RapidDox vs Rapid BI Catalog:
one platform that does it all.
Rapid BI Catalog does everything RapidDox does — clean, stakeholder-ready documentation for a single file — and then scales to impact analysis, lineage, and always-current governance across your entire Tableau and Power BI estate. One deployment, no switching tools later. RapidDox stays the offline desktop option for a one-off file.
The core difference
One documents a file.
The other does that, and governs the whole estate.
Rapid BI Catalog isn't a different tool solving a different problem — it's the same documentation job RapidDox does, on Tableau and Power BI alike, plus estate-wide impact analysis and governance that RapidDox was never built for. That's why it's the platform most teams should start with.
Rapid BI Catalog
Installed once on your own on-premise or cloud servers. Document a single Tableau or Power BI file the same way RapidDox does, or connect live to Tableau Server, Tableau Cloud and Power BI Service so every BI user in your org can see the upstream and downstream impact of any change — across every workbook, dashboard, report, semantic model and calculated field — before it ships.
- Does everything RapidDox does, on Tableau and Power BI — plus estate-wide governance
- Best for: documentation, impact analysis, always-audit-ready governance
- One-time setup — role-based access for your whole BI user base
- Metadata only — your business data never leaves your servers
- Full audit logs, scheduled documentation, always up to date
- 15-day free trial, from $10,000 / yr
RapidDox
A desktop app that turns one Power BI or Tableau file into complete, customizable documentation — measures, calculated fields, data sources, custom SQL, and dashboard screenshots — without opening Power BI or Tableau. The right call for a fully offline, single-file job on either platform.
- A lightweight, fully offline option for a one-off Tableau or Power BI file
- Runs locally — metadata only, nothing leaves your computer
- No server or IT setup required
- Best value on annual or lifetime — $499 / user / yr or $999 / user lifetime
- Custom pricing for consulting firms & government agencies
- 7-day free trial, no credit card
Side by side
Every difference, in one table.
| Capability | RapidDox | Rapid BI Catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One file at a time (.pbix, .twb/.twbx) | A single Tableau or Power BI file, or your entire Tableau and Power BI estate |
| Connects to | Local Power BI or Tableau files on your desktop | Individual Tableau and Power BI files, plus live Tableau Server, Tableau Cloud, and Power BI Service |
| Installation | Installed locally — Windows or macOS, one computer per license | Installed once on your on-premise or cloud servers |
| Access model | One license per person, per computer | One-time setup — every BI user in your org gets access, by role |
| Data access | Metadata only — file structure, never your data | Metadata only — never touches your business data |
| Question it answers | “What's in this report, and can I hand it to a stakeholder?” | “If I change this field, what breaks?” — plus always-current documentation, so you're audit-ready before anyone asks |
| Automation | Generate on demand, per file | Scheduled across the whole estate — always up to date, zero manual refresh |
| Output formats | Word, Excel, PDF, HTML, CSV | Word, Excel, PDF, HTML, CSV — plus direct database output (SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL) |
| Free trial | 7 days, no credit card | 15 days, no credit card |
| Starting price | $499 / user / yr or $999 / user lifetime — custom pricing for consulting firms & government agencies | $10,000 / yr — one deployment covers up to 250 published workbooks |
Which one fits your situation
Three scenarios, one clear answer.
You need one file documented, fully offline
If you specifically want a no-server, single-file desktop tool, RapidDox covers that narrow case — RapidDox for Tableau or RapidDox for Power BI, depending on the file.
You're on Tableau or Power BI — everything else
Rapid BI Catalog documents individual files the same way RapidDox does, then scales to impact analysis, lineage, and always-current governance across your whole estate — one deployment, no re-tooling later.
You run both Tableau and Power BI
Only Rapid BI Catalog sees across them. Both estates draw on the same upstream sources, so one impact search follows a single source column into Tableau workbooks and Power BI reports at the same time.
The numbers
The business case writes itself.
Rapid BI Catalog pays for itself in time saved on impact analysis of source changes alone. Add the cost of avoided production incidents and the math gets embarrassing.
*Calculations based on 100 dashboards, 2 analysts, 25 source system changes annually, 2 hours per dashboard for manual impact investigation, $50/hour analyst cost, and 50 dashboards requiring documentation at 10 hours each. Your results will vary. Use our ROI calculator to assess your specific cost savings.
In their words
Stories from teams who stopped shipping blind.
We renamed three columns in our customer table. Rapid Lens flagged 47 dependencies before deploy. That used to be a fire drill — now it's a checklist.
Onboarding a new analyst used to take 6 weeks. With auto-generated lineage and docs, they're shipping by week two.
The auditors asked for end-to-end lineage. We exported it from Rapid Lens in 90 seconds. They asked if we'd built it ourselves.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask before choosing.
Ready when you are
Stop guessing.
Start governing.
See Rapid BI Catalog on your own Tableau or Power BI environment. No sales call required to watch the demo.