Choosing the right tool to look at your business data can feel confusing. Tableau and Salesforce Dashboards both help you see your data — but they work in different ways.
In this post, we’ll break down the key differences to help you decide what’s best for your team.
Salesforce Dashboards can only use data that’s already inside Salesforce.
Tableau can pull data from many places — not just Salesforce, but also other databases and servers.
As Danny Wright, SOLVD Consultant, explains:
“Salesforce Dashboards only show Salesforce data. But Tableau connects to lots of other tools.”
Both tools are pretty fast. But if you want real-time updates, Salesforce Dashboards are quicker because the data is already in Salesforce.
Tableau can show real-time data too, but if it’s pulling from lots of places or very large files, it might slow down.
Salesforce Dashboards are easy to use, especially if your team already works in Salesforce. But they are a little limited in how fancy or complex the charts can be.
Danny Wright, SOLVD Consultant puts it simply:
“Tableau is better for really custom or detailed visualizations. But it can take a little longer to learn.”
Tableau has a special tool called Tableau Prep. It helps you clean and prepare data before making charts.
Salesforce Dashboards don’t have this. Any cleaning or changes need to happen in Salesforce reports first.
If you have lots of data — or data outside of Salesforce — Tableau is probably the better choice. Salesforce Dashboards work great for smaller data sets already inside Salesforce.
“When your data lives in different places, Tableau makes it easier to bring it all together,” says Danny Wright, SOLVD Consultant.
Salesforce Dashboards are included if you already use Salesforce.
Tableau requires an extra license, which means additional cost.
Choose Salesforce Dashboards if:
Choose Tableau if:
At SOLVD.cloud, we help SaaS companies automate their data and reporting. We’ll help you pick the tool that’s right for your business — and set it up for success.
Let’s make your data easy to use, so your team can focus on what matters most.
From my initial call with Spencer through project implementation with John and Evan, my experience with the SOLVD team was excellent. They were quick to understand our business needs, clear when explaining the reasoning behind proposed solutions, transparent when reporting on progress and timeline, and all around enjoyable to work with. Would highly recommend and looking forward to continue working with them in the future!
SOLVD was very straight forward with everything needed to complete the project. No surprises, no issues, and cost was aligned with the estimate. They made implementation easy and quick.
As a rule, I'm pretty stingy with my recommendations. So it's a pleasure for me to recommend Solvd as a top-flight Salesforce consultancy. Solvd recently led our company's conversion to the Lightning interface and did it on time, on budget and made it easy for me and my team. I know I'll use their services again, and am confident they can do the same for you.
Start Automating Today
