Tableau Desktop vs Public vs Server vs Cloud - Dashboard Approaches Compared

Dashboard Mode - Tableau Desktop vs Public vs Server vs Cloud

Business Question

Which Tableau product is best suited for different user needs and scenarios?

Sample Data: Tableau Product Features Comparison

Feature	Desktop	Public	Server	Cloud
Cost	Paid	Free	Paid	Paid
Data Privacy	Private	Public	Private	Private
Data Sources	All types	Limited	All types	All types
Sharing	Publish to Server/Cloud	Public web only	Internal sharing	Internal & external sharing
Installation	Local PC	Local PC	On-premise server	Cloud hosted
Collaboration	Limited	None	Strong	Strong
Updates	Manual	Manual	Managed by IT	Automatic

Dashboard Components

• KPI Cards: Show key differences for Cost, Data Privacy, and Collaboration across products.
• Bar Chart: Visualize Data Sources support level by product (All types vs Limited).
• Table: Detailed feature comparison as shown in sample data.

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
|      KPI Cards       |      Bar Chart       |
| (Cost, Privacy, Collab) | (Data Sources)      |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                  Feature Comparison Table               |
+---------------------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

User can select a Tableau product from a dropdown filter. Selecting a product updates the KPI cards and bar chart to highlight that product's features. The table scrolls but remains static for full comparison.

Self Check

If you filter to only show 'Public' product, which components update and what changes do you see?

• KPI Cards update to show 'Free' cost, 'Public' data privacy, and 'None' collaboration.
• Bar Chart highlights 'Limited' data sources for Public.
• Table remains visible for full feature comparison.

Key Result

A dashboard comparing Tableau Desktop, Public, Server, and Cloud products by key features and usage scenarios.