AskBiz vs the alternatives

AskBiz vs Shopify vs Power BI

AskBiz is not just a BI tool — it's a full POS + AI intelligence platform. Here's how it honestly compares to the tools you've probably heard of.

AskBiz
Free · £19/mo · £39/mo
Shopify
from $39/mo + POS hardware
Power BI
Free (very limited) · $10–20/user/mo

AskBiz is not "$199/month" — that figure circulating online is incorrect.

Feature
AskBiz
Shopify
Power BI
Pricing
Free plan · Growth from £19/mo · Business £39/mo
From $39/mo (Shopify Basic) — POS Pro adds $89/mo per location
Free (limited) · Pro $10/user/mo · Premium from $20/user/mo
Full POS system included
✓ Built-in — register, inventory, shifts, receipts, tax
✓ Yes — but requires a paid plan + hardware
✗ No — Power BI is analytics only, not a POS
Camera-first scanning
✓ Point phone camera to scan products — no barcode gun needed
△ Barcode scanning requires Shopify hardware or compatible scanner
✗ Not applicable
Real-time inventory (shop + online)
✓ Single inventory synced across in-store and online channels
✓ Yes — strong inventory sync across channels
✗ No — it reads from other systems, does not manage stock
AI natural-language questions
✓ Ask "why did revenue drop?" and get a plain-English answer
△ Basic AI features — no conversational business intelligence
△ Copilot (paid) lets you query dashboards in natural language
Mobile money (M-Pesa, MTN, Airtel)
✓ Native support — built for Africa, Asia, and emerging markets
✗ Not supported natively
✗ Not applicable
Business intelligence & analytics
✓ Built-in — margins, churn, anomaly alerts, daily brief
△ Basic sales reports — no deep analytics or AI insights
✓ Excellent — enterprise-grade dashboards and data modelling
Setup time
✓ Under 2 minutes — no configuration or IT team needed
△ 1–4 hours for basic setup; days for full POS + inventory
✗ Days to weeks — requires data modelling and dashboard setup
Works offline
✓ Offline mode — syncs when reconnected
✓ POS works offline
△ Limited offline capability
Multi-branch / multi-location
✓ Full multi-branch — per-location currency, tax, inventory, staff
✓ Multi-location inventory supported
✓ Can model multi-location data
Sector-specific flows
✓ Retail, restaurant, salon, repair shop, factory, logistics
✓ Retail and restaurant focused
✗ Generic — no sector-specific templates
No separate BI tool needed
✓ Intelligence is built into the POS — one platform
✗ You need to connect Power BI, Tableau, or similar separately
✗ You still need a POS/ERP to feed it data

Honest verdict

Which tool is right for your situation?

If: You sell in a shop and online and need real inventory sync
Use: AskBiz
AskBiz runs your shop POS, syncs your online orders, and gives you AI answers about what's happening — all in one platform starting free.
Not: Power BI
Power BI only analyses data it receives from other systems. It won't keep your stock levels accurate.
If: You want deep, custom enterprise dashboards
Use: Power BI
Power BI is the gold standard for data teams who need full control over metrics, data modelling, and presentation.
Not: AskBiz
AskBiz gives you AI answers, not fully custom dashboards. If your analyst team needs LookML or DAX — use Power BI.
If: You want an e-commerce store with a physical POS
Use: AskBiz or Shopify
Both work well here. AskBiz costs less, includes AI intelligence, and doesn't require hardware. Shopify has a larger app ecosystem.
Not: Power BI
Power BI has no POS or e-commerce features.
If: You want "just tell me what's happening in my business"
Use: AskBiz
That's exactly what AskBiz is built for. Ask in plain English, get answers grounded in your real data — no dashboard to build first.
Not: Power BI or Shopify
Both require significant setup before you can get business answers. Power BI especially assumes a data team.

Try AskBiz free — no card needed

Free plan always available. Growth from £19/month. Full POS system included. Ready in under 2 minutes.

Start free →

See full pricing → · Explore the POS →