Business Intelligence · head to head
Qlik Sense vs Amazon QuickSight
Qlik Sense
Business Intelligence
Self-service data analytics and visualization
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Amazon QuickSight
Business Intelligence
Scalable, serverless BI by AWS
- From
- $3/month per user
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Qlik Sense has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Qlik Sense expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes; Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
- They diverge on capability: Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Qlik Sense and Amazon QuickSight actually diverge.
| Attribute | Qlik Sense | Amazon QuickSight |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $3/month per user |
| Pricing model | Unknown | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android) | AWS |
| Founded | 1993 | 2006 |
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 Qlik Sense
- Associative Engine
- AI Insights
- Augmented Analytics
- Natural Language
- Alerting
- SAP
- ServiceNow
- Snowflake
Only in Amazon QuickSight
- SPICE In-memory Engine
- ML Insights
- Natural Language Queries
- Embedded Analytics
- Pay-per-session
- Redshift
- S3
- Athena
Both cover
- Salesforce
- Web support
- Mobile support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Qlik Sense
- Self-service analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight
- Data explorationnot Amazon QuickSight
- Ad-hoc reportingnot Amazon QuickSight
- Collaborative analysisnot Amazon QuickSight
- Embedded analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight
Amazon QuickSight
- Business intelligence dashboards and analyticsnot Qlik Sense
- Scalable embedded analytics for applicationsnot Qlik Sense
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
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
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Amazon QuickSight
$3/month per userNo published plan breakdown. See the Amazon QuickSight review.
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Amazon QuickSight if
- You need spice in-memory engine.
- You work on AWS.
- You also want ml insights.
Questions people ask
- Is Qlik Sense or Amazon QuickSight better?
- Neither clearly leads. Qlik Sense starts at Free and Amazon QuickSight at $3/month per user, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Qlik Sense or Amazon QuickSight?
- Qlik Sense has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Qlik Sense and $3/month per user for Amazon QuickSight.
- Does Qlik Sense or Amazon QuickSight run on more platforms?
- Qlik Sense runs on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android). Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS.
- 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 per user.
- What is Qlik Sense best used for?
- Qlik Sense 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 Amazon QuickSight is typically brought in for.
- What can Qlik Sense do that Amazon QuickSight cannot?
- Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, AI Insights, Augmented Analytics, Natural Language. Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. Both handle Salesforce, Web support, Mobile support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceQlik 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.
SourceQlik 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.
SourceQlik 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.
SourceQlik 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.
SourceQlik 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.
SourceRelated pages
More on Amazon QuickSight
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