Are you dealing with mountains of data but struggling to make sense of it? Spreadsheets and tables can only take you so far. At some point, you need a clear picture. That is where data visualization comes in. With the right charts or visuals, patterns become visible and decisions get a lot easier.
But as your data grows, a single chart often isn’t enough. You might need to track several metrics, compare results over time, or bring different data sources together. That’s when dashboards come into play. They combine multiple visualizations in one view, turning complex information into a clear story.
There are plenty of tools that can help you turn raw numbers into something useful. Some are made for real-time exploration, while others focus on creating engaging reports or static dashboards. The best ones do more than make data look nice. They help you uncover patterns and share insights in a way that everyone can understand.
With so many options out there, it can be hard to know where to start. In this article, we will break things down step by step. First, we’ll look at what data visualization tools are and what makes dashboards so valuable. Then we’ll share some tips on how to choose the right tool for your needs. From there, we’ll explore six popular tools for building dashboards and highlight their strengths. Finally, we’ll walk through some practical advice on how to create an effective dashboard of your own.
Note: Information such as pricing, features, and product availability may change over time. We recommend checking each tool’s official website for the most up-to-date details.
A data visualization tool helps you turn raw information into visuals that are easy to understand and share. It uses charts, graphs, maps, and other visuals to show patterns and relationships in your data. With these tools, you can create everything from individual charts and infographics to full reports and dashboards.
Most tools let you connect directly to your data sources, so your visuals stay up to date as the data changes. They come in many forms: web-based platforms, plugins that work inside design software like Adobe Illustrator, or business intelligence applications used for analysis and reporting.
Many data visualization tools are designed to be easy to use, even without coding experience. You can usually drag and drop your data, pick a chart type, and customize colors, labels, and layouts to fit your brand.
Whether you want to help your team make better decisions internally or share insights with clients and stakeholders, data visualization tools make complex information easier to explore, explain, and act on.
One of the most common ways businesses use data visualization tools is to create dashboards.
Dashboards bring different metrics together in a single view, making it simple to track progress, monitor KPIs, and spot trends. They are widely used in areas like sales, web analytics, and marketing to guide decisions and communicate results.
Instead of jumping between spreadsheets or reports, you can see the bigger picture at a glance and quickly understand what is going on.
Most dashboards highlight key performance indicators (KPIs) and other essential metrics that decision-makers need to monitor regularly. They provide a fast, visual way to track progress and identify trends.
When people think of dashboards, they often picture interactive platforms that let you filter, drill down, and explore data in real time. But we believe there is also an important place for static dashboards. These are designed more like reports: polished, branded, and consistent, but fixed at the moment of creation. Both types play an important role in turning data into meaningful insights, a topic we’ll explore in more detail later in this article
Using automated reporting or interactive platforms allows you to keep your dashboards up to date. These tools make it easier to gain a clear understanding of current events and navigate complex developments.
Whether interactive or static, the main goal of a dashboard is the same: to support better decision-making by bringing the right data together in a clear and accessible way.
Choosing the right tool depends on your goals and how you plan to use the dashboard. Some teams need real-time, interactive exploration, while others benefit more from polished, static reports that highlight the key insights. Whatever your situation, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind:
Before diving into specific tools, it helps to understand the two main types of dashboards you can create: static and interactive. The main difference lies in their purpose: static dashboards explain, while interactive dashboards explore.
Static dashboards
Static dashboards are designed to communicate a clear, focused message. They guide the reader’s attention, emphasize key insights, and tell a story through thoughtful design, hierarchy, and annotation.
Because they don’t rely on user interaction, the designer controls the narrative from start to finish. This makes static dashboards ideal when you want to explain findings clearly and guide your audience to the main message.
They’re also easier to share across media and faster to produce. And with automation tools, static dashboards can still be updated regularly with fresh data, combining clarity with efficiency.
