4 ThoughtSpot Everywhere alternatives for more custom user-facing analytics

ThoughtSpot is a cloud-based data analytics platform powered by AI. It claims that users can find answers to their data questions in under 2 minutes. This tool also allows you to process complex queries at a scale without having to write any SQL—but you could if needed. 

ThoughtSpot Everywhere, its embedded analytics product, is a low-code inbuilt analytics tool for building interactive visualizations for end users. It leverages AI-driven analytics, meaning users can search and answer any ad hoc questions without turning to the data team.

But you’ve landed on this page. So, you’re either a ThoughtSpot user or have looked into it and aren’t fully sold on it yet. Maybe you’re worried about not having full customization freedom or want a purpose-built solution that really understands your embedding needs.

To help you deliver impressive analytics experiences that empower your users, we’ve compiled four carefully selected alternatives to ThoughtSpot Everywhere for user-facing embedded analytics. 

Discover a developer-friendly toolkit that’s purpose-built for creating remarkable customer-facing analytics in a fraction of the time. Learn more. 

Contents

ThoughtSpot Everywhere

As an analytics cloud, ThoughtSpot offers three different products, we’ll focus on its embedded one: ThoughtSpot Everywhere. It’s a low-code product for embedding analytics experiences into your app—with access to parts of the code so your developers can edit actions if needed.

What makes ThoughtSpot Everywhere appealing to some users is that it lets end users search for answers using natural language. Developers will need to define data measures, attributes, and keywords to simplify the search functionality for end users. 

In terms of security, this tool lets you create multiple personas and delimit access to key features. For example, programmers can open the developer’s playground where they can see how the embedded experience will look in their app.

ThoughtSpot Everywhere uses AI to automate alerts and keep end-users on top of their metrics. However, since it’s still relatively new to the market, you might need to train the system to do exactly what you need.

Users find pricing for ThoughtSpot Everywhere a bit confusing. It has different models depending on the use case:

1. Businesses serving other businesses need to request a quote. According to users, the cost can jump up to $30k a year for granular security.
2. Businesses serving customers can use ThoughtSpot Everywhere for free—if they have 5 users or less. Then, prices jump up to $25,000 a month for unlimited users. 
3. There are also custom prices for big companies and enterprises. 

Why you might look for ThoughtSpot alternatives for embedded analytics

There are several reasons you might be looking for alternatives to ThoughtSpot Everywhere: 

• You want more control over your UI/UX. ThoughtSpot Everywhere gives you freedom to customize only limited aspects of the design. You can make further edits in the CSS, but only if you’re a ThoughtSpot Everywhere Enterprise user—this can be expensive.
• You expect easier data modeling. Users believe the tool’s data modeling is effective, but it’s also time-consuming. “From an end user's perspective, ThoughtSpot is great. From an admin's perspective, there are many frustrations when modifying data sources, and the data model is quite confusing,” says a ThoughtSpot user. 
• You want a more mature tool. ThoughtSpot was launched in 2012, but its embedded analytics product is much more recent. You might be looking for a product with live features and not in a roadmap.
• You want a similar tool but purpose-built for embedded analytics. ThoughtSpot Everywhere relies on ThoughtSpot Analytics as a base product, so visuals are similar to business intelligence platforms. You might be looking for an alternative that’s fully catered to customers and not business users. 
• You need a more easy-to-use tool. One of the biggest downsides to ThoughtSpot Everywhere is that it’s not as easy to use as advertised. "The learning curve was a little steeper than expected, just a little less intuitive for users unfamiliar with business intelligence tools. However, once comfortable it is easy to navigate," says a ThoughtSpot user. You might be looking for a more plug-and-play alternative.

ThoughtSpot Embedded alternatives at a glance

We’ve examined the best alternatives to ThoughtSpot Embedded on the market.

In our shortlist, you’ll find a fully customizable embedded analytics platform, a plug-and-play embedded analytics tool, a headless architecture platform, and a more mature BI tool.

Let’s explore these platforms in more detail:

1. Embeddable

Embeddable is a powerful software development kit (SDK) designed for building exceptional, highly tailored user-facing analytics. Its headless architecture enables you to combine data models and bring them to life in customizable charting components—all manipulable through code.

Here’s what sets Embeddable apart:

• It empowers developers to extensively modify aspects within code, making those definitions accessible to non-technical users through a no-code builder.

• It supports sub-second loading. This means you can get answers in the blink of an eye due to our two layers of built-in cache that you can fully customize in a YAML file. 

• You get a front-end toolkit to choose your visualizations, while also gaining full customization freedom through code, ensuring refined user experiences.

• It integrates with open-source charting libraries such as ChartJS, Highcharts, Google Charts, or Tremor so you can perfect your charting components in your git repo.

