The Top 5 Data Visualisation Tools in 2023

Everything is data. With the vast amounts of data being generated every second of the day, it has become increasingly important to find ways to make sense of it all. That’s where data visualisation comes in.

What is Data Visualisation?

Data visualisation is a way to make data more understandable to a reader, by presenting complex data in a clear and compelling way. This makes it easier for the reader to identify patterns in the data that might not be obvious from raw numbers or text. Techniques for visalising data can include graphs, charts, maps, and other visual aids to help convey information clearly and concisely. By identifying areas of interst within datasets, as well as trends and outliers, data visualisation can help decision-makers to understand and act on the insights that data provides.

Why Use Data Visualisation?

Humans are visual thinkers and often an excel spreadsheet doesn’t cut it. For that reason it’s important to ensure that when you’re communicating complex data to your customers, colleagues or team leader you’re able to convey this as effectively as possible.

Here is an example of a great data visualisation piece from Chartr. Traditionally a boardroom presentation would involve a table with the following information:

Not only is the above table boring and un-engaging it doesn’t give the audience members the opportunity to ask the important questions e.g. ‘why are wearables performing so badly compared to the rest of our product line?’

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By making data understandable visualisations help the audience ask the right questions.

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The Top 5 Tools in 2022 for Data Visualisation:

1. Tableau

Tableau is great, but it’s not for everyone. As it’s part of SalesForces eco-system its usually used by established businesses who are familiar with these tools. In other words its not for the average Joe running a startup.

Pros✅:

• Great Visualisation Capabilities
• High performance
• Allows for multiple connect sources
• Community is very active and expanding
• Optimised for Mobile

Cons❌ :

• High Cost - $70 p/m
• Inflexible Pricing
• Poor after Sales support
• Past Security issues
• Training Time is long

2. Flourish Public

Flourish is a simple drag and drop data visualisation tool for data in the forms of CSV and Excel files. Hence, Flourish can even be used by beginners for basic visualisations. Flourish is mainly targeted at producing beautiful templates geared towards websites.

The ability to sort and compare by different data points makes it a great visualisation and handy for analysis.

Pros✅  :

• Made for begginers starting there Journey.
• Super easy to create interactive viz, including rotating globes, maps, etc

Cons❌ :

• Data Visualisations can be difficult to share
• First you have to find your data which is a problem. Luckily Trovalo our data marketplace can help you find some data for your specific use case.

3. Chart Blocks

ChartBlocks is a simple new tool which requires no code. Their product description is to “Build a chart in minutes in the easy to use chart designer, choosing from dozens of chart types and then customising it to your needs.”

Pull in data from almost any source and even create charts that pull data from multiple sources. The data import wizard will take you through the process step by step.

Pros✅:

• A child can understand and use the platform - it’s that easy
• Free for a personal plan

Cons❌ :

• You can only upload a small amount of data, this works for most but for those of you who are trying to upload a large amount you’re better of using a paid service.
• You can create only a few charts at a time with free version
• Export quality isn't the best on the free version

4. Power BI

Microsofts Power BI is probably the most famous and widely used visualisation tool for businesses. Not only is it free for personal use, it has a free comphrensive training package included in the platform. Power BI reports can have slicers to focus reports on data from a specific timeframe or data that meet certain criteria.

Pros✅:

• If you’re used to using Excel and utulising pivot tables then you’ll find Power BI intuitive to use.
• Free for a personal plan
• Microsoft listens to the user community
• Power BI connects to hundreds of data sources
• Integrates with Python for visual insights

Cons❌ :

• The User interface isn’t great. In fact sometimes doing simples things like changing formulas can be a pain.

• Annoying Formulas: Power BI does have some shortcomings. It does allow you to create new data with formulas but there are limitations. For example you’re limited when it comes to combining formulas which you’re limited to two.
• Another con is the ability to work with huge amounts of data. Power BI has a limit on the amount of data it can ingest. (I think is about 2GB).

5. Data Wrapper

Data wrapper is one of the few tools which is entirely free. It’s mainly used by journalists, reporters and design professionals to create unique charts. You can import data from google sheets, excel and CSV files.

Datawrapper's design is for it to be flexible enough to cater to several customized chart design fit for the newsroom. The software automatically converts data from CSVs, PDFs, and other web resources into aesthetically pleasing charts, tables, and maps, which requires no coding skills.

Pros✅:

• Easy and Simple user interface.
• Design Flexibility which is super useful for those of you which are new to visualisation

Cons❌ :

• The only con is that its limited in functionality which can be a problem for those who are more experienced in visualisation

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Where to Get Data for Visualisation?

Finding good data for your visualisations isn’t always easy. Here at Trovalo we connect you with the most relevant providers of data for your needs. Whether you’re a novice or advanced we have something for you. Browse our datasets here

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