Tableau vs. Excel for Charts

What is Tableau?

Tableau is the fastest-growing platform for visual analytics on the market. It allows users to simplify raw data into a format that’s easy to access and understand by those working at any level of an organization. Even non-technical Tableau users can create customized dashboards and worksheets with the help of this versatile tool. It’s relied on by teachers, students, Data Scientists, Analysts, executives, and business owners for their end-to-end analytics needs. This is why Tableau is considered to be the leading analytics platform for business intelligence.

Since its founding in 2003, Tableau has evolved from a computer science project of students at Stanford into one of the most widely used data visualization tools in existence. Tableau was created as a way to improve analysis flow and use visualizations to make data more accessible. This value continues to inform Tableau’s evolution. Currently, Tableau offers a complete and integrated platform for data analytics. It provides its customers with the necessary resources to help them thrive in a data-driven culture.

Kinds of Tableau Charts

Once Data Analysts or Data Scientists have collected data and asked questions about the data, they must then choose the most effective visual method to present their findings to their target audience. Tableau provides users with a variety of graph chart types, some of which are more appropriate than others for certain types of data.

The following list contains some of the chart types that Tableau offers and Excel does not:

• Highlight tables in Tableau function similarly to text tables. However, the data displayed in highlight tables incorporate various colors based on categorical values. This simple chart type is one of the easiest to create in Tableau, but it is also one of the most powerful types of visualization. Highlight tables help users quickly find insights and also increase how accurate these insights are.

• Density maps are a kind of Tableau map that are used to highlight concentrations or patterns that may not be noticeable using other visual display options where overlapping elements are present. They provide an effective option for users who wish to visually depict data with numerous data points in a relatively small geographical area.

• Symbol maps use quantitative values to stand for map locations using symbols. Symbol maps provide users with a helpful way to visually display geographical data via longitude and latitude. A mark is used to draw attention to the specified coordinates.

• Pareto charts are a sort of bar graph used to illustrate significant situations. Each value on a Pareto chart is displayed in descending order by bars (longest bars on the left and shortest on the right), and the line stands for the ascending cumulative total.

• Text tables provide a basic way to depict data via columns. They are also known as cross-tabs or pivot tables.

• Gantt charts are created to show the schedule of a project or any changes in a given activity during a specified time period. These charts also provide information on the necessary steps to complete before other phases of a project can begin, so that resources can be allocated accordingly.

• Heatmaps use color to depict data. They have a variety of applicants in data analytics but are often used to depict user behavior on a given website. Heatmaps can provide valuable insights into metrics such as how far users scroll down on a page, as well as where they click on a website.

• Bullet charts in Tableau are a sort of bar graph that was created to replace meters and gauges on dashboards. Bullet graphs are especially helpful for comparing a primary measure’s performance to other measures.

With the help of these charts and graphs, as well as others, Tableau users have a range of powerful graphing tools available to help present their data in a visual, engaging, and interactive manner that’s best suited to the needs of their audience.

What is Microsoft Excel?

Nearly everyone working in data analytics uses Microsoft Excel to handle large datasets. Excel, which is part of the Microsoft Suite, has a variety of useful applications across industries. The spreadsheet function enables users to make calculations, apply graphic tools, and create PivotTables. Because of its simple interface and ease of use, Excel remains the industry-standard for spreadsheets and the most relied-upon tool for analyzing and presenting data.

Although Excel can be used for a multitude of tasks, its most common uses are:

• Financial analysis
• Charting
• Data entry
• Accounting
• Data management
• Programming
• Time management

Currently, more than 750 million people worldwide use Excel for their daily business needs.

Kinds of Excel Charts

Just like Tableau, Microsoft Office also offers an array of chart types so that users can visually depict their data findings. The following are some of the chart types unique to Excel that are not offered by Tableau:

• Column charts incorporate vertical bars to compare values across categories.
• Stock charts are generally used to monitor changes in stock prices. They also have applications for analyzing other sorts of data, like weight, temperature, etc.
• Surface charts in Excel are three-dimensional charts that display two sets of data points spanning several dimensions. Although this chart type can be complicated to create, when two data sets with a clear relationship are entered, the resultant visualization is well worth the effort.