• It manages backend complexities including row-level security, caching, performance, and component interactions, all configurable to your preferences.

• It sets secure data connections with top databases for embedded analytics, ensuring sub-second loading times via read-only transactions.

• It provides a user-friendly no-code dashboard builder for customer-facing teams, simplifying dashboard creation with point-and-click functionality.

• It abandons traditional iframes in favor of next-gen embedding, loading analytics directly into the DOM via a web component.

In short, Embeddable isn’t your typical out-of-the-box analytics tool that lets you build dashboards in under 5 minutes (although you can do that if you want to use the standard components provided!).

Embeddable is your development’s team copilot. It serves your programmers with a blueprint to design embedded analytics experiences in-house—as if they were building them from scratch but in 10% of the time. They get full freedom to edit designs, definitions, security measures, and performance in code. Learn more.

What users say about Embeddable

Users choose Embeddable over tools like ThoughtSpot because it gives them the freedom to edit the code—without having to pay an unpredictable bill by the end of the month (see our pricing below). It’s also better for data consistency as the data modeling subscribes to a headless architecture. 

“Embeddable is responsive enough speedwise [that] the business team can decide what it wants in the platform in addition to the reporting suite. That was the Ah! [moment]. We can do both. I don't have to have two completely different data architectures, which many platforms do.” — Henry Coleman, co-founder of LocalClarity.

“Embeddable is the first tool I’ve seen where it’s so straightforward to work with the data and build charts, where it feels like the heavy lifting is done once I finish modeling my data. Discovering [it] has been one of the highlights in my journey as a first-time founder.” — Adeola Morren, founder of iBenjamen Studio

Embeddable pricing

We operate on a fixed pricing model. There are no hidden or extra fees per views, users, or dashboards—you just pay a flat rate at the end of the month. This makes Embeddable an affordable alternative to tools like ThoughtSpot Everywhere, which follow a usage-based embedded analytics pricing structure.

"With Embeddable, two needs are solved by one vendor at a price that was attractive—that I could grow with. Every [other product] I looked at had a fatal flaw, like data limits." — Henry Coleman, co-founder of LocalClarity.

Embeddable vs ThoughtSpot Everywhere

Embeddable and ThoughtSpot Everywhere both allow you to embed analytics into websites and applications. Here’s what differentiates the two of them: 

• Embeddable gives you full customization freedom as you can make all edits in code. ThoughtSpot Everywhere only lets you make certain edits to your visuals like colors and fonts.

• Embeddable offers sub-second loading times, while ThoughtSpot can be slow to load the data. 

• ThoughtSpot Everywhere prices are set based on consumption, so it’s tricky to know how much you’ll pay each month. Embeddable charges a fixed monthly price.

• Embeddable follows a headless architecture and makes data modeling more reliant and straightforward. Users believe ThoughtSpot Everywhere’s data modeling can be confusing. 

• Embeddable is a purpose-built SDK for building embedded analytics. ThoughtSpot was a BI platform first and an embedded analytics solution later. 

Pro tip: ThoughtSpot is tailored towards a B2B use case, like embedding analytics for clients at other firms to see. If that sounds like you, and you’re not too worried about the UX and UI, it’s a decent option. If you want to be in complete control of your UI/UX and serve your customers with remarkable, fully bespoke analytics, you can’t go wrong with Embeddable.

2. Explo

Explo is a purpose-built embedded analytics platform. It’s a truly no-code solution for creating and deploying user-facing analytics in just a couple of hours.

Here’s what differentiates Explo:

• Features a less corporate visualization library more suited for regular customers (as opposed to business users)

• Users can easily design and download self-service reports and view data in dashboards

• Supports real-time user-facing analytics

• Offers customization options beyond fonts and colors, such as border styles and shadows

• Provides enterprise-level security and seamless integration with relational databases

Explo lets you add your databases and create dashboards in a few hours. However, there are some drawbacks to consider that come from this simplicity. For example, you can’t make the UI/UX match yours. Users find themselves lacking full control over styling and performance as embedding is done through either an iframe or web component.

In addition, Explo’s pricing structure makes it potentially very expensive, especially due to its per-viewer charging model. 

What users say about Explo

Users enjoy Explo’s ease of use. However, the pricing structure and the limited customization options are some of the issues they face with Explo. 

