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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs Qlik Sense

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qlik Sense logo

Qlik Sense

Business Intelligence

Self-service data analytics and visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Qlik Sense has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; Qlik Sense expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and Qlik Sense actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and Qlik Sense differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightQlik Sense
Starting price$3/monthFree
Pricing modelper-userUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWSWeb (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android)
Founded20061993

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • S3
  • Athena

Only in Qlik Sense

  • Associative Engine
  • AI Insights
  • Augmented Analytics
  • Natural Language
  • Alerting
  • SAP
  • ServiceNow
  • Snowflake

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligencenot Qlik Sense
  • Dashboard creationnot Qlik Sense
  • Data visualizationnot Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense

  • Self-service analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Data explorationnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Collaborative analysisnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Embedded analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

Qlik Sense

  • Expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • Performance degradation when working with very large datasets
  • Limited field capacity and strict 10 GB data limit on Starter plan ($300/month)
  • Weak date handling in set analysis compared to other BI tools
  • Poor API usability, particularly for Python scripts and integration workflows

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/month
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/month
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/month
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/month
    • Advanced authoring features

Qlik Sense

Free
  • Qlik Sense Business (Desktop)Free
    • Personal dashboards
    • No content sharing
    • Desktop only
  • Starter$300/month
    • 10 users
    • 10 GB data for analysis
    • Cloud-based
  • Standard$825/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 25 GB data for analysis
    • Advanced analytics
  • Premium$2750/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 50 GB data for analysis
    • Enhanced support

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose Qlik Sense if

  • You need associative engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
  • You also want ai insights.
Qlik Sense review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or Qlik Sense better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month and Qlik Sense at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or Qlik Sense?
Qlik Sense has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month for Amazon QuickSight and Free for Qlik Sense.
Does Amazon QuickSight or Qlik Sense run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. Qlik Sense runs on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
Can I use Qlik Sense for free?
Yes. Qlik Sense has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence, dashboard creation, data visualization. Of those, business intelligence and dashboard creation are not what Qlik Sense is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that Qlik Sense cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, AI Insights, Augmented Analytics, Natural Language. Both handle Salesforce, Web support, Mobile support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense have a free tier?

Qlik Sense Business (Desktop) is permanently free for individual users for creating personal dashboards, though content cannot be shared. Qlik Cloud Analytics offers a 30-day free trial with full features.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
Qlik Sense: What is the entry price for Qlik Cloud Analytics?

Qlik Cloud Analytics Starter plan starts at $300 per month (annual billing) for 10 users and 10 GB of data. Standard is $825/month for 25 GB with unlimited users. Premium is $2,750/month for 50 GB.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
Qlik Sense: How many users can access Qlik Sense?

The Starter plan is limited to 10 users. Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans include unlimited users and charge based on data capacity (gigabytes) rather than seat count.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
Qlik Sense: What is the Associative Engine in Qlik Sense?

The Associative Engine is Qlik's proprietary technology that automatically discovers and explores all possible relationships between data points, enabling intuitive analysis compared to traditional query-based BI tools.

Source
Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense support self-service analytics?

Yes, Qlik Sense is designed for self-service business intelligence, allowing business users to create dashboards and explore data without extensive technical knowledge, though complex implementations require expertise.

Source
Qlik Sense: Is Qlik Sense available on-premises?

Yes, Qlik offers both cloud-based (Qlik Cloud Analytics) and on-premises deployment options, though on-premises licensing requires a separate quote.

Source
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