Cube vs Tableau
Cube
cube.devTableau
tableau.comSide by side
| Figure | Cube | Tableau |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $40/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 12 |
| Spec score · Semantic Layer Software | 9.3 (#1) | 8.3 (#10) |
| Spec score · Data Transformation Tools | 9.1 (#4) | 8.2 (#15) |
| Deployment | Cube Cloud can run as a managed multi-tenant service on AWS or GCP, in a VPC on AWS, GCP, or Azure, or on a customer's cloud through BYOC. | hybrid |
| Deployment options | Cube Cloud can run as managed multi-tenant cloud, VPC deployment on AWS, GCP or Azure, or customer-cloud BYOC. | Tableau offers hosted cloud and self-hosted server deployments. |
| Founded | 2019 | 2003 |
| Integrations | Listed data sources include Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Trino, Presto and AWS Athena. | Tableau can operate across Slack, Teams, Claude, ChatGPT, CRM, and agent surfaces. |
Plans
Tableau
- Creator$75 a month
- Explorer$42 a month
- Viewer$15 a month
- Enterprise Creator$115 a month
- Enterprise Explorer$70 a month
- Enterprise Viewer$35 a month
- Tableau+Priced on request
- Tableau+Price not published
- Tableau CreatorPriced on request
- Tableau DesktopFree
In their own words
Cube
Cube is an analytics platform with a semantic layer that encodes governed business definitions for dashboards, embedded applications, and AI agents. Cube Cloud supports internal business intelligence and embedded analytics, while Cube Core is the open-source project alongside which the cloud platform is built. The Free plan includes a semantic layer IDE, workbooks, dashboard publishing, semantic model and workbook agents, and analytics chat. Listed data sources include PostgreSQL, Snowflake, ClickHouse, Databricks, BigQuery, MySQL, Oracle, Redshift, MongoDB, and Trino; integrations include dbt, Dagster, Prefect, Airflow, and Coalesce.io. Cube Core processes API requests using pre-aggregated data in Cube Store or raw data in connected databases. Cloud deployment options include a managed multi-tenant service on AWS or GCP, a VPC on AWS, GCP, or Azure, and a customer's cloud through BYOC. Cube lists a free plan, Starter at $40 a month per developer, and Premium at $80 a month per developer.
Tableau
Tableau is a data analytics platform for dashboards, visualizations, and data apps. It offers hosted cloud and self-hosted server deployments, with hybrid deployment listed. Tableau Creator can connect to any type of data. Users can ask natural-language questions for AI-powered insights, while Tableau Agent provides conversational analytics inside dashboards. A knowledge engine and semantic layer support consistent metrics. Teams can publish, author, share, schedule subscriptions, and send notifications. Tableau Cloud supports secure sharing; row-level security, embedded analytics, and real-time refresh are listed. Viewer includes mobile access. Dashboards and data apps can operate across Slack, Teams, Claude, ChatGPT, CRM, and agent surfaces. Tableau has a free plan and free trial, and Tableau Desktop is free to download. Listed annual-billing prices are $15 a month for Viewer, $42 a month for Explorer, and $75 a month for Creator. Enterprise prices are also listed, while some paid pricing requires contacting sales.