"There are times that I feel constrained with how I want to use my data. There’s a mismatch between how I have structured it and how it would interact best with the Explo product. If you have a handle on SQL then there's a lot of room to work around that divergence." —Sid Sutton, Junior Software Engineer at Alpharank

“Not the end of the world for us since it still looks great, but it would be nice to have more styling customization/control.” —Lucas Howard, Explo user

Explo pricing

Explo follows a user- and feature-based pricing model. So, your bill increases as your needs change:

• Pricing plans begin at $695 per month for 25 'customer groups' with Explo’s branding
• Pro plan starts at $1,995/month and is fully white-labeled
• Enterprise plan pricing is only available by request

“[Explo’s] pricing model got really weird for me. They were targeting smaller customers and the way they structured their pricing would bankrupt any big company.” — Justin Hayes, CEO of a shipping analytics company and Embeddable customer.

Explo vs ThoughtSpot Everywhere

Here’s how Explo and ThoughtSpot everywhere compare:

• Explo and ThoughtSpot Everywhere are both cloud-based.

• ThoughtSpot Everywhere enterprise plans support more customization via CSS, while Explo only lets you modify certain aspects of the design.

• Explo follows a user- and feature-based pricing model, while ThoughtSpot Everywhere charges by usage. Both are hard to budget for. 

• Explo is easier to set up and use than ThoughtSpot.

Pro tip: If you’re looking for a tool that’s truly plug-and-play, then Explo could do it for you. However, if you want to dedicate time to define your data models and provide users with the ability to query the data, try ThoughtSpot. 

3. GoodData

GoodData is a headless BI analytics software for building data visualizations and sharing them with internal or external users. Recently, it incorporated AI features into its offering. Like ThoughtSpot, Good Data also offers multiple solutions, so we’ll focus on its embedded analytics product.

What makes GoodData suitable for embedded analytics:

• It uses drag-and-drop functionality for creating interactive dashboards

• Comes with a range of out-of-the-box charting options

• Lets you add filters, drill-downs, drill-throughs, and zoom features for better data readability

• Embeds via iframe, React SDK, or web components

• Provides automation and predictive analysis capabilities for anticipating future trends

However, GoodData has a somewhat steep learning curve and limited customization options for embedded analytics. "The website has a lot of options, making it great for users. But figuring out what it can do feels hard, especially for new people,” says Lara M., Client Services Innovation Lead and GoodData user.

What users say about GoodData

GoodData is amongst the few BI tools that doesn’t rely on iframes as its only embedding method. Also, since it follows a headless architecture, data preparation and modeling are quite effective. But users believe GoodData’s customizing options are limited.

“The data and model release management is straightforward. However, there is no folder management for 'Insights’. Finding a previously created ‘Insight’ is nearly impossible, and it's easier to start over (which makes the clutter worse).” — GoodData user.

“GoodData connects with various data sources and consolidates information from multiple platforms. This flexibility proves invaluable for businesses dealing with data spread across different systems as they can access large amounts of data on a single platform. However, having more flexibility in customizing reports and dashboards and control over the visual aspects would enhance the overall user experience.” — Abhishek Chhabra, Account Manager at Ebizon Digital Pvt ltd

GoodData pricing

Pricing for GoodData is based on ‘workspaces’, which could be interpreted as consumption-based. GoodData recommends you use a separate workspace per customer. So, you’ could soon end up paying a lot more than their starting price of $1,500 per month*. For specific security measures and data processing, you'll need a custom quote.

*billed annually

GoodData vs ThoughtSpot Everywhere

GoodData and ThoughtSpot Everywhere are initially ‘traditional’ BI tools that developed an embedded analytics offering by repurposing the internal dashboards feature. Here’s how they compare:

• Both ThoughtSpot and GoodData support multiple embedding methods

• It takes a steeper learning curve to model your data on ThoughtSpot than on GoodData

• Both tools operate on a usage-based pricing model

Pro tip: These two products allow you to model your data, but GoodData does it through its headless BI which may entail that it’s a better approach for data consistency. 

So, if you want to rely on better definitions, you could consider GoodData. However, if you want to serve business users who have no technical background, ThoughtSpot might be a better option.

4. Tableau

Tableau, owned by Salesforce, is one of the most known and mature BI platforms in the market. It supports embedded analytics through an iframe, making it very easy to set up and use. Two things make Tableau popular: its ability to handle complex data and transform it into graphs, and its big visualization library. 

For some users, Tableau is a suitable choice for embedded analytics because it: 

• Connects to multiple databases and cloud-based data warehouses, including Oracle, RedShift, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.

• Allows you to create custom calculations and perform transformation tasks, boosting self-service analytics.

• Promotes collaboration among teams by simplifying file sharing and allowing simultaneous work on the same dashboard.

However, Tableau was initially built for business intelligence. Hence, there’s only a certain amount of things you can edit in your designs and the dashboards always look like Tableau, not your brand. Also, Tableau can become very expensive and has a steep learning curve, especially for those who aren’t already familiar with their internal BI tool.

