Data visualization tools

Tableau V/s Google Data Studio
Data visualization Tools

Introduction
Data visualization has become
more and more essential for
companies over the past 20 years.
Many Business Intelligence tools
have sprung up, trying to answer
this need. Among these tools,
Tableau and Google Data Studio
stand out, bringing powerful and
easy-to-use solutions for reporting
and data visualization.

Differences between Tableau and Google Data Studio
Tableau Google Data Studio
Tableau is primarily a desktop application. It does offer
sharing and viewing capabilities through Tableau Online
In contrast, Google Data Studio is a web-based tool; it is only
available via the browser. This allows users to collaborate on
a project and share it very easily. In addition, any small
change can be made instantly. The downside: you’re
dependent on a quality internet connection.
Tableau Public is a limited version of Tableau and is available
for free. A Tableau Desktop license starts at $35/month for
Personal Edition, and $70/month for Professional Edition.
Google Data Studio is free. Previously, users were able to
create only five free reports, but Google has removed this
limitation.
Tableau connects to various data sources, including files,
databases, and certain Google products such as Google
Analytics, Google BigQuery, Google Cloud SQL and Google
Sheets. It does not, however, offer access to Google products
like AdWords, Attribution, or YouTube Analytics, but you can
get access to these via third party tools.
Google Data Studio offers connectivity to Google data
sources that include AdWords API, Attribution 360, BigQuery,
DoubleClick Campaign Manager, Google Analytics, Google
Sheets, and YouTube Analytics. It has also released a
connector to the MySQL database.

Tableau provides many options for preparing data for
visualization. For example, you can hide columns, create groups
of columns, split columns, pivot columns, and apply filters at
source.
Google Data Studio does not currently offer data preparation.
Tableau has data-joining capabilities that include inner, left,
right, and full outer joins. It is possible to join multiple data
sources and use the resulting data in Tableau visualizations.
Data Studio does not provide data joining capabilities. Datasets
have to be built outside Data Studio and then brought in for
visualization.
Sometimes you don’t want to join data – all you want is a single
dashboard that includes charts that come from very different
data sources. For example, you may want to see a graph of the
performance of a certain app from Facebook PPC next to that
of Google PPC, so that you can compare them. In Tableau, you
can connect to multiple data sources, create sheets with
visualizations, and then add multiple sheets to a single
dashboard.
Similarly, Data Studio also provides the functionality to add
multiple data sources to a single report. Charts can then be
created using these data sources.

Tableau offers the following standard (drag and drop) visualizations:
• tables,
• heat maps,
• highlighted tables,
• maps and filled maps,
• pie charts,
• horizontal/vertical bars,
• stacked bars,
• side-by-side bars,
• circle view,
• side-by-side circles,
• line charts,
• discrete line charts,
• dual axis lines,
• area charts,
• discrete area charts,
• combination charts,
• scatter plots,
• histograms,
• box-and-whisker plots,
• Gantt charts,
• bullet graphs,
• packed bubble charts.
It is also possible to create custom visualizations in Tableau, such as sankey
diagrams, sunburst charts, etc.
Data Studio 360 offers:
• time series charts,
• bar charts,
• pie charts,
• tables,
• maps,
• scorecards,
• scatter plots,
• bullet charts,
• area charts.

Tableau allows users to connect to and use multiple
data sources in visualizations. However, if these are
connected to the workbook, they can be difficult to
manage. For example, if multiple data sources are
added to a data visualization, it is hard to tell which
ones are being used, and which are not.
Data Studio provides a data source management view
that shows not only which data sources are included in
the view, but also those that are not being used.
Apart from standard aggregation functions Tableau
offers over 150 functions.
Apart from standard aggregation functions Data Studio
offers 53 functions
Tableau allows users to filter the entire dashboard by
clicking on an individual data point. Data Studio does
not offer this feature.
Data Studio and Tableau both offer filters. It is possible
to filter data for each visualization individually, or to add
a filter to the report to allow the end user to drill down
into the data, if they wish to do so.
Metrics and dimensions in Tableau are selected with
drag-and-drop or via right-clicking and selecting ‘Add to
sheet’.
Data Studio automatically selects the dimensions and
metrics, based on the type of chart the user picks on
the toolbar. Sometimes, this feature is helpful; more
frequently, it actually limits you in what kind of chart
you can use with what kinds of dimensions and metrics.
Being unconventional is not always an option in Data
Studio.

Conclusion
• Both tools are fairly easy to grasp and start working with. Tableau has an extensive
documentation and a long list of useful tutorials. Google Data Studio offers some documentation
and a list of 6 tutorials on their support website.
• In conclusion, while Tableau is seen to offer better data visualization solutions in this comparison,
Google has made impressive advances in reporting, to narrow the gap. Tableau’s strength lies in
that it is the more complete and powerful tool for visual data discovery and visualization.
• Meanwhile, Data Studio presents itself as a good solution for building beautiful reports that are
easy to customize and share quickly.
• In particular, I think Data Studio is great in five key areas: Features for Everyone, Regular Updates,
Best Data Connections, Always Online and Unbeatable Cost

Data visualization tools

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