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The Best Dashboard Software in 2024

With so many tools available, figuring out which dashboard software fits your business can be challenging. That’s why we put together this guide with features, reviews, and pricing.

The Best Dashboard Software in 2024 [Features, Reviews, & Pricing]

You need the best dashboard software to have a comprehensive 360° view of your business.

After all, that’s the fundamental function of dashboard tools—to provide crucial business insights from a central place.

The good news is there are a plethora of modern dashboard tools that are sure to possess the features you’re looking for.

The downside is with the many tools available, figuring out which software fits your business dynamics can be challenging.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide.

We’ll cover the top dashboard solutions, including their features, pricing, and reviews, to help you find the ideal dashboard software for your business.

Let’s hop right in.

Importance of choosing the best dashboard software

A reliable dashboard solution does so much more than just produce beautiful visuals and reports; it also helps you:

  • Track and identify trends, opportunities, and issues as they happen, allowing you to take a proactive approach. 
  • Access critical information at a glance, reducing your time spent on data analysis while enhancing your productivity and freeing up more resources to reallocate to more strategic tasks.
  • Spot potential vulnerabilities and risks quickly from your data, allowing you to mitigate issues before they escalate. 
  • Ensure everyone in your company is on the same page by understanding your overall objectives and key metrics.
  • Understand data easily through intuitive and actionable visuals for easy interpretation and presentation.

Best dashboard software for 2024

Below are the top dashboard software for modern business data analysis. 

Polymer

Polymer is a modern, easy-to-use software you can set up and deploy within minutes. 

The software lets you create stunning data visualizations and comprehensive dashboards with a few clicks—without coding anything. 

Main features

Polymer is one of the best AI tools to analyze data and create dashboards with these key features: 

Built-in data connectors

The Polymer Business Intelligence (BI) software lets you connect and directly import raw data from your business systems and platforms quickly. 

Choose from pre-built connectors such as Facebook Ads, Google Analytics 4, Zendesk, Linear, Airtable, Google Sheets, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more.  

The software’s data connectors will soon include HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Amazon Ads, Instagram Business, and others. 

Select, authenticate, and connect the data source you want to pull data from, and you can automatically access your dataset in Polymer. 

Data Manager

Manage, filter, organize, and view summaries of your imported data with the Polymer V3 Data Manager. 

You can find data quickly using the search bar, see the total number of columns and rows, change each column’s name, specify the data type, split the cell value, and more. 

You can also create custom metrics. 

The feature makes preparing your data for analysis, visualization, and dashboarding easier.

Additionally, you can manually refresh or set your data to auto-sync with your source on a schedule so it automatically updates and reflects any changes from the data source.   

Dashboard Creator 

Polymer’s Dashboard Creator lets you build your dashboard from scratch or customize ready-to-use templates, including an ecommerce dashboard template

Create charts, graphs, maps, and other visualizations with one click and edit your Boards using the Setup tool. 

You can filter your dataset and add, remove, or change the metrics. 

The drag-and-drop interface lets you move the Boards to arrange them and click and drag the lower right corner to resize them accordingly. 

With Polymer's intuitive, user-friendly Dashboard Creator, you'll have a complete dashboard in minutes. 

PolyAI

Polymer further simplifies building dashboards with its Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature. 

The PolyAI assistant can instantly generate visualizations from your data, including root cause insights and explanations. 

You can also use prompts to get help from the AI assistant—from getting other visualization suggestions to doing deep evaluations of your data.  

