SQL (Structured Query Language) is a programming language which is designed specifically for interacting with relational databases. SQL provides a standardized way for professionals to manipulate, analyze and visualize data. With the help of SQL, you can manage user access and permissions as well as insert, update, and delete entries, as well as create and alter various database structures (such as tables, views, and indexes).
Many data analysts use SQL on a regular basis to interact with data, but more importantly, is to translate data into insights, helping business make informed decisions. Generally, SQL allows you to ask questions and get answers from your data. That is why data visualization comes into play.
Data visualization is the art of communicating cryptic dataset into visual formats like charts, graphs and images. By doing so, data analysts can tell visually compelling stories, make it easier for understanding data and pull meaningful insights.
We’ve handpicked different SQL data visualization tools to help you unravel the hidden information in your data. Knowing how each tool interacts with SQL is important to choose the proper tool for your business. Let's get started!
Many data visualization tools require data individuals have knowledge of SQL, while others do not. Some other tools provide no-code solutions, allowing you to visualize data with visual SQL. So, you don’t need to know SQL, you can easily create an enticing dashboard. However, in some specific contexts, visual SQL can't help, that’s why businesses need a data visualization tool that uses SQL to translate complex data into insights.
Here is 3 reason why a sql data visualization tool matters:
Expressiveness: For working with data, SQL offers a rich and expressive language. You can deal with complex data manipulations, aggregations, and transformations with its large selection of operators, functions, and constructions. For some insights that you want to present in a visual format that needs a lot of combination of data for the better results, then SQL in use is important!
Handling complex queries: SQL is well-suited for writing complex queries including multiple tables, joins, subqueries, and sophisticated filtering criteria. Many data visualization tools supporting visual sql may make it difficult for complex queries. If your business has complicated data and you want to get in-depth and accurate insights, you should go for the right sql data visualization tool.
Reusability and maintainability: SQL queries can be stored as scripts, functions, or stored procedures. Your queries are simple to modify, extend, and reuse in your data visualization projects. Therefore, it makes your work at ease when using SQL to visualize your data.
SQL database compatibility: Check to see if the data visualization tool is appropriate for the SQL database you are using or intend to use. It should be able to support connecting to the database to retrieve data such as: MySQL, ClickHouse, Postgresql, Microsoft SQL Server.
Visualization Capabilities: Examine the visualization features of the tool to see if they satisfy your needs. To effectively depict and understand your data, look for a variety of chart styles (bar, line, pie, scatter, etc.) and interactive visual features (drill-down, filters, tooltips).
User-friendly: The tool should have a user-friendly user interface and intuitive workflow. It should make it simple for you to connect to your SQL database, write SQL queries, and create interactive visualizations without requiring a steep-learning curve.
Customization capabilities: See if the sql data visualization tool allows to reality customize the visuals of charts, graphs, images and dashboards like color schemes, fonts, labels, layout, etc. You don't want your audiences to get boring with your low customization, right? Customization capabilities helps you modify the visualization to tailor your brand or specific design requirements
Interactivity and data exploration: To choose the suitable tool, you can look for features that enable data exploration and interactivity. For example, it allows you to dive down into certain data points, apply filters, do aggregations and interactively change the visuals
Collaboration and sharing: The tool should have the abilities to share visualizations and dashboards with others. However, it's crucial to mind that when sharing interactive dashboards that can be accessed and explored by users, ensuring security to ensure that the right dashboard will be delivered to the right users.
Integration: Check to see if the tool can be integrated with other applications to ease your workflow. Embedding dashboards to websites or applications are also things you should consider because if you build in-house dashboards, it’s costly and needs many resources.
Security and Access Control: Data is sensitive and needs to be protected and access is granted exclusively to authorized individuals , so, when choosing data visualization tools, make sure user authentication, role-based access control and data encryption.
Dataflake is the data visualization and embedded analytics tool, which is one of the most versatile and affordation solutions for your consideration that covers all aspects above.
Thanks to its capabilities such as user-friendly interface, highly customizable styling options, automated email delivery and embedded analytics, adopting and using Dataflake is simple and brings much more value to businesses. These help data analysts to analyze and visualize data easily, hence, tell better data stories. Moreover, other features help your team save working time, and save your business’s costs.
In addition, it has upcoming dataops features such as: Query View, Data Anomaly Monitoring, Data Quality Monitoring that you may love, which will save two-third of your data work, enhance collaboration and efficiency.
Now you can use Dataflake free with unlimited access to all features. We will notify you when we implement the pricing plan. However, you can start with the free plan.
Power BI is a tool for data visualization that can be used with SQL databases and other data sources. Power BI is a set of business analytics tools that let users connect to multiple data sources, including SQL databases, and generate interactive visualizations, reports, and dashboards.
Looker Studio is a comprehensive data platform that enables users to connect to SQL databases, query and transform data using SQL, and build interactive visualizations and reports for data analysis and exploration.
Sisense is a data visualization tool that can work with SQL databases and other data sources. Sisense allows users to connect to SQL databases and create interactive dashboards, reports, and visualizations. It also provides data modeling capabilities to help users gain insights from their SQL data.
Metabase is an open-source business intelligence and analytics tool that enables users to connect to SQL databases and build dashboards, reports, and visualizations using SQL queries. It offers a user-friendly interface that enables users to explore and analyze their data using SQL without having to have a strong technical background or write a lot of complicated code.
Yes, Tableau is a data visualization tool that enables SQL database connections and SQL-based data analysis and visualization. It allows users to connect directly to SQL databases, import data using SQL queries, and create interactive visualizations, dashboards, and reports based on the SQL data.
Redash is a SQL data visualization tool. It is an open-source platform that enables users to generate visualizations, dashboards, and reports using SQL queries and connect to a variety of data sources, including SQL databases. Users can write SQL queries, visualize the results, and share the visualizations with others
Mode Analytics is a platform that combines SQL-based data exploration and visualization capabilities that allows users to connect to SQL databases, write SQL queries, build interactive dashboards and visualizations. Additionally, Mode enables collaboration and sharing of SQL queries, reports, and dashboards within teams or with external stakeholders.
Holistics is a business intelligence and data analytics platform that specializes in working with SQL databases. It allows users to connect to SQL databases, write SQL queries, and produce interactive dashboards and reports using the data from those queries. With the help of Holistics' user-friendly interface, users can explore and visualize their SQL data without requiring deep technical knowledge or writing complex code.
QlikView is a data visualization tool that can connect to SQL databases and perform data analysis and visualization based on SQL data. QlikView enables users to import data using SQL queries and connect to SQL databases. It supports various SQL databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and others, making it a popular choice for SQL-based data visualization and analysis.
Zoho Analytics is a cloud-based business intelligence and data analytics platform. Users can utilize SQL queries to build interactive visualizations, dashboards, and reports by connecting to multiple data sources, including SQL databases. Its drag-and-drop flexibility and user-friendly interface, together with its comprehensive data analysis and visualization tools, make it an ideal tool for SQL-based data visualization and analysis.
With the top 10 SQL data visualization tools mentioned above, you might update information as to which is the right solution for your team. Besides features of each tool, you should examine your business needs, budget and the suitability. Some providers also provide free trials for you to envision how they fit your business.
We hope that this blog post helps you in opting to the best SQL dashboard visualization tools for your team in 2023