• Radar charts in Excel are also known as star charts or spider charts. They provide a means to compare several items against multiple criteria. Radar charts are effective for noting how temperatures fluctuate in various spots throughout the year.
• Combo charts are created by combining line graphs and bar graphs to make a chart with both bars and lines. Combo charts are particularly helpful when users are tasked with depicting two data series with different scales, which sometimes are presented with different units, such as percentages on one axis and dollars on the other.

• Funnel charts in Excel depict values across various stages in a given process. Funnel charts can be used to indicate sales prospects at different pipeline stages. In most instances, values decrease slowly over time, which yields a chart in which the bars look like a funnel.
• Sunburst charts are a type of built-in chart that’s available in Excel 2016, They present a hierarchical data structure, though it does so in a circular image. Sunburst charts are a powerful tool for visualizing one specific data aspect and then comparing its relationship to the overall hierarchy.
• Venn diagrams in Excel incorporate overlapping circles to highlight relationships between different groups, concepts, or categories. This form of diagram depicts similarities between groups with the overlapping parts of the circles and the difference by the non-overlapping portions.
• Gauge charts in Excel are designed for instances in which it’s important to graph one data point and indicate where that result ranks in a scale that spans from “bad” to “good.” Although there isn’t a standard template in Excel for resting gauge charts, those wishing to do so can combine doughnut and pie charts to create one.

What Chart Types do Tableau & Excel Have in Common?

It is also important to note that Microsoft Excel and Tableau provide many of the same chart types, such as:

• Pie charts
• TreeMaps
• Histograms
• Line charts
• Bar charts
• Area charts
• Scatter plots
• Doughnut charts
• Bubble charts
• Maps
• Box & whisker plots
• Waterfall charts

Tableau vs. Microsoft Excel Charts: Which Comes out Ahead?

As the above lists indicate, Tableau and Microsoft Excel provide Data Analysts with many helpful visualization options that are suited to their unique data needs. Both Excel and Tableau provide at least a dozen of the same core chart types, such as line charts and area charts. They also each provide specific chart types that the other lacks. For example, those wishing to create a stock chart would use Excel, whereas users looking to design a Pareto chart would opt for Tableau.

In terms of overall visualization capabilities, Excel users can create static dashboards that depict only high-level trends. These depictions typically provide conclusions rather than jumping-off points to propel future study. Tableau’s dashboards, on the other hand, are more interactive, and also provide automatic updates. The way they depict information invites deep analysis and expects follow-up questions when trends are noticed in the visualization. Generally speaking, for those concerned mostly with dashboard capabilities and creating dynamic, high-level charts, Tableau comes out ahead of Excel.

Hands-On Excel & Tableau Classes

Do you want to learn the ins and outs of Microsoft Excel? If so, Noble Desktop has great Excel classes for beginners as well as those who regularly use Excel and want to become pros. Noble’s Excel bootcamp is a three-day, 21-hour course in which those enrolled study how Excel can be used in the business world.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own Tableau workbooks, dashboards, stories, Noble Desktop also offers a variety of Tableau classes that are designed to prepare students to work with this industry-standard data visualization software. In addition, live online Tableau courses are also currently available from top training providers. These interactive classes are taught in real-time and provide all learners with access to an instructor who is live and ready to provide feedback and answer questions. Courses range from seven hours to five days in duration and cost $299-$2,199.

Those who are interested in finding nearby Tableau classes can use Noble’s Tableau Classes Near Me tool. This handy tool provides an easy way to locate and browse more than three dozen of the best Tableau classes currently offered in the in-person and live online formats so that all interested learners can find the course that works best for them.