Reviews

Check out the Polymer reviews from actual users:

Polymer's user-friendly and intuitive design lets me analyze my data really fast. I love how it is able to parse arrays in spreadsheet cells, which is not possible in Excel or Google Sheets. Their new dashboarding feature lets me make beautiful dashboards that I can quickly build and share.” — Nina L., Marketing Associate

Polymer is exactly what I was looking for. I needed BI for my very very early stage startup, and I am not a data scientist. I'm only so-so with SQL. For me, a solo startup founder, Polymer is like having my own data scientist. Simply awesome.” — Kirsten Lambertsen, Patron Hunt founder

I see how each day it becomes easier and easier for non-technical people to do BI-related analysis without the need of extensive technical knowledge, and Polymer is definitely changing how people interact with data.” — Lucio Colombo

Pricing

  • Starter: $20/month ($10/month with annual billing)
  • Pro: $40/month ($20/month with annual billing), including a 14-day free trial
  • Enterprise: Starts at $500/month

Looker Studio

Formerly known as Google Data Studio, Looker Studio is a free software that can turn data into customizable dashboards and reports. 

The self-service BI solution lets less technical users build meaningful and shareable custom reports and dashboards and share them with team members and stakeholders.

Main features

Looker Studio’s core features include the following:

  • A user-friendly interface with intuitive drag-and-drop report editing tools, including fully custom snap-to-grid canvas and property panels.  
  • Pre-built data connectors to hundreds of business systems and sources for seamless access and use for your reports and dashboards in Looker Studio.
  • Report and dashboard templates you can customize based on your reporting and dashboarding needs. 
  • An Application Programming Interface (API) that automates Google Cloud Identity or Workspace migration and management of your Looker Studio assets. 
  • A report embedding option that lets you display your reports and dashboards on web pages or the intranet for easy sharing and data presentation. 

Reviews

Here’s what users have to say about Looker Studio:

Looker Studio has a huge range of different data visualization formats for you to pick and choose from. The WYSIWYG layout editor makes it really easy to create smart looking reports that are fully branded up.” — Edward W.

Looker Studio is vital in my daily work life. I've been using Looker Studio for various purposes like ads, marketing, and dashboards. I've been creating various dashboards for ads and product analytics.” — Gartner review

I use Google Data Studio on a daily basis. By using that we can figure out how many people use our systems, how many people want to play, and how much they spend. We can easily do comparison analysis.” — Artyom Ashigov, Risk Business Analyst

Pricing

  • Looker Studio (Self-service BI): Free 
  • Looker Studio Pro (Project subscription): $9 per user and project

Must read: Polymer vs. Looker Data Studio, an unbiased comparison.

Power BI

Power BI is a BI-focused data visualization tool by Microsoft. 

The software’s AI-powered data analytics platform lets you interact with data through reports and visualizations that you can turn into a comprehensive dashboard.

You can consolidate and access your datasets in a central hub and explore tables, graphs, and charts to extract valuable insights from your business data.

Main features

The main Power BI dashboarding features include the following:

  • Visualizations. Power BI offers built-in visualization components representing your data in various formats, including Key Performance Indicator (KPI) cards, pie charts, and line graphs. 
  • Filters. The software offers filtering options for your dashboard data, including visual, page, and report-level filters. 
  • Drill Down and Drill Up options. Analyze your data at various levels with Power BI’s Drill Down option, which lets you view and analyze data from a higher to a more detailed level, and the Drill Up functionality allows you to move from a lower to higher level data. 
  • Bookmarks. The Bookmark feature allows you to capture specific report interactions and views by saving various perspectives of your data. It allows you to switch views and convey insights easily. 

(Image Source: Microsoft.com

  • Data alerts. You can set up alerts based on your predefined conditions in Power BI. Users can get email notifications when certain conditions are met to keep everyone updated on crucial changes in your data.  

One downside to Power BI is that it’s not as intuitive or user-friendly compared to more modern dashboard solutions.  

The tool can also have a steep learning curve for non-technical users. 

Reviews

Here’s what users have to say about Power BI:

"Being a Data Analyst and Scientist professional, I have been using Power BI for the last 2 years. With a very easy-to-learn and user-friendly interface, Power BI has become my favorite visualization tool." — Review from a Data and Analytics Manager 

My overall experience has been rewarding and enriching. It has facilitated the handling of information and the presentation of reports for the analysis of large volumes of information and I have been able to improve my interpretation for decision making.” — Esteban Q.

