Comparison · Business intelligence
Tableau or a dashboard you own? Small teams: the build only pays off towards the end of three years. Many readers: much sooner.
Tableau is a mature BI tool with a per-seat model. A custom dashboard costs more once and only hosting afterwards. This page runs both through two named scenarios and shows the calculation.
As of August 2026, tableau.com.
The first scenario in numbers
- Tableau, Total over 36 months
- US$17,496
- FW Delta, Total over 36 months
- US$14,160
- Cheaper
- FW Delta, US$3,336
- Build paid for after
- 29 months
Small team: 2 Creator, 8 Explorer, Tableau Cloud Standard, 3 years
How we compare
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We sell the alternative
This is not a neutral review. That is why price date, assumptions and the maths sit openly next to it.
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Both outcomes are shown
Including the scenarios where the vendor wins. A comparison that always ends in our favour would be advertising.
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Only evidenced numbers
List prices with a source. Where a vendor does not publish, no invented total appears.
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Your numbers decide
The calculator takes your users, your volume and your term instead of our assumption.
In short
The difference is not a feature comparison, it is a cost model. Tableau charges per person per month and scales with the team. A custom dashboard costs the build once and the server afterwards. With a small team it barely pays: the first scenario below only turns cheaper shortly before the three years are up. With a wide rollout and many readers it tips sharply. If you need the Tableau ecosystem, its governance and the skills already in the team, stay regardless.
Calculated
What it costs over the term.
Two scenarios, because the honest answer depends on the user count. Every total is computed from the list prices, not typed in. The build costs are assumptions, not quotes.
Small team: 2 Creator, 8 Explorer, Tableau Cloud Standard, 3 years
| Line item | per month | Total over 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| Tableau, 2 Creator2 x 75 USD | US$150 | US$5,400 |
| Tableau, 8 Explorer8 x 42 USD | US$336 | US$12,096 |
| Tableau | US$486 | US$17,496 |
| FW Delta, one-off buildhosting US$60 per month | US$60 | US$12,000 + US$2,160 |
| FW Delta | US$60 | US$14,160 |
- Cheaper over the term
- FW Delta, US$3,336
- When the build is paid for
- 29 months
Wider rollout: 3 Creator, 10 Explorer, 50 Viewer, Tableau Cloud Standard, 3 years
| Line item | per month | Total over 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| Tableau, 3 Creator3 x 75 USD | US$225 | US$8,100 |
| Tableau, 10 Explorer10 x 42 USD | US$420 | US$15,120 |
| Tableau, 50 Viewer50 x 15 USD | US$750 | US$27,000 |
| Tableau | US$1,395 | US$50,220 |
| FW Delta, one-off buildhosting US$60 per month | US$60 | US$24,000 + US$2,160 |
| FW Delta | US$60 | US$26,160 |
- Cheaper over the term
- FW Delta, US$24,060
- When the build is paid for
- 18 months
Assumptions
- Tableau Cloud Standard, billed annually
- Creator USD 75, Explorer USD 42, Viewer USD 15 per person per month
- no discounts, no enterprise terms, no partner pricing
- the custom dashboard as an assumed fixed-price build, hosted on a dedicated server
- the wider rollout assumes a higher build cost because roles and permissions come with it
- internal staff cost is not counted on either side
In detail
What else differs
| Point | Tableau | FW Delta |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | per person per month, tiered by role | one-time build plus hosting |
| Additional readers | another seat per person | no seat licence from us; the server is the limit |
| Feature range | very broad, matured over decades | exactly the agreed scope, nothing more |
| Skills | large talent market, plenty of training | tailored to your cases, so no off-the-shelf knowledge |
| Governance | permissions, catalogue, certification built in | has to be part of the scope or it is missing |
| Data sources | a very large set of ready connectors | the sources you connect; more cost effort |
| Operations | run by the vendor | your infrastructure, your updates or a maintenance agreement |
| Leaving | subscription ends, access ends | code and configuration stay |
The decision
What speaks for which route.
A custom dashboard pays off when
- many people only read and every seat hurts
- the reports you need are limited and stable
- the data already sits in a database you control
- the dashboard has to be embedded in your own product or portal
- cost is judged over three years rather than per month
Stay with Tableau when
- · the team already has Tableau skills
- · you genuinely use the breadth of connectors and visualisations
- · governance, catalogue and certification are required
- · the user count stays small and stable
- · nobody wants to run infrastructure
If you want to switch
What happens next
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30 minutes
Conversation
We walk through your starting point and say honestly whether a move pays off for you.
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within five working days
Fixed-price proposal
With scope, assumptions and what is explicitly not included.
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depending on scope
Build and handover
Code access from day one, manual at the end, no obligation to keep us.
Common questions
Does this calculation apply to my team?
Only if your role split matches the assumption. A different mix, enterprise terms or discounts shift the result, which is why the assumptions are stated next to it.
Is a custom dashboard maintenance-free?
No. Licence fees go away, maintenance does not. Server updates, dependencies and changes to the data sources remain work, either for you or under a maintenance agreement.
Read on
Where to go next.
How these figures were produced
- Price as of
- August 2026
- Basis
- Publicly listed prices from Tableau, together with the assumptions on this page for user count, volume and term.
- Not included
- Discounts, annual prepayment, enterprise terms, partner rates and country-specific pricing. Internal staff cost on either side is not counted.
- Limits
- Vendor pricing and packaging change. This calculation is a model, not a quote and not a general market price. Check the current vendor price list before deciding, and run the numbers with your own figures.
Next step
Run it with your own numbers
The calculator uses your user count and your term instead of our assumption.
Reply within 24 hours. No obligation, confidential.