Choosing InetSoft StyleBI over Geckoboard
The InetSoft promise of easy, agile, and robust business intelligence is now backed up by a professional analysis.
To create its comparison of InetSoft StyleBI and Geckoboard, analyst firm G2 Crowd compiled reviews and ratings done by independent users of the two BI vendors, comparing the BI tools in the areas of reporting and building reports, self-service, advanced analytics, and the strength of the overall platform.
The result? InetSoft outranked Geckoboard in a majority of categories. So, according to independent BI users, what are those InetSoft strong points?
When compared to Geckoboard, InetSoft's BI product was ranked highly in the general ratings of Meeting Requirements, Ease of Use, Quality of Support, Ease of Doing Business With, and Positive Product Direction. This is due to InetSoft having a more comprehensive and user friendly interface complete with clear and detailed documentation for both users and developers, along with a personable and responsive support team to handle the occasional customer issue.
Maximize Self Service with this Geckoboard Alternative
StyleBI's advanced tools for visualization are rich in functionality; the level of customizing through Javascript is striking and supports a large variety of use cases. Once again, reviews on G2 Crowd establish the uniqueness of InetSoft's BI platform, choosing InetSoft as the winner in the ratings of DDashboards, Graphs and Charts, Scorecards, and Steps to Answer..
When it comes to business intelligence reporting, self-service can mean the difference between having the answer you need when you need it and waiting on IT for help.
InetSoft's solution delivers best when it comes to meeting changing business needs of any organization. With StyleBI, power users can do incredibly complicated data mashups and reporting and deliver the results to end users with ease. InetSoft makes this process easier than many other BI vendors, not just Geckoboard. In this critical category of Self Service - Data Column Filtering, Data Discovery, and Search were compared and InetSoft's StyleBI rated higher than Geckoboard on each parameter.
InetSoft Scored Higher than Geckoboard in the Following Areas
The detailed list of categories & parameters where InetSoft StyleBI scored over Geckoboard is presented below. Please click here or the G2 logo to go over the individual reviews.
- Meets Requirements
- Ease of Use
- Quality of Support
- Product Direction (% Positive)
- Steps to Answer
- Scorecards
- Calculated Fields
- Data Column Filtering
- Data Discovery
- Customization
- User, Role, and Access Management
Beating Geckoboard in Advanced Analytics
Advanced Analytics, a key differentiator for any BI platform, should deliver capabilities like data mining and predictive modeling.
In the category of Advanced Analytics, InetSoft won out over Geckoboard in the areas of Data Visualization and WYSIWYG Report Design. Companies that focus on data driven decision making can expect a strong competitive differentiation, and StyleBI helps an organization achieve that.
These high ratings recognize InetSoft's unique capability of end-user defined data mashup, which allows even business users to combine fields from different data sources that were not previously modeled, and even import external data sources such as spreadsheets, to create a new dashboard or report.
InetSoft: Delivering Maximum Value to its Users
In evaluating the overall BI platform, InetSoft's value was also recognized in the areas of Customization, User, Role and Access Management, and Performance and Reliability. InetSoft's reporting software provides powerful administrative tools that give precise security and access control over users and roles.
The InetSoft product set offers tremendous flexibility to support a range of application development philosophies, from "heads down, hands on" coding (programmatic), to the use of high-level intuitive and visual report development and server administration tools. If necessary, it is possible to combine the use of the high-level tools with the programmatic approach, thus utilizing the best of both worlds. To learn more of InetSoft's positive ratings by G2 crowd, click the ad below.
Comparing StyleBI and Geckoboard
StyleBI and Geckoboard are both business intelligence and data visualization platforms, but they serve distinctly different purposes and audiences. While both enable organizations to monitor performance metrics and visualize data, their architectures, target users, and overall capabilities vary greatly. StyleBI is designed as a full-stack enterprise analytics solution capable of handling complex data mashups, secure deployments, and advanced customization, whereas Geckoboard focuses on simplicity, speed, and real-time dashboarding for small teams and startups. Comparing these two platforms reveals important differences in scalability, data integration, flexibility, and intended use cases.
Data Integration and Connectivity
One of the most significant distinctions between StyleBI and Geckoboard lies in data integration. StyleBI provides an advanced data mashup engine that enables users to combine data from multiple heterogeneous sources—including relational databases, APIs, web services, and flat files—into a unified model without requiring external ETL tools. It supports both real-time and cached data connections, allowing users to build complex relationships between data sets and perform deeper analyses. This makes StyleBI particularly suited for organizations dealing with large, multi-source enterprise data environments.