Like any other tool, we found a high amount of the time required to train and master it. When you try to go beyond creating reports, you would need to learn about additional tools like Gateways and Report Server.” — Sadie

Pricing

  • Free (with a Microsoft Fabric account)
  • Power BI Pro: $10 per user/monthly
  • Power BI Premium: $20 per user/monthly
  • Microsoft Fabric (Power BI Premium per capacity SKUs): Starting at $4,995 per month for P1 SKU
  • Microsoft Fabric (Fabric Capacity Reservation SKUs): Starting at $5,002.67 per month for F64 (P1 equivalent)
  • Microsoft Fabric (Fabric Capacity pay-as-you-go SKUs: Starting at $8,409.60 per month for F64 SKU (P1 equivalent)

Must read: The Top Power BI Alternatives

Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an analytics service that lets you track and measure engagement and traffic across your apps and websites. 

GA4 collects your website and app data to create reports on your website traffic and user behaviors and activities, giving you valuable insights into critical aspects of your business. 

One of the top ten best alternatives to Looker Studio, GA4 turns the collected data into reports, which you can customize for your dashboard. 

(Image Source: Siteground.com)

Main features

GA4 is one of the top 12 ecommerce analytics tools since its dashboard-creation features include the following:

  • Filter and sort functionalities. You can filter your GA4 dashboards by date range or organize visualizations based on specific key metrics.  
  • Optimal metrics menu. Select which metrics best represent the data you want to highlight in your dashboard via the Optimal metrics menu. It helps simplify your dashboard data views and make side-by-side comparisons. 

(Image Source: Analytics.ucm.iu.edu)

  • Download and export options. You can download your custom dashboard reports as PDF files or export data from a single visualization to your spreadsheet document for further analysis.  
  • Dashboard and automated report sharing. Set your dashboards to provide access to specific users for easy sharing. You can also automate sending monthly reports for stakeholders so they’re always updated. 

GA4 can take time and effort to learn and can be complex for non-technical users. 

Plus, the recent update from Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4 requires understanding the changes and new features and functionalities to your dashboards and how to customize them. 

Reviews

Below are some of the things users say about Google Analytics 4. 

GA4 offers you the flexibility to prioritize the metrics and KPIs you care about most. The introduction of a customizable ‘report’ section extends bespoke data visualization and reporting capabilities far beyond the previous predefined reports.” — Manya Agarwal

GA4 doesn’t just offer a new tool; it represents a fresh perspective on understanding our digital landscape. But transitioning to GA4 hasn’t been without its challenges. The abundance of data and features was certainly overwhelming at first, and finding specific data points still can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.” — Natalia Morgan

“I’ve been using GA4 as much as possible the past month to get used to it, but honestly it just feels like a clunkier version of GA3 with fewer features that I actually want to use.” — Elizabeth Rule, Sterling Sky Account Manager and local SEO analyst

Pricing

Contact Google Analytics 4 to get pricing details. 

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to GA4

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is a cloud-based software that offers channel, marketing, and web analytics, including AI and Machine Learning (ML) predictive capabilities.   

As of December 31, 2023, reports and dashboards are generated through Adobe Analytics' Analysis Workspace. 

The feature lets you build analyses so you can gather insights, such as dashboards, and share them across stakeholders. 

Main features

The key features of Analysis Workspace include the following:

  • Panels. The Panels option lets you organize your analysis that can contain multiple visualizations and tables. The panels can generate comprehensive analyses based on your input. 
  • Visualizations. Add visualizations, such as donut charts, scatterplots, histograms, and more, to your project or dashboard using the Visualizations feature. You can customize each visualization’s type, granularity, percentages, legends, anomalies, and others.  
  • Components. The components feature consists of metrics (such as ecommerce KPIs), date ranges, dimensions, and segments that you can drag and drop into your project to break down your data. 
  • Data Dictionary. The feature helps account administrators and users track and understand the components within the Analytics environment. Administrators are responsible for curating details for each component and making them available to other users. 

