Compare IBM Cognos Analytics and Tableau 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Enterprise (58.6% of reviews)
Enterprise (42.2% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $10.00 1 User Per Month
$75.00 1 User Per Month
IBM Cognos Analytics
Star Rating
(460)4.1 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (58.6% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $10.00 1 User Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansTableau
Star Rating
(3,545)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (42.2% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
$75.00 1 User Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- G2 reviewers report that Tableau excels in user experience, particularly with its intuitive drag-and-drop feature for creating visualizations. Users appreciate how easily they can select dimensions and measures to build graphs, making the process straightforward and efficient.
- According to verified reviews, IBM Cognos Analytics is praised for its robust reporting capabilities, with users noting that it provides a clear pictorial representation of business performance. This feature is especially beneficial for C-level executives who need to understand growth metrics quickly.
- Users say that Tableau's dashboard functionality stands out, with many highlighting how simple it is to build and customize dashboards. This ease of use contributes to a more efficient workflow, allowing users to focus on data analysis rather than getting bogged down in technical details.
- Reviewers mention that IBM Cognos Analytics offers a solid user interface that aids in dashboard and report creation. Users find it easy to navigate and manipulate data, which enhances their overall experience when preparing presentations for clients.
- G2 reviewers highlight that Tableau's extensive functionality as an ETL tool allows for comprehensive data handling, making it a preferred choice for users who require advanced data preparation capabilities before analysis.
- According to recent feedback, while IBM Cognos Analytics is noted for its ease of use, some users feel it may require a bit more hands-on experience to fully leverage its capabilities compared to Tableau, which is often seen as more user-friendly from the start.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
IBM Cognos Analytics
Cognos® Analytics On Demand - Standard
Starting at $10.00
1 User Per Month
Upload and model data, combine data sets, create dashboards and stories, and view report outputs.
- https://www.ibm.com/marketplace/purchase/configuration/en/us/checkout?editionID=EID2RPAX
- Dashboards, storytelling and collaboration
- Cognos mobile
Tableau
Tableau Standard
$75.00
1 User Per Month
A comprehensive edition to help you explore and understand your data.
- Each additional license starts as low as $15 / user / month
Free Trial
IBM Cognos Analytics
Free Trial is available
Tableau
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.2
317
8.7
2,472
Ease of Use
7.5
340
8.3
2,864
Ease of Setup
7.2
199
8.3
1,528
Ease of Admin
7.0
143
8.2
798
Quality of Support
7.5
284
8.3
2,119
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
7.8
139
8.5
777
Product Direction (% positive)
7.9
300
8.8
2,444
Features by Category
Reports
8.1
206
|
Verified
8.7
1757
|
Verified
7.6
164
|
Verified
8.2
1591
|
Verified
8.1
194
|
Verified
9.1
1803
|
Verified
7.7
144
|
Verified
8.6
1372
7.9
189
|
Verified
9.1
1791
|
Verified
Self Service
8.1
176
|
Verified
8.5
1693
|
Verified
8.5
194
|
Verified
8.7
1713
|
Verified
8.0
179
|
Verified
8.5
1639
|
Verified
7.7
164
|
Verified
8.2
1424
7.6
160
|
Verified
8.2
1519
|
Verified
7.3
126
|
Verified
7.9
1326
|
Verified
Advanced Analytics
7.9
132
|
Verified
7.8
1283
8.1
167
|
Verified
9.2
1775
|
Verified
8.0
119
|
Verified
8.1
1302
Building Reports
8.2
122
|
Verified
8.3
1003
|
Verified
8.1
120
|
Verified
8.2
964
|
Verified
7.9
107
|
Verified
8.3
835
|
Verified
7.5
91
|
Verified
8.1
841
|
Verified
Platform
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Reports
8.1
206
|
Verified
8.7
1757
|
Verified
7.6
164
|
Verified
8.2
1591
|
Verified
8.1
194
|
Verified
9.1
1803
|
Verified
7.7
144
|
Verified
8.6
1372
7.9
189
|
Verified
9.1
1791
|
Verified
Data Preparation
8.3
72
|
Verified
8.6
874
|
Verified
8.4
73
|
Verified
8.4
850
|
Verified
Data Modeling and Blending
8.4
77
|
Verified
8.5
889
|
Verified
8.5
77
|
Verified
8.8
912
|
Verified
8.2
74
|
Verified
8.5
884
|
Verified
Generative AI
7.3
37
7.4
429
7.5
37
7.5
453
Agentic AI - Analytics Platforms
7.8
10
7.5
133
8.0
9
7.5
136
8.0
9
7.8
138
8.1
9
7.6
132
8.3
10
7.7
129
8.0
10
7.4
129
8.0
10
7.9
135
Self Service
8.1
176
|
Verified
8.5
1693
|
Verified
8.5
194
|
Verified
8.7
1713
|
Verified
8.0
179
|
Verified
8.5
1639
|
Verified
7.7
164
|
Verified
8.2
1424
7.6
160
|
Verified
8.2
1519
|
Verified
7.3
126
|
Verified
7.9
1326
|
Verified
Deployment & Integration - Analytics Platforms
8.8
7
8.4
139
8.3
7
8.3
114
7.8
6
8.1
110
8.3
7
8.5
131
Advanced Analytics
7.9
132
|
Verified
7.8
1283
8.1
167
|
Verified
9.2
1775
|
Verified
8.0
119
|
Verified
8.1
1302
Performance & Scalability - Analytics Platforms
8.6
7
7.6
143
8.8
7
8.2
111
Advanced Analytics & Modeling - Analytics Platforms
9.0
8
8.2
112
8.9
6
