Tableau is one of the most highly used applications on data visualization. It usually requires an activated subscription, but there are a number of ways by which one can still access this application free, depending on what one needs to accomplish.
1. Tableau Public:
Free Version: Tableau Public is the free version of Tableau. You can create and then publish visualizations to the web.
Limitations:
1. All of your workbooks are public. Anything you make is stored on Tableau's cloud servers, so it can be seen by anyone.
2. You cannot save workbooks locally-they have to be saved to the Tableau Public's cloud platform.
Best For: People with data they want to share or use non-confidential data for learning/portfolio work.
How to get it:
1. Tableau Public Website
2. Download and install Tableau Public for free
3. Create an account to save and share your work.
2. Tableau Desktop for Students and Teachers
Tableau offers free one-year license of Tableau Desktop for students and teachers.
Requirement: valid academic email address, or proof of academic affiliation.
How to get it:
1. Go to the Tableau for Students page.
2. So, all you need to do is be registered with your school's email to avail of one free license year.
3. Tableau Desktop Free Trial
Free 14-Day Free Trial: Get instant access to all functionalities of Tableau Desktop for 14 days.
Best For: Anybody who would want to test out all the full functionalities of Tableau before purchasing.
How to Get it:
Visit the Tableau Desktop Free Trial.
Download the trial and install.
Use Tableau with all functionalities for 14 days.
4. Tableau Online (Free Trial)
Tableau Online is also a cloud-based service that provides a 14-day free trial that would be best in cloud-based data collaboration.
How to get it: Go to the Tableau Online Trial page.
5. Tableau Prep Builder (Free Trial)
Tableau Prep is also available as a free 14-day trial for cleaning and transforming data before creating visualizations in Tableau.
How to get it: Download from the Tableau Prep Free Trial page.
6. Alternatives to Tableau Public
Should you be desiring something more free and flexible than the public version of Tableau, there are other open-source or free visualization tools like:
1. Power BI Desktop, free data visualization from Microsoft
2. Google Data Studio: free in the cloud
3. Plotly: free, open-source, in the cloud
May be useful should you need a great deal more privacy and want certain features not available with Tableau Public.
Conclusion
Tableau Public is the easiest free version for those in the general public, but it means that everything done has to be publicly exposed. For students and teachers, the free version of Tableau Desktop gives a chance to get the whole software for free for one year. For those interested in testing the full edition, Tableau offers 14-day trials, which would be great for getting an entire scope of features.