(Image Source: Experienceleague.adobe.com)

  • Data Sources. Analysis Workspace lets you synchronize visualizations to control which data source or table corresponds to specific visualizations. 

Adobe Analytics is relatively easy to use.

However, it can be expensive, especially for business users who only want a comprehensive dashboard-building tool without all the bells and whistles. 

Reviews

Here’s what Adobe Analytics users say about the software:

Best thing about Adobe Analytics is the real time data tracking which is very important for creating correct visualizations and dashboards, we can import data from multiple data sources which makes it very convenient to create the ETL workflow.” — Rahul G., Data Analyst

It's very customizable, so that means that the depth of analysis we're able to make in Adobe Analytics, we wouldn't get anywhere near with Google Analytics or other solutions that say that they play in the same space.” — TrustRadius verified user  

The overall experience with Adobe Analytics is good as it is a powerful platform for evaluating a variety of data types, offering insights into user behavior, website performance, and marketing efficacy.” — User review from Gartner Peer Insights  

Pricing

The Adobe Analytics pricing packages are Select, Prime, and Ultimate. 

You’ll need to get a custom quote to get the exact price of your desired Adobe Analytics package. 

Google Sheets

You can use Google Sheets if you want GA4 or Power BI alternatives with simpler interfaces and features. 

Google Sheets is a free web-based app in the Google Docs Editors suite that lets you modify and update spreadsheets and share data in real time. 

The app has the same basic features that other spreadsheet tools offer, such as sorting, adding, and deleting rows and columns and using functions and formulas. 

Main features

Google Sheets lets you create simple visualizations and dashboards with these features.

  • Data filtering and sorting options. Before creating your dashboards, you can organize your data using Google Sheets filter and sort options. More advanced options include conditional formatting, pivot tables, and LookUp functions. 
  • Chart editor. Google Sheets' Chart editor lets you generate and customize charts, graphs, and other visualizations from your data. You can modify the data range, legends, axis points, chart style, colors, and formats.  
  • The Explore feature. The App’s Explore feature can automatically generate charts and visualization based on your data, streamlining your analysis and dashboard creation process. 
  • Dynamic dashboard templates. Create dashboards quickly without building from scratch by customizing Google Sheets dashboard templates provided by third-party solutions and other users. 

Google Sheets lets you build comprehensive dashboards quickly and easily. 

However, the app may not be the best option if you want more advanced dashboarding features and functionalities. 

Reviews

Check out these Google Sheets user reviews. 

Google sheets is great for helping organize data. We use it in conjunction with Google forms to collect and analyze information from clients and colleagues. We can then use the data to produce charts and graphics which provide a better visual representation.” — Dan Costellow, General Education Services Director

Overall, I'm happy using sheets because it enables the simultaneous edits by several applicants. However, the slow processing, in case of the large files, needs to be addressed.” — Leila S., Research Scientist

Google Sheets is an easy tool for analysis and charts but has limited charting or data visualization capabilities when compared to Microsoft Excel.” — Craig S.

Pricing 

  • Free (Personal account)
  • Business Standard: $12 per user/monthly, one-year commitment

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Google Sheets Dashboards

Create insightful, comprehensive dashboards easily and quickly

Simplify your data tracking, reporting, visualizations, and sharing, with Polymer.

Polymer’s automation features, templates, and AI functionality help you create visually appealing, insightful dashboards in minutes.

The best part is, Polymer is affordable and very easy to use.

Start a Polymer account to explore the software’s powerful data visualization and dashboarding features. 

Posted on
January 19, 2024
under Blog
January 19, 2024
Written by
Rand Owens
Founding team member at Motive (Formerly KeepTruckin) and passionate about all things Marketing, RevOps, and Go-To-Market. VP of Marketing @ Polymer Search.

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