Business Intelligence · head to head
Qlik Sense vs Yellowfin

Qlik Sense
Business Intelligence
Self-service data analytics and visualization
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Yellowfin
Business Intelligence
Action-based business intelligence
- From
- $50/month
- 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; 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: Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Qlik Sense and Yellowfin actually diverge.
| Attribute | Qlik Sense | Yellowfin |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $50/month |
| Pricing model | Unknown | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android) | Web, Mobile, Embedded |
| Founded | 1993 | 2003 |
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 Yellowfin
- Automated Analysis
- Data Stories
- Collaboration
- Signals
- Embedded Analytics
- Google Analytics
- SQL Server
- Oracle
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 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 Qlik Sense
- Enterprise reporting with automated business monitoring and alertingnot Qlik Sense
- Data storytelling and guided natural language querying for business usersnot 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
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
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
Yellowfin
$50/month- Team$50/month
- Dashboards
- Stories
- Collaboration
- EnterpriseFree
- Advanced Features
- Embedding
- Custom SLA
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 Yellowfin if
- You need automated analysis.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
- You also want data stories.
Questions people ask
- Is Qlik Sense or Yellowfin better?
- Neither clearly leads. Qlik Sense starts at Free and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Qlik Sense or Yellowfin?
- Qlik Sense has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Qlik Sense and $50/month for Yellowfin.
- Does Qlik Sense or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
- Qlik Sense runs on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android). Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
- Can I use Qlik Sense for free?
- Yes. Qlik Sense has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yellowfin starts at $50/month.
- 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 Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
- What can Qlik Sense do that Yellowfin cannot?
- Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, AI Insights, Augmented Analytics, Natural Language. Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals. 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
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