Interactive dashboards
Interactive dashboards, on the other hand, are made for exploration. They invite users to click, filter, and investigate the data themselves. This makes them powerful for uncovering trends and relationships in large or frequently changing datasets. However, interactivity requires more design and development effort, careful UX consideration, and can raise accessibility challenges.
In summary
If you’d like to dive deeper into the pros and cons of static and interactive visualizations, check out our article To click or not to click: static vs. interactive charts.
Many platforms offer a solution to the question: what data visualization tool is best for dashboards? We’ve compiled a list featuring well-known platforms like Microsoft Power BI and Looker Studio, along with design-focused tools such as Datylon.
Some tools are designed for interactive, real-time dashboards where users can explore and filter data on demand, while others focus on static, design-driven dashboards made for storytelling and reporting. Both have unique advantages depending on your needs.
Here’s our list of leading data visualization tools for dashboards:
Best for static, design-driven dashboards and reports where branding and clarity matter most
Datylon is a data visualization platform that lets you create and share engaging, on-brand static data stories. It allows you to create a variety of visualizations rich with information, including dashboards, infographics, and reports. Use our Illustrator plugin to create the most captivating on-brand visualizations. Datylon lets you design freely within the Adobe workflow without requiring any coding knowledge.
Datylon offers engaging and beautiful templates for a wide range of dashboards, charts, and reports. It lets you customize them to your heart's content with various styling options, too. You’re able to export charts, reports, and dashboards to the Datylon Report Studio. It allows your team to reuse them freely. Moreover, with the Datylon Report Server, it is easy to automate the process of generating recurring dashboards.
Therefore, we believe Datylon is the answer to the question: what data visualization tool is best for dashboards? It’s not just because of an inherent bias, it ticks the most important boxes necessary for dashboard design.
Datylon offers six different products:
ideal for interactive dashboards and real-time data exploration
Microsoft Power BI is a robust business-intelligence platform that helps you track business goals and coordinate with your data. It offers analytical capabilities, including trend analysis, natural-language Q&A, and real-time dashboards, to enable data-driven decision-making.
This tool is versatile for business solutions: you can connect to data across cloud and on-premises sources, integrate with the rest of the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystem, and deploy it for everything from self-service dashboards to enterprise-scale analytics.
Its strong data modelling, security controls, and seamless sharing make it suitable for both analysts and decision-makers.
Power BI offers a free version (Power BI Desktop) for individual use. Paid plans start from $14 per user/month for Pro, and $24 per user/month for Premium Per User, both billed annually.
Designed for interactive data analysis with extensive visualization options
Tableau is a leading analytics and data visualization platform. Its focus is on helping you explore information and share insights. It’s a flexible tool that lets you create interactive dashboards and charts.
It supports many data connection options, such as CSV files, SQL databases, cloud services, and Salesforce. Tableau offers a wide range of visualizations, though optimizing dashboards for very large or complex datasets may require technical knowledge or performance tuning.
Tableau offers a free version (Tableau Public) for public sharing. Paid licence tiers (billed annually) include Creator ($75/user/month), Explorer ($42/user/month), and Viewer ($15/user/month).
Blends interactivity with storytelling tools that help explain insights clearly
Yellowfin BI is a comprehensive business intelligence and analytics platform designed to help organizations turn data into actionable insights. It provides robust tools for reporting, dashboarding, and data storytelling that enable users to spot trends, respond to real-time changes, and communicate data effectively. With flexible deployment options and seamless integration capabilities, Yellowfin supports embedded analytics, standalone dashboards, and enterprise-scale reporting.
Yellowfin BI offers customized pricing based on deployment type, user count, and feature needs. Pricing details are available upon request through their sales team.
Great for interactive, real-time dashboards with live data connections
Klipfolio is a cloud-based data analytics and dashboard platform that offers an extensive gallery of pre-built templates. It includes powerful features for data modeling, formula building, and metric tracking. The platform helps users collect data from multiple sources and organize it into reliable, shareable dashboards.