What users say about Tableau

Users love Tableau because it allows them to process very complex queries. Still, despite its big library of charting components, users feel it falls short in terms of customization. 

“Tableau is a bit tricky when it comes to working with date and time functions. Some specific charts aren’t available and you can’t write SQL queries directly into Tableau, which makes it impossible to make statistical analysis. It’s sometimes difficult to operate and navigate through calculated fields.” —Tableau user

“Stunning with data integration features as well you can source data from heterogeneous sources and transform it. However, it lacks creativity aspects.” —Bien B., Software developer and Tableau user

Tableau pricing

Tableau’s pricing for embedded analytics is only available per request. But if we assume it follows the same logic as its cloud and desktop version, you’ll need to pay for different user types. Charging per viewer can make this an expensive product for user-facing analytics. 

Plus, to use Tableau’s embedded functionality, you need a license for Tableau Cloud or Desktop. This means you need to pay for additional licenses for:

• Creators—$75/user/month
• Explorers—$42/user/month
• Viewers—$15/user/month

Tableau vs. ThoughtSpot Everywhere

Tableau and ThoughtSpot are both BI platforms with embedding options. Here’s how these two compare:

• Tableau is a more established and mature tool compared to ThoughtSpot

• ThoughtSpot supports multiple embedding methods, while Tableau only embeds via iframes

• While both offer limited customization options, Tableau lets you edit your designs further than ThoughtSpot (in similar pricing plans)
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• ThoughtSpot is easier to set up and use than Tableau

• Neither option allows you to deliver a truly native-feeling experience to your customers. This is because there is very limited customization and control over the charting components you’ll be embedding into your application

Pro tip: If price is an issue but custom visuals aren’t, you could stick with ThoughtSpot. However, if you’re willing to pay extra for a tool with more tenure, visuals, and customization options, Tableau could be a good choice.

What about custom-built embedded analytics?

Let’s face it, many of the best examples of customer-facing analytics are custom-built. Going custom means you’re in control. You’re the owner of designs, components, definitions, UX, and limitations, safeguarding against any loss related to your third-party provider. 

But creating user-facing analytics experiences from the ground up can be complex, expensive, and time-consuming. SaaS products like ThoughtSpot Everywhere try to solve this by allowing you to ship okay-looking analytics within hours. While they don’t offer the level of customizability you get from custom-build, you save your developer’s time and can add value to your users from day one. 

But that’s not enough. You’ll have analytics experiences that look and feel foreign to the rest of your app. Your users will make more informed decisions based on data but the UX will be lacking. 

But you don’t have to choose between shipping fast and remaining in control anymore. Embeddable gives you full control to craft user-facing analytics experiences aligned with your app's native look and feel—in code– and delivers sub-second loading times. Additionally, you can define performance and security parameters without spending excessive time or money during the development phase.

Curious to learn more? Request the developer docs

How to choose your embedded analytics solution

We’ve presented you with four alternatives to ThoughtSpot Everywhere, each with unique benefits. Here’s a quick guide to help you make a decision based on your needs:

• For full customization freedom and control over your UX, go for Embeddable. This platform lets you easily define everything you’d control in a custom build like data models, auth, security, cache refresh, etc. It also lets you design unique visuals or borrow from a pre-built library—with full editing control in code. Then, embed your analytics through web components so that charts load fast, and the experience feels fully native to your app. 
• For quick and easy results and a small user base, try Explo. This plug-and-play tool connects to your data sources and lets you design user-facing dashboards within hours. The customization options are limited, but the same happens with ThoughtSpot. Explo’s pricing model makes it more affordable to businesses with 25 or fewer users. 
• For better data modeling, try Good Data. This headless BI platform is a great alternative to ThoughtSpot if you have very specific data modeling needs. It’s also a suitable choice if you want to use the same tool for internal and external data analytics that supports multiple embedding methods.
• For a similar but more robust tool, try Tableau. If you’re looking for a BI tool with embedding functionality like ThoughtSpot that’s more mature, Tableau could do the work. It comes with more visualization options, although less editing access. Tableau also processes more complex queries and it’s easier to embed as it uses an iframe.

In short, any of these tools could potentially work out for you depending on your needs. However, if you’re looking for a tool that gives you the flexibility and control of building something in-house, we’d love to chat!

Discover a developer-friendly toolkit that’s purpose-built for creating remarkable customer-facing analytics in a fraction of the time. Learn more. 

Frequently asked questions about ThoughtSpot Embedded alternatives

What makes ThoughtSpot Everywhere unique? 

What makes ThoughtSpot unique is the fact that it’s been focused on integrating AI. This supports one of its biggest selling points: allowing end users to query the data using a simple search bar. However, it may not be the best solution for embedded analytics, as it doesn’t offer full customization freedom and can be slow to load.