plan
Has a 15-day free trial on paid plans

Premium support costs extra

Best for Custom Apps

Domo

Software Integrations

Yes

Real-Time Analytics

Yes

Trend Analysis

Yes

Editor's Take

Domo provides data visualization tools that help small businesses understand data and make data-driven decisions. With its easy-to-use interface, it allows users to create custom apps, advanced charts and maps and other visualizations of data with just a few clicks.

Its governance tools help organizations control who has access to data. And with Domo Everywhere, data can be shared outside of Domo in other applications for easier external reporting. For example, take the data and embed it onto your website using iFrame and JavaScript.

Who should use it:

Small businesses that want to better understand data and data-driven decision-making will appreciate Domo.

Pros & Cons

Use a pre-built app, hire Domo to create one or use a template to build one
Its custom seat visualization tool can help stadiums track revenue, sales and attendance
More than 150 interactive charts

Pricing isn’t transparent
Must speak to its sales team for a custom quote

Forbes Advisor Ratings

Company	Forbes Advisor Rating	Software Integrations	Real-Time Analytics	Trend Analysis	Learn More CTA text
Microsoft Power BI	4.5	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Tableau	4.4	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Qlik Sense	4.4	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Klipfolio	4.3	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Looker	4.3	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Zoho Analytics	4.3	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More
Domo	4.2	Yes	Yes	Yes	View More

Methodology

To help businesses find the best data visualization tool for their needs, our team of business experts looked at a variety of options and narrowed our list down to the top seven data visualization tools on the market. We considered features that included ease of use, pricing, customer support, customization, data security and the ability to share data outside of the tool. Our team also looked at user reviews to get insights into real-world experiences with each data visualization tool.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is data visualization?

Data visualization is the act of representing data in a visual form, such as graphs, charts and maps. This enables people to glean insights from data more easily and make data-driven decisions. By representing data in a visual form, data visualization makes data more accessible and easier to understand.

What are the types of data visualization?

There are many types of data visualization, but some common ones include bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, scatter plots, tree charts, polar graphs, radar polygon, mind maps, dichotomous keys, choropleth maps, timelines and project (or program) evaluation and review technique (PERT) charts.

What should I look for in a data visualization tool?

The most important factors to consider when choosing a data visualization tool include how easy it is to learn and use, if it offers access to several different graph and chart types―and that they’re easy to understand, even to beginners, that the tool allows you to export your data into different formats, that it can handle a number of different formats, is interactive, offers plugins and supports many different devices.

Is Microsoft Excel a data visualization tool?

It depends on who you ask. It offers many features for creating visuals, such as graphs, charts and maps. Excel data can also be imported into data visualization tools for further analysis. However, some data visualization experts consider Excel to be more of a data management tool than a data visualization tool.

Next Up in Business

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Katherine Haan

Contributor

Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

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