Klipfolio integrates with a wide range of data connectors, allowing teams to maintain a single, always up-to-date hub for their metrics. It enables users to make data-driven decisions without needing coding skills.
Klipfolio offers a 14-day free trial, and its Base plan starts at $120 per month (billed annually). Other tiers include Grow at $190 per month, Team at $310 per month, and Team+ at $600 per month.
Best for interactive and share-friendly dashboards
Looker Studio is Google’s free web-based data-visualization and dashboard tool. It lets you connect data from multiple sources, build interactive reports and dashboards, and share your results easily. You can import data from Google Sheets, Google Analytics, BigQuery, and many other cloud or on-premises sources, then drag-and-drop visualizations to explore insights.
Because it’s part of the Google Cloud ecosystem, Looker Studio integrates smoothly with other Google products. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to build dashboards without coding, making it a great option for marketers, small businesses, and anyone new to BI tools.
Looker Studio is free for creators and viewers. The upgraded Looker Studio Pro plan starts at around $9 per user per month, depending on users and projects.
There are many factors to consider when creating a dashboard visualization. You need to focus on elements such as your audience's goals, picking the right graphics, and keeping it simple.
According to this LinkedIn article, dashboards can take many forms, such as operational, strategic, analytical, tactical, or hybrid. Identifying which type suits your needs best is a good starting point.
Here are the key factors to pay attention to when creating dashboard visualizations:
Dashboards remain one of the most powerful ways to turn data into decisions. The right tool for you depends on your goals, whether that’s interactive exploration, automated reporting, or polished, static dashboards for clear communication. What matters most is choosing a platform that fits your audience, your data, and the way you want to share insights.
If visual design and brand consistency are high on your list, Datylon stands out. It combines creative freedom with efficiency, making it easy to design on-brand dashboards. And with Datylon Report Server, you can take things one step further: automating static reports and dashboards so they stay up to date without extra effort.
Whatever tool you choose, remember that a well-designed dashboard does more than just display numbers. It tells a story, guides decisions, and inspires action.
The most important elements to focus on are customization, ease of use, performance, accessibility, and integration.
You need to pay attention to what types of projects each tool specializes in. Look at the amount of data you need to visualize and the quantity each tool is capable of handling. It’s also important to consider the type of dashboard you want to create, static or interactive, and who will be using it.
Interactive dashboards let you filter, click, and explore live data in real time. Static dashboards are fixed visual reports designed for clarity and storytelling. They’re often branded, consistent, and ideal for sharing results or presentations.
Power BI, Tableau, Yellowfin BI, Klipfolio, and Looker Studio all focus on interactivity and real-time exploration.
Datylon specializes in static, beautifully designed dashboards and reports, offering full creative control inside Adobe Illustrator or its web-based Report Studio.
Yes, all these dashboard visualization tools allow for integration from various data sources.
Yes. Several data visualization tools offer free versions or trials that are suitable for creating dashboards. For example, Looker Studio is completely free to use, while tools like Datylon and Microsoft Power BI provide free tiers or trial periods of their paid products. These versions are often great for testing features, building smaller projects, or exploring whether the platform fits your needs before upgrading.
Not for most of them. All the tools covered in this article offer intuitive interfaces designed for users without coding experience. Most use drag-and-drop dashboards, templates, or guided workflows that make building visualizations straightforward. However, for more advanced customization, automation, or complex data modeling, having some technical background or understanding of data structures can be beneficial.
Most of these dashboard visualization tools offer a high level of customization. Platforms like Datylon and Tableau stand out for their extensive styling, layout, and design flexibility, allowing users to fine-tune nearly every visual element. Others, such as Power BI, Klipfolio, Looker Studio, and Yellowfin BI, also provide strong customization options but tend to focus more on functionality and ease of use rather than full visual freedom. The right choice depends on whether you prioritize design control, interactivity, or speed of setup.
Most of these tools offer tutorial videos or help centers to aid in the learning process.
Yes, many of these tools allow you to share and collaborate with teammates or clients.
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