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Business Intelligence · head to head

SAP BusinessObjects vs Yellowfin

SAP BusinessObjects logo

SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business intelligence suite

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yellowfin logo

Yellowfin

Business Intelligence

Action-based business intelligence

From
$50/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SAP BusinessObjects sAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary; 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: SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP BusinessObjects and Yellowfin actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP BusinessObjects and Yellowfin differ
AttributeSAP BusinessObjectsYellowfin
Starting price$400/month$50/month
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, Mobile, Embedded
Founded19722003

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 SAP BusinessObjects

  • Crystal Reports
  • Web Intelligence
  • Lumira
  • Analysis for Office
  • Live Office
  • SAP HANA
  • SAP ERP
  • Teradata

Only in Yellowfin

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

Both cover

  • Oracle
  • SQL Server
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

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

SAP BusinessObjects

  • Enterprise reportingnot Yellowfin
  • Executive dashboardsnot Yellowfin
  • Regulatory compliancenot Yellowfin
  • Strategic planningnot Yellowfin
  • Operational analyticsnot Yellowfin

Yellowfin

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

Where each one falls short

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

SAP BusinessObjects

  • SAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary

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

SAP BusinessObjects

$400/month
  • Standard$400/month
    • Core BI Tools
    • Web Intelligence
    • Crystal Reports
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full Suite
    • Advanced Features
    • Premium Support

Yellowfin

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

Which should you pick?

Choose SAP BusinessObjects if

  • You need crystal reports.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want web intelligence.
SAP BusinessObjects review

Choose Yellowfin if

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

Questions people ask

Is SAP BusinessObjects or Yellowfin better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP BusinessObjects or Yellowfin?
SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and Yellowfin at $50/month.
Does SAP BusinessObjects or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
SAP BusinessObjects runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
What is SAP BusinessObjects best used for?
SAP BusinessObjects is most often used for enterprise reporting, executive dashboards, regulatory compliance, strategic planning. Of those, enterprise reporting and executive dashboards are not what Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
What can SAP BusinessObjects do that Yellowfin cannot?
SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Lumira, Analysis for Office. Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals. Both handle Oracle, SQL Server, Web support, Mobile support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Yellowfin: What pricing models does Yellowfin offer?

Yellowfin offers three flexible models for embedded analytics: Aligned Utility Model (price per unit), Revenue Share Model (based on analytics revenue value), and Server Core (fixed price based on server deployment).

Source
Yellowfin: Is Yellowfin pricing predictable and scalable?

Yes, Yellowfin pricing is simple, predictable and scalable with no hidden costs or surprises.

Source
Yellowfin: Are there limits on user access or development environments?

No limitations exist on access to functionality across users. There are also no limits on dev and test licenses, ensuring DevOps is covered.

Source
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