Geckoboard, by contrast, focuses on simplicity. It offers easy connections to popular SaaS tools like Google Analytics, Shopify, HubSpot, and Salesforce. However, it is limited when it comes to handling on-premises databases or combining multiple data sources into one coherent model. It is primarily designed for displaying data already aggregated elsewhere, not transforming or blending data dynamically. Therefore, while Geckoboard’s integrations are easy to set up, they do not provide the same level of flexibility or sophistication as StyleBI’s data mashup capabilities.
Analytical Depth and Functionality
StyleBI is a full-featured BI platform designed for both analysts and business users. It supports detailed report creation, multi-layer visualizations, drill-down and drill-through capabilities, and advanced query design. Users can create pixel-perfect reports for distribution alongside interactive dashboards for exploration. Its self-service functionality enables users to manipulate data, filter results, and design new views without relying on IT, while still maintaining centralized governance and data security.
Geckoboard, in contrast, is optimized for quick, real-time KPI visualization. It allows teams to build dashboards that track performance indicators, particularly for sales, marketing, and operations. Its primary strength is clarity—it helps users see essential metrics at a glance. However, it does not provide deeper analytical features such as data modeling, calculated metrics across sources, or advanced drill-down exploration. For organizations that require exploratory analytics or multi-layered reports, StyleBI provides a far more capable environment.
Customization and Embedding
Another key advantage of StyleBI is its high degree of customization and embeddability. The platform supports white-labeling, allowing enterprises and software vendors to integrate analytics directly into their own applications or portals under their own branding. Developers can customize visualizations, layouts, and user interfaces to align with their specific requirements. This makes StyleBI particularly attractive for SaaS providers, OEM partners, and enterprises that need to deliver analytics as part of a broader solution.
Geckoboard offers limited customization options. Users can adjust layouts and colors to match company branding, but deeper customization—such as embedding dashboards within other applications or altering visualization logic—is minimal. It is designed primarily as a standalone, hosted service for teams that want to share dashboards on office monitors or via secure links. This simplicity is part of its appeal for small businesses but can be restrictive for enterprises that demand flexible integration and extensive control.
Scalability and Deployment Options
StyleBI is built for scalability. It can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid configurations, offering full control over data security, compliance, and infrastructure. Its server-based architecture supports hundreds or thousands of users, multi-tenant environments, and integration with corporate authentication systems such as LDAP or SSO. This adaptability makes it suitable for global organizations with complex reporting hierarchies and large datasets.
Geckoboard, being a cloud-native SaaS platform, offers simplicity but less flexibility. It is easy to deploy—users can set up dashboards in minutes—but the platform’s scalability is limited by its design. It is best suited for smaller teams or departments rather than enterprise-wide analytics deployments. For organizations that must comply with strict data security regulations or host analytics in private environments, Geckoboard’s fully hosted model may not be appropriate.
User Experience and Accessibility
Geckoboard excels in ease of use. Its intuitive interface and minimal setup time allow users to create dashboards quickly without technical training. It is ideal for displaying KPIs on office screens or sharing performance summaries with non-technical stakeholders. In contrast, StyleBI’s interface supports both simplicity and depth—it offers drag-and-drop dashboard creation for business users, as well as advanced data design tools for power users. The learning curve is steeper than Geckoboard’s, but the result is far greater analytical power and flexibility.
Target Audience and Ideal Use Cases
Geckoboard is best suited for startups, small businesses, and teams that want to visualize performance metrics quickly without managing infrastructure. It excels as a lightweight, real-time dashboarding tool for day-to-day operational monitoring. StyleBI, on the other hand, targets mid-size to large enterprises, software vendors, and organizations that require governed, scalable, and integrated analytics across departments. It is ideal for those who need both strategic and operational insights drawn from multiple data systems.
Overall Comparison
In essence, StyleBI and Geckoboard represent two different philosophies of business intelligence. StyleBI provides a complete enterprise analytics environment—capable of deep integration, secure deployment, advanced modeling, and embedded analytics—while Geckoboard focuses on immediate KPI visibility and simplicity. Organizations should choose StyleBI if they need scalable, governed analytics that integrate deeply into business workflows, and Geckoboard if they seek lightweight, fast-deploying dashboards for quick visibility into key metrics.