Domo and Microsoft Power BI are two business intelligence software solutions that empower end users to make better business decisions with real-time data. Here, we compare them on several factors.
What is the Difference Between Domo and Power BI?
- Domo offers custom solutions based on job roles and industry. Power BI is geared toward analysts and IT in industries, such as health care, manufacturing and retail.
- Although both solutions have robust visualization features, Domo users can chat within a dashboard, while Power BI users can only add comments or annotation.
- Domo prefers to give prospects a personalized quote based on different factors, but prospects can see Power BI prices on Microsoft’s site.
Product Overviews
The following excerpts from our Domo and Power BI reviews summarize each software solution:
Domo
Domo provides the “world’s first business management platform” where users can access and perform analytics and report from one platform. It’s designed to be available for all business users, regardless of technical expertise, to help them make better business decisions.
Domo’s Business Cloud brings together the data, the people and the insights business users need to find answers to critical business questions and make faster, better-informed decisions to improve business performance.
Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is a cloud-based business intelligence and analytics service that provides a full overview of your most critical data. Connecting to all of your data sources, Power BI simplifies data evaluation and sharing with scalable dashboards, interactive reports, embedded visuals and more.
There are several versions. Power BI Desktop is an on-premise solution that connects to a cloud-based service to easily upload and share data and information across the company.
Power BI has two additional versions with advanced features: Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium. Power BI Pro allows users to share insights with collaborators. They can analyze data by using conversational language (the Q&A feature) and get insights from pre-built visualization and reporting templates. Users can share data in other Microsoft platforms like Teams or Dynamics 365. Power BI Premium enables an organization’s internal or external users (e.g., clients) to view Power BI reports without a license.
Features Comparisons
Data Integration
Domo
Domo has over 1,000 prebuilt cloud connectors (e.g., Facebook, Salesforce, Amazon Redshift, Google Analytics) that users can set up quickly. In addition, it connects with on-premise data sources (e.g.,ODBC, SAP, XML) via its Domo Workbench feature that has the ability to connect to large amounts of data. Users can also upload spreadsheets, FTP or other files of any size, and they can connect with their company’s proprietary system, too.
Users can store data from all connected sources in one place. Domo’s query engine allows them to find answers fast, so there’s no need for aggregate data modeling. It also integrates to a company’s existing data warehouse.
Power BI
Power BI connects with over 100 cloud-based and on-premise data sources (e.g., Excel, Salesforce, Azure SQL database). It includes automated daily refreshes so data stays up to date. Note that the amount of daily refreshes depend on the tier. Power BI Pro performs up to eight refreshes per day, while Power BI Premium refreshes data up to 48 times daily.
Bottom Line
Both Domo and Power BI natively connect with popular data sources like Google Analytics, Salesforce, QuickBooks or Zendesk. However, for Power BI, some data sources may only be available through a third-party company (e.g., Facebook, Twitter).
Data Preparation
Domo
For end users, Domo has a Magic ETL functionality that cleans, transforms and combines data via a drag-and-drop interface that doesn’t require user SQL or ETL knowledge. In addition, there are advanced data prep features for data analysts, such as the ability to set up SQL dataflows or processing datasets in R or Python languages.
Power BI
Users can prepare their data with the Power Query tool. Power Query has prebuilt transformation functions (e.g., removing columns, filtering rows) that users simply select from within the interface. If a user needs to add a new transformation function, Power Query automatically adds in an M code, so the user doesn’t need to write any new code.
Bottom Line
Both software solutions have data prep tools that can be used by end users without SQL knowledge.
Data Visualizations and Dashboards
Domo
With the Analyzer feature, users can set up interactive dashboards and visualizations by choosing from over 150 chart types (e.g., bar, tables, Trellis) or over 7,000 custom maps. They can sort or filter data by predefined or custom filters. There’s also the Stories feature that lets users organize visualizations into a story form by combining cards, texts and images within a dashboard. Users can customize the dashboard layout by arranging specific cards and adding background colors. Note that Stories and other visualizations are compatible with any device.