8.0
107
8.8
7
7.8
110
Agentic AI Capabilities - Analytics Platforms
9.2
8
7.6
107
8.8
7
7.7
105
8.1
6
7.8
108
7.8
6
7.6
107
Personalized Intelligence - Analytics Platforms
8.1
6
7.7
107
8.3
6
7.9
113
8.6
6
7.8
107
Building Reports
8.2
122
|
Verified
8.3
1003
|
Verified
8.1
120
|
Verified
8.2
964
|
Verified
7.9
107
|
Verified
8.3
835
|
Verified
7.5
91
|
Verified
8.1
841
|
Verified
Reports
8.1
206
|
Verified
8.7
1757
|
Verified
7.6
164
|
Verified
8.2
1591
|
Verified
8.1
194
|
Verified
9.1
1803
|
Verified
7.7
144
|
Verified
8.6
1372
7.9
189
|
Verified
9.1
1791
|
Verified
Self Service
8.1
176
|
Verified
8.5
1693
|
Verified
8.5
194
|
Verified
8.7
1713
|
Verified
8.0
179
|
Verified
8.5
1639
|
Verified
7.7
164
|
Verified
8.2
1424
7.6
160
|
Verified
8.2
1519
|
Verified
7.3
126
|
Verified
7.9
1326
|
Verified
Building Reports
8.2
122
|
Verified
8.3
1003
|
Verified
8.1
120
|
Verified
8.2
964
|
Verified
7.9
107
|
Verified
8.3
835
|
Verified
7.5
91
|
Verified
8.1
841
|
Verified
Cartography
Not enough data
9.4
26
Not enough data
9.2
26
Not enough data
9.6
28
Not enough data
9.4
27
Analysis
Not enough data
9.0
28
Not enough data
9.2
27
Not enough data
9.3
27
Not enough data
9.0
27
Reporting
Not enough data
9.3
27
Not enough data
9.2
26
Not enough data
9.1
26
Data Source Access
Not enough data
8.7
234
Not enough data
8.8
236
Not enough data
8.3
229
Data Interaction
Not enough data
8.2
227
Not enough data
8.1
231
Not enough data
8.3
229
Not enough data
8.5
233
Not enough data
8.3
230
Not enough data
8.3
227
Not enough data
8.4
229
Not enough data
8.3
227
Data Exporting
Not enough data
8.5
223
Not enough data
8.4
226
Not enough data
8.4
223
Generative AI
Not enough data
7.4
219
Additional Functionality
Not enough data
8.9
61
Not enough data
9.3
62
Basics
Not enough data
9.2
62
Content
Not enough data
8.9
59
Data
Not enough data
9.3
61
Interoperability
Not enough data
8.9
59
Performance
Not enough data
9.2
62
Deployment & Integration - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data Connectivity & Federation - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data Modeling & Metrics - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Performance Optimization - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Governance - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Advanced Intelligence - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI Enablement - Semantic Layer Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data Connectivity and Prep - Agentic Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Autonomous Insight Generation - Agentic Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Interaction and Workflow - Agentic Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Agent Management - Agentic Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Statistical Tool
8.2
31
8.4
251
Feature Not Available
8.4
254
Feature Not Available
8.4
244
Data Analysis
8.7
34
9.0
275
8.8
33
8.9
268
Decision Making
8.7
31
8.7
259
8.6
34
9.4
272
8.5
35
9.1
267
8.3
31
8.7
263
Generative AI
8.0
18
8.0
177
8.1
18
8.0
176
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
IBM Cognos Analytics and Tableau are categorized as Embedded Business Intelligence, Analytics Platforms, and Predictive Analytics
Unique Categories
IBM Cognos Analytics has no unique categories
Tableau is categorized as Semantic Layer Tools, Insurance Analytics, Data Preparation, Location Intelligence, and Agentic Analytics
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
IBM Cognos Analytics
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Tableau
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
11.1%
Insurance
8.5%
Financial Services
8.3%
Computer Software
6.5%
Banking
5.4%
Other
60.2%
Information Technology and Services
11.6%
Computer Software
7.3%
Financial Services
7.1%
Hospital & Health Care
4.5%
Marketing and Advertising
4.3%
Other
65.1%
Discussions
Where can I find more answers on my questions?
2 Comments
MD
We're IBM Gold partners with a ton of experience implementing Cognos, and have lots of good free technical information on our blog at...Read more
I heard Cognos Analytics 11.11 was out - where can I find more information?
2 Comments
MD
As of October 2019, the latest version is 11.1.4. We just did a livestream earlier this week to review the latest updates. You can check that out here:...Read more
Have you used DMR ? Have you found it better than a relational or a powercube?
1 Comment
CM
Yes, I have used DMR. However, the performance here is not so great compared to a PowerCube. However, you don't have to worry about building cubes. I...Read more
why did saleforce by tableau? IS SFDC reporting going to change now?
2 Comments
TR
Perfect answer by Derrick. I totally agree.Read more
What does Tableau Desktop do?
2 Comments
NA
Tableau Desktop help create interactive Dashboards offline and publish it to the wider audience through Tableau public. Tableau Desktop is one of the version...Read more
Do I need Tableau Desktop if I have Tableau Server?
2 Comments
LT
Anyway, whether you need Tableau Desktop depends on your specific use case and requirements. If you're unsure, you can consider the following
Evaluate...Read more
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