SAP Analytics Cloud is SAP's cloud product for BI dashboards, enterprise planning and predictive analytics, aimed at companies whose data already sits in SAP. It is not free: SAP offers a 30-day basic trial on sample data, and paid use is quote-based, licensed in SAP Business Data Cloud Capacity Units per user.
The bottom line
Strong for SAP-centric BI plus planning; opaque and heavy for anyone else.
6.6
Our score
6.6 / 10
Conversion Gems editorial verdict
Quote-based; 30-day basic trial
Features9/10
9 - BI, enterprise planning, predictive analytics, Joule AI and 100+ prebuilt content packages in one product.
Value4/10
4 - quote-only pricing in Capacity Units with no published dollar rate and 25-user minimum BI tier.
Ease of use5/10
5 - trial is quick, but production needs tenant setup, data connections and modeling; SAP runs dedicated courses.
Ecosystem8/10
8 - native SAP S/4HANA, BW and Datasphere links plus SQL, OData and Google BigQuery sources.
Support7/10
7 - SAP Help Portal documentation and SAP Learning courses; live support terms depend on the contract and were not verified.
What it really is
SAP's cloud BI and planning product, now sold as part of SAP Business Data Cloud and licensed in Capacity Units per user.
Our take
If your numbers live in S/4HANA or BW, SAC is the natural place to report and plan on them, with prebuilt content that saves modeling work. Outside SAP, it is a quote-only enterprise purchase with a 25-user minimum tier for BI. Use the 30-day trial to judge the interface, but know it runs on sample data, not yours.
Why we rate it
Deep BI plus planning with native SAP connections and prebuilt business content.
The catch
No public prices, Capacity Unit licensing, and minimum user tiers.
Best for
SAP S/4HANA and BW customers
FP&A teams needing budgeting plus reporting
Enterprises with governed data models
Not good for
Small teams wanting self-serve sign-up and card payment
Companies with no SAP data
Friction report
Time to value
Trial in minutes on sample data; production needs a quote, tenant setup and data connections.
Scale breakpoint
Moving from BI users to planning professional users, which cost far more Capacity Units.
Walled garden
Medium: strongest with SAP sources, though SQL, OData and BigQuery connections exist.
How SAP Analytics Cloud is licensed
Edition
Users per tier
Capacity Units per user per month
Business intelligence
25-200
25.60
Business intelligence
201-500
21.60
Business intelligence
501-1,000
17.38
Business intelligence
1,001-3,000
15.95
Business intelligence
3,001-5,000
12.64
Business intelligence
5,001+
10.54
Planning, standard edition
10-200
72.85
Planning, standard edition
201-500
57.98
Planning, standard edition
501-1,000
46.70
Planning, standard edition
1,001+
41.57
Planning, professional edition
1+
820.43
Test tenant
20+
47.05
From SAP's Business Data Cloud Service Description Guide (v5-2026), checked 4 October 2026. SAP does not publish a dollar price per Capacity Unit; the pricing page asks you to request a quote.
What the free trial includes
Item
Detail
Length
30 days
Cost
$0
Environment
Shared tenant with sample data
Not included
Admin rights for customization, master data management and integration
From SAP's basic trial page, checked 4 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
SAP does not publish a dollar price; you need a quote. Under SAP Business Data Cloud, a BI user costs 25.60 Capacity Units per month at 25 to 200 users, falling to 10.54 at 5,001+ users, and a planning standard user costs 72.85 at 10 to 200 users (checked 4 October 2026).
No. SAP offers a free 30-day basic trial on a shared tenant with sample data. It covers a subset of features and excludes admin rights, master data management and integration.
SAP is the software company. SAP Analytics Cloud is one of its cloud products, for BI, planning and predictive analytics, and SAP now sells it as part of SAP Business Data Cloud.
SAP lists SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW/4HANA, SAP BusinessObjects, SAP BPC, SQL, OData and Google BigQuery, among others. On-premises sources can be queried without moving the data to the cloud.
No. SAP says standalone SAC customers can continue without interruption, or choose to move their tenant to SAP Business Data Cloud.
SAP Analytics Cloud alternatives
Other analytics and planning tools from our reviews:
Domo: BI and data platform with credit-based pricing and unlimited users.
Adaptive from Workday: Dedicated planning, budgeting and forecasting software from Workday.
Databox: KPI dashboards that pull from 130+ tools, with a free plan.
