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Software · head to head

IBM Cognos Analytics vs Yellowfin

IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Software

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Yellowfin logo

Yellowfin

Software

Action-based business intelligence

From
$50/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter; Yellowfin the pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • They diverge on capability: IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IBM Cognos Analytics and Yellowfin actually diverge.

Attributes where IBM Cognos Analytics and Yellowfin differ
AttributeIBM Cognos AnalyticsYellowfin
Starting price$15/month$50/month
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, Mobile, CloudWeb, Mobile, Embedded
Founded19112003

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 IBM Cognos Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Automated Insights
  • Story Telling
  • Mobile Analytics
  • IBM Db2
  • SAP
  • Hadoop

Only in Yellowfin

  • Automated Analysis
  • Data Stories
  • Collaboration
  • Signals
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Google Analytics
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL

Both cover

  • Oracle
  • SQL Server
  • Salesforce
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

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

Yellowfin

  • Embedding white-labelled dashboards and analytics into a software productnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Enterprise reporting with automated business monitoring and alertingnot IBM Cognos Analytics
  • Data storytelling and guided natural language querying for business usersnot IBM Cognos Analytics

Where each one falls short

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter

Yellowfin

  • The pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • One of the three embedded models is a revenue share, so Yellowfin takes a cut of the revenue your analytics module earns
  • Another model prices by server core, so scaling deployment hardware raises the licence cost independently of users
  • Getting a quote requires submitting a form with a marketing consent checkbox and a user-count band rather than seeing a rate card

Pricing, plan by plan

IBM Cognos Analytics

$15/month
  • Standard$15/month
    • Dashboards
    • Reporting
    • AI Insights
  • Plus$35/month
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Planning
    • Premium Support

Yellowfin

$50/month
  • Team$50/month
    • Dashboards
    • Stories
    • Collaboration
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced Features
    • Embedding
    • Custom SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.

Choose Yellowfin if

  • You need automated analysis.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
  • You also want data stories.

Questions people ask

Is IBM Cognos Analytics or Yellowfin better?
Neither clearly leads. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IBM Cognos Analytics or Yellowfin?
IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month and Yellowfin at $50/month.
Does IBM Cognos Analytics or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud. Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
What is IBM Cognos Analytics best used for?
IBM Cognos Analytics is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
What can IBM Cognos Analytics do that Yellowfin cannot?
IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling. Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals. Both handle Oracle, SQL Server, Salesforce, Web support.

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