Exploring Rill Data, Holistics & Visivo

Rill Data Vs. Holistics Vs. Visivo

In this article, we'll compare the key features, capabilities, and differentiators between Rill Data, Holistics, Visivo. This comprehensive comparison will help you make an informed decision about which platform best suits your data visualization and analytics needs.

Quick Comparison

A high-level overview of key features and capabilities across these BI tools. This comparison helps you quickly identify which platform best matches your needs.

FeatureRill DataHolisticsVisivo
Deployment ModelCloud service (Managed)Cloud SaaS (Holistics 4), On-prem enterprise, Private cloudOpen-source, Cloud Service, Self-hosted
PricingCloud Team plan >$250/mo - Pay by GB of data in dashboards after 1st 10GBCommercial (proprietary). Free trial available.Open source (GPL-3.0)
Cost$$$$$$$$
Git Integration✔️✔️
CI/CD & Testing✔️
Real-time
AI✔️
Visual to Code✔️✔️
DAG-Based✔️

Deployment & Pricing

Understanding the deployment options and pricing structure is crucial for making an informed decision. Here's how each platform handles deployment and what you can expect in terms of costs.

ToolDeployment ModelPricingCost
Rill DataCloud service (Managed)Cloud Team plan >$250/mo - Pay by GB of data in dashboards after 1st 10GB$$$
HolisticsCloud SaaS (Holistics 4), On-prem enterprise, Private cloudCommercial (proprietary). Free trial available.$$$$
VisivoOpen-source, Cloud Service, Self-hostedOpen source (GPL-3.0)$

Target Users & Use-Cases

Each BI tool is designed with specific user personas in mind. Understanding the target audience helps ensure you choose a platform that aligns with your team's skills and needs.

Rill Data

Operations TeamsAnalytics Engineers

Holistics

Data teams (analytics engineers)Business users exploring defined dataData-driven organizations

Visivo

Analytics EngineersData teamsBusiness usersEngineers

Ease of Development & Deployment

The development experience can significantly impact your team's productivity. This section compares how easy it is to build, deploy, and maintain dashboards in each platform.

Rill Data

Holistics

Visivo

Key Integrations & Ecosystem

A robust ecosystem of integrations is essential for modern BI tools. Here's how each platform connects with other tools in your data stack.

Rill Data

Integrates with data lakes (Parquet/CSV) and DBs via importSlack integration for alertsCustom Code Based Integration

Holistics

SQL databases (Snowflake, BigQuery, PostgreSQL, etc.). dbt integration: Yes – can import dbt models and exposures, aligning Holistics model with dbt transforms.SQL databases (SnowflakeBigQueryPostgreSQLetc.). dbt integration: Yes – can import dbt models and exposuresaligning Holistics model with dbt transforms.

Visivo

dbt coreAll major databasesCustom connector frameworkSlack for alertsGithub

AI & Advanced Features

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we interact with data. Compare the AI capabilities and advanced features offered by each platform.

ToolAI Features
Rill Data
Holistics
Visivo✔️

Visualization Capabilities

The ability to create compelling and insightful visualizations is a key differentiator between BI tools. Here's how each platform handles data visualization.

Rill Data

Focus on metrics dashboards; limited chart types optimized for fast slice-and-dice; styling is opinionated (less custom code)

Holistics

Combines a code-based 'data modeling layer' with a drag/drop UI for end users. Data team defines datasets, dimensions, measures in YAML (or UI), then business users create charts by selecting those fields. Visualization options cover common needs (charts, pivots) with moderate customization. Focus is on accuracy & consistency over flashy visuals.

Visivo

Highly custom UI with easy defaults

Detailed Differentiators

Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here's a detailed breakdown of what sets each tool apart, including both advantages and limitations.

Rill Data

+ Embedded DuckDB engine – co-locates data & compute for speed. True 'metrics store' approach (define metrics once) for consistency.
− Still maturing feature set; requires data to be loaded into Rill, and fewer visualization options than full BI suites.

Holistics

+ Unified metrics layer: define once in code, use anywhere – similar to LookML but using SQL and a simpler DSL. This ensures a single source of truth across charts.
− Requires data modeling effort upfront; not as plug-and-play. Smaller community (less third-party resources than bigger tools).

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

Security and architecture are critical considerations for enterprise deployments. Here's how each platform handles data security and system architecture.

Rill Data

DB Access: Not required at runtime (data is ingested into Rill's engine) – queries run in-memory. Virtualization: Data stays in engine (no live DB hits). Push: Data must be loaded (push ETL to Rill). Security: Supports read-only embedded DB; role-based dashboard access (authentication via service).

Holistics

DB Access: Yes, queries run on your DB. Optionally can cache query results in its warehouse for speed. Virtualization: Holistics does not store data long-term; it queries live or caches in temp tables. Push: No, it's pull (with ability to schedule cache refresh). Other: Supports row-level security definitions in the modeling layer; robust role-based view permissions.

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 that make it an excellent choice for modern data teams.

  • DAG-Based Architecture: Enables complex data transformations and dependencies
  • Visual to Human-readable Code: Seamlessly switch between visual and code-based development
  • Ease of Development: Multiple approaches to build for both technical and non-technical users
  • AI-Powered Development: Leverage AI to accelerate dashboard creation
  • Git Integration: Full version control and collaboration capabilities

Ready to experience the power of modern BI? Try Visivo today and see how it compares to other tools in your stack.

$ curl -fsSL https://visivo.sh | bash
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Jared Jesionek (co-founder)
Jared Jesionek (co-founder)
Jared Jesionek (co-founder)
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How can I help? This connects to our slack so I'll respond real quickly 😄
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