Exploring Grafana, Qlik Sense & Visivo

Grafana vs. Qlik Sense vs. Visivo

Compare key features, capabilities, and differentiators between Grafana, Qlik Sense, Visivo. This comprehensive analysis will help you make an informed decision for your data visualization needs.

Quick Comparison

Key features and capabilities at a glance

Feature	Grafana	Qlik Sense	Visivo
Deployment Model	Open-source (AGPLv3), Grafana Enterprise, Grafana Cloud, Self-hosted	Client-managed (Windows), Client-managed (Kubernetes), Qlik Cloud (SaaS)	Open-source, Cloud Service, Self-hosted
Pricing	OSS free; Grafana Enterprise (paid add-ons); Grafana Cloud (free tier & paid).	Commercial. Qlik Sense Enterprise is subscription (by user or capacity). Qlik Sense Desktop free for personal use.	Open source (GPL-3.0)
Cost	$$	$$$$	$
Git Integration
CI/CD & Testing
Real-time
AI Features
Visual to Code
DAG-Based

Target Users & Use-Cases

Each BI tool is designed with specific user personas in mind.

Grafana

DevOps engineersIT monitoring teamsData engineers for time-series analytics

Qlik Sense

Enterprise BI usersData analystsGoverned self-service users

Visivo

Analytics EngineersData teamsBusiness usersEngineers

Ease of Development & Deployment

Development experience directly impacts team productivity and time-to-value.

Grafana

3/5

Qlik Sense

4/5

Visivo

5/5

Key Integrations & Ecosystem

A robust ecosystem of integrations is essential for modern BI tools.

Grafana

Time-series databases (Prometheus, InfluxDB)SQL databases and cloud metricsAlerting systems (PagerDuty, Slack)

Qlik Sense

Multiple data sources via connectorsPython/R Server Side ExtensionsWeb APIs and databases

Visivo

dbt coreAll major databasesCustom connector frameworkSlack for alertsGithub

Visualization Capabilities

The ability to create compelling visualizations is key to data storytelling.

Grafana

Optimized for time-series and metrics visualizations (graphs, gauges, alerts). Supports logs and traces panels too. Basic charts for category data exist but not Grafana's strong suit. Highly customizable dashboards via JSON config or UI. Many community panels (plugins) to extend visualization types.

Qlik Sense

Powerful interactive visuals with unique associative filtering: all charts update with each selection, and show gray 'excluded' values to encourage discovery. Chart types cover most needs, and extension mechanism allows custom charts. Good formatting control but primarily via UI (no raw HTML/CSS editing).

Visivo

Highly custom UI with easy defaults

Detailed Differentiators

Each platform's unique strengths and limitations.

Grafana

Best for operational dashboards – combining metrics, logs, and traces in one UI (especially with Grafana Cloud). Very extensible via plugins.

Not designed for ad-hoc business analytics on arbitrary data – e.g., no built-in SQL query builder for relational data (user must write queries or use other tools to prepare data). Visualizations not as geared for presentation (more for investigation).

Qlik Sense

The Associative Engine is Qlik's hallmark – users can freely explore data without query limitations (no SQL needed when using the app). Great for uncovering relationships in data.

Requires data to be loaded into memory for full power, which can be heavy. Learning Qlik's script and the "set analysis" syntax for expressions has a learning curve.

Visivo

BI-as-code approach enables version control, collaboration, and CI/CD workflows. DAG-based architecture provides powerful data transformation capabilities and dependency management. Seamless visual-to-code workflow allows both technical and non-technical users to build dashboards effectively.

Requires understanding of data concepts; not a pure drag-and-drop tool like Tableau. Initial setup requires technical knowledge for optimal configuration.

Security & Architecture

Critical considerations for enterprise deployments.

Grafana

DB Access: Yes, connects directly to data sources (or through its agents). Virtualization: More like federation – it queries multiple backends via plugins. Push: Metric data is often pushed into time-series DBs which Grafana then reads – so indirectly yes (in monitoring use-cases). Grafana itself pulls from those DBs. Other: Auth via LDAP/OAuth. Granular permissions on dashboards and data sources. Encryption and other enterprise security features in paid version.

Qlik Sense

DB Access: Typically Qlik imports data into its engine (so not needed at runtime). The new Direct Query option (in Qlik Cloud) allows leaving data in DB and querying on interaction for huge data sets. Virtualization: Qlik's standard method is not virtualization but in-memory copies. However, with Direct Query it behaves virtually. Push: Data is pushed into Qlik via load scripts (you schedule reloads). Other: Strong security – Section Access to implement row-level security inside Qlik apps, and robust user access control on the server.

Visivo

No db access required. Very strong security features due to the DAG-based access controls and the push based deployment model.

Why Visivo Stands Out

While each platform has its strengths, Visivo offers unique advantages for modern data teams.

DAG-Based Architecture for complex data transformations

Visual to Human-readable Code conversion

Multiple development approaches for all skill levels

AI-Powered dashboard creation

Full Git integration and version control

Open-source with enterprise features

Ready to Experience Modern BI?

Try Visivo today and see how it transforms your data analytics workflow.

$ curl -fsSL https://visivo.sh | bash

Start Free Trial Request a Demo


Email	Mute	End Chat