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Business Intelligence · head to head

Holistics vs Visual Studio

Holistics logo

Holistics

Business Intelligence

Self-service BI for data teams

From
$800/month
Free plan
No
Visit HolisticsFull review
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Visual StudioFull review

The short version

  • Holistics is a self-service business intelligence platform.
  • Visual Studio is free; Holistics starts at $800/mo.
  • Where Holistics falls short: the entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool.
  • Where Visual Studio falls short: A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Holistics and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Holistics and Visual Studio differ
AttributeHolisticsVisual Studio
Starting price$800/monthFree
Pricing modelSubscriptionFreemium
Free tierNoYes
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: platforms (Web).

Not yet recorded: founded for Visual Studio.

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 Holistics

  • Data Modeling
  • Version Control
  • Scheduling
  • Caching
  • Embedding
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Holistics does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Holistics

  • Modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with Git version controlnot Visual Studio
  • Self-service exploration and dashboards for non-SQL usersnot Visual Studio
  • Embedding analytics into a customer-facing productnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Holistics
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Holistics
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Holistics
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Holistics
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot Holistics

Where each one falls short

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

Holistics

  • The entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool
  • Every plan includes only the first 10 users, with additional users charged at $15 per month each on Entry and Standard and $18 on the Security Compliance Suite
  • The Entry plan caps reports at 100, and each additional 100 reports costs $120 per month
  • Google SSO requires the Standard plan at $1,200 per month; enterprise SSO with SAML and SCIM provisioning requires the Security Compliance Suite at $2,400 per month
  • Row-based access control, IP whitelisting, pass-through authentication and user activity monitoring are all Security Compliance Suite features
  • Connecting Git version control to your own repository requires Standard; Entry only gets Holistics-hosted Git
  • White labelling, dynamic row-level permissions and unlimited dashboard viewers for embedded analytics are Custom Plan only, with no published price
  • Bank payments and custom payment terms are Custom Plan only, and custom infosec or legal paperwork is Enterprise plan only
  • The two months off discount requires yearly billing

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Holistics

$800/month
  • Entry$800/mo
    • 100 reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Core self-service analytics
  • Standard$1,000/mo
    • Unlimited reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Custom charts
  • Security Compliance Suite$2,000/mo
    • Unlimited reports
    • First 10 users included
    • Granular access controls

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Holistics if

  • You need data modeling.
  • You also want version control.
Holistics review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Holistics or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Holistics starts at $800/month and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Holistics or Visual Studio?
Visual Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $800/month for Holistics and Free for Visual Studio.
Does Holistics or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Visual Studio for free?
Yes. Visual Studio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Holistics starts at $800/month.
What is Holistics best used for?
Holistics is most often used for modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control, self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users, embedding analytics into a customer-facing product. Of those, modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control and self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Holistics do that Visual Studio cannot?
Holistics covers Data Modeling, Version Control, Scheduling, Caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Holistics: How much do additional Holistics users cost?

Additional users cost $12.50 per month (yearly billing) or $15 per month (monthly billing) for Entry/Standard plans, and $15-18 per month for Security Suite.

Source
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
Holistics: Can I purchase additional reports on Holistics?

Yes, additional 100-report blocks cost $100 per month (yearly) or $120 per month (monthly billing).

Source
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Holistics: Does Holistics support multiple data centers?

Yes, Holistics supports multiple data centers in US, EU, and APAC regions with pricing available for embedded analytics with unlimited dashboard viewers.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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