Users can schedule the dashboard’s or report’s delivery with the Report Scheduler, and users can collaborate on a particular virtualization via Domo’s chat tool called Buzz. Finally, other advanced features include Color Rules (setting conditional colors based on data), Beast Mode (calculating new calculations in dataset without changing value of existing data), annotations and multiperiod projects.
Power BI
Users can create visualizations using the drag-and-drop tool by choosing from many templates from Microsoft and third-party providers or by creating their own. They can create mobile-optimized reports by selecting the Phone Layout button and then adjusting the chart or graph. The Power BI Pro tier lets users share the reports with their external or internal colleagues. Those colleagues can add comments to the visualization as well as subscribe for updates or alerts.
Bottom Line
While both software solutions have flexible choices for visualization templates, Domo supports a variety of chart options and has more advanced features than Power BI. Also, Domo lets collaborators engage in a conversation within a visualization, but Power BI only allows comments.
Mobile Functionality
Domo
With Domo’s dedicated mobile app, users can access their data in real time, including drilling into the details for further insights. They can receive notifications, follow a dashboard’s story with the Stories feature and send a chart or graph via iMessaging. Users can also get custom alerts when there are changes in the data, so they can take action directly from their device.
Power BI
Power BI Mobile allows users to connect with data sources, see their real-time dashboards and share reports on the go. In addition, they can use the natural language query features and filter their data based on geographic location. The app sends push notifications that alert users to any changes in their insights.
Bottom Line
Both mobile apps allow users to see their dashboards and receive alerts, but they have different collaboration capabilities. On Power BI, users can share dashboards by email and add annotations to a report. However, in Domo, users can send charts or graphs by text message and engage in group chats via its Buzz tool.
Pricing
Domo
Prospects can test Domo for free or demo the software with a sales rep. Domo offers pricing based on a client’s usage of the platform, such as the number of users and data refresh rates. Domo doesn’t display its prices, so contact the vendor directly for a quote.
Power BI
Power BI Desktop is free to individual users. Here is the pricing for Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium:
- Pro – The Pro version costs $10 per user, per month and includes a mobile app, the ability to publish and share reports, a 1 GB model size limit, eight data refreshes daily, the ability to connect to over 100 data sources, embedded application program interfaces (APIs) and controls, AI visuals, data security and encryption, metrics for content creation and publishing, and up to 10 GB per user maximum storage. Pro is available for free for companies that have the Microsoft 365 E5 solution.
- Premium (per user) – The Premium per user plan costs $20 per user, per month. It includes all of the features of the Pro plan, plus paginated reports, a 100 GB model size limit, 48 data refreshes daily, advanced AI features, XMLA endpoint read/write connectivity, data flows, the ability to analyze data stored in Azure Data Lake Storage, application lifecycle management and up to 100 TB of maximum storage.
- Premium (per capacity) – This version starts at $4,995 per month, per dedicated cloud compute and storage resource. It includes all of the features of the Premium per user plan, plus on-premise reporting, a 400 GB model limit, multi-location deployment management, Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) and autoscale add-on.
Bottom Line
Domo prefers to provide a personalized quote for each prospect. Microsoft offers pricing up front for Power BI.
Customer Support
Domo
Domo provides a variety of support options for its users, including phone, email and live chat, during regular business hours. Multi-language support is available.
Users can also access the support portal to browse articles, submit a ticket or join the online community, referred to as Dojo, where they can network with other users.
Domo also offers premium support options that include customized service and faster response time.
Power BI
Microsoft offers several resources:
- FAQs
- In-depth documentation on tools and features
- Guided learning courses
- A community forum
- Samples of Power BI reports and dashboards
In addition, Power BI Pro users can submit a support ticket.
Bottom Line
While both vendors have robust customer support, Domo has phone, email and live chat support, plus premium options, while Microsoft only offers a ticketing system to users.
Choosing a BI vendor is all about finding the right fit. Our exclusive report will walk you through the process and help you select the perfect solution.