Qlik Cloud only
A report automation connects to Qlik Sense apps. QlikView, SQL Server, Oracle Database and other sources stay outside, so data that never entered Qlik cannot appear in the report.
Qlik Cloud already reports. Here's where it stops.
Report automation and Tabular Reporting cover a defined scope. This page marks the edge of it.
The short version
Qlik Reporting Services generates reports from Qlik Sense® apps in Qlik Cloud and delivers them by email. Tabular Reporting adds Excel-based output from a single template. Both are part of the subscription you already hold.
Mail & Deploy runs alongside Qlik Cloud as a reporting platform: several apps and sources in one report, more output formats, per-recipient filtering, extension rendering and delivery to the channels your teams use.
The sections below set out where both products differ, and where the native service remains the better answer.
Why companies outgrow Qlik Reporting Services
The limits teams report once reporting leaves the pilot stage.
Two output formats
Reports leave as PDF or PowerPoint, with a limited number of report pages. Excel, Word, HTML, CSV and XML require a separate route.
Design inside the app
Reports are designed through the Qlik Sense app with limited editing. Layout, conditional content and formatting cannot be taken much further than the app allows.
No extension rendering
Third-party Qlik Sense extensions such as Vizlib, AnyChart and Inphinity Flow are not rendered, so reports drop the visualisations dashboards rely on.
Section Access and monitoring
Section Access has limitations, and monitoring stays rudimentary through Qlik Hub or Qlik Automate. Execution history and log analysis are hard to keep in one place.
Cost grows with report volume
Licensing is based on the number of reports and on usage. Reporting that grows per recipient makes the cost curve hard to plan.
Five points that decide it
Five decisions, each with Mail & Deploy and Qlik Reporting Services compared directly. The tables below pick up where these five leave off.
One report, several apps - and sources beyond Qlik
Mail & Deploy
Mix and match objects from several Qlik Sense apps in a single report; QlikView and non-Qlik sources are supported. Reports can be triggered outside Qlik via REST API and webhooks.
Qlik Reporting Services
Reports are generated from one Qlik Sense app per template. No QlikView, no external data sources. Programmatic access via the Qlik Reporting Service API.
What this means in practice: one report per audience instead of one report per app.
What the finished report can look like
Mail & Deploy
Full SaaS reporting - from simple one-time to complex, long-tail, variable reports in all common formats with direct filter options. Templates work across apps.
Qlik Reporting Services
Templates in Excel, PowerPoint and Word through Microsoft 365 add-ins, or the embedded PixelPerfect and HTML designers. Requires Microsoft 365 with an admin-deployed add-in; each template is bound to a single app.
What this means in practice: recipients get the format they work in, not the format the tool allows.
Requesting reports from inside Qlik
Mail & Deploy
The Mail & Deploy extension for Qlik Sense exports any visualisation in many formats, requests reports and executes tasks directly from the app.
Qlik Reporting Services
On-demand reporting lets app users generate predefined reports from a sheet. No task execution and no free-form visualisation export from within the app.
What this means in practice: users serve themselves instead of queueing at the BI team.
Section access and monitoring
Mail & Deploy
Section Access support, execution calendar, log files, monitoring app, native pivot table support, modular template-based reports.
Qlik Reporting Services
Section access restrictions: no SharePoint delivery, and report tasks are disabled automatically when section access changes. Maximum 500 unique reports per task. Basic monitoring via task status and Qlik Automate.
What this means in practice: failed runs are visible before the recipient reports them.
What it costs when reporting grows
Mail & Deploy
Flexible pricing per report recipient, with no report limit and no user limit.
Qlik Reporting Services
Value-add, metered service on top of the Qlik Cloud subscription; cost scales with report volume.
What this means in practice: adding reports does not change the invoice.
Reaching the limits of Qlik Reporting Services?
See Mail & Deploy in a product demo or request a free trial to evaluate it in your own environment.
Everything else, side by side
Qlik Reporting Services covers two things: report automation across Qlik Sense apps, and Tabular Reporting for Excel-based output. One table per product.
| Feature | Mail & Deploy | Qlik Reporting Services |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage | Proven on-premise reporting engine brought to the cloud with the same templates, scheduling and distribution model - one product for client-managed, hybrid and cloud. | Cloud-native successor to Qlik NPrinting, built from scratch since 2023. Qlik Cloud only; no upgrade path for client-managed or hybrid environments. |
| Sharing | Native channels: email, file server, FTP, Microsoft SharePoint and Teams, OneDrive, Dropbox, AWS S3, Google Drive, or the Mail & Deploy Hub. | Native channels: email and Microsoft SharePoint folders. S3, Dropbox, SFTP and others require a separate Qlik Automate flow. SharePoint delivery is unavailable for apps with section access. |
| Self-service | Mail & Deploy Hub: internal and external users browse, download, subscribe and manage their own reports, with full report history. | Recipients receive scheduled reports by email; app users can generate on-demand reports. No portal for browsing history or managing subscriptions to enterprise reports. |
| Pixel perfect | Precise layout control and print-quality output across all supported data sources (Qlik Sense, QlikView, external). | Embedded PixelPerfect designer with layout and formatting control. Restricted to Qlik Sense app data. |
| Development | Regular releases on one platform for client-managed, hybrid and cloud, driven by customer requests. | Fast development, but only inside Qlik Cloud and Microsoft 365. No roadmap for QlikView, external sources or hybrid deployments. |
Heritage
Mail & Deploy
Proven on-premise reporting engine brought to the cloud with the same templates, scheduling and distribution model - one product for client-managed, hybrid and cloud.
Qlik Reporting Services
Cloud-native successor to Qlik NPrinting, built from scratch since 2023. Qlik Cloud only; no upgrade path for client-managed or hybrid environments.
Sharing
Mail & Deploy
Native channels: email, file server, FTP, Microsoft SharePoint and Teams, OneDrive, Dropbox, AWS S3, Google Drive, or the Mail & Deploy Hub.
Qlik Reporting Services
Native channels: email and Microsoft SharePoint folders. S3, Dropbox, SFTP and others require a separate Qlik Automate flow. SharePoint delivery is unavailable for apps with section access.
Self-service
Mail & Deploy
Mail & Deploy Hub: internal and external users browse, download, subscribe and manage their own reports, with full report history.
Qlik Reporting Services
Recipients receive scheduled reports by email; app users can generate on-demand reports. No portal for browsing history or managing subscriptions to enterprise reports.
Pixel perfect
Mail & Deploy
Precise layout control and print-quality output across all supported data sources (Qlik Sense, QlikView, external).
Qlik Reporting Services
Embedded PixelPerfect designer with layout and formatting control. Restricted to Qlik Sense app data.
Development
Mail & Deploy
Regular releases on one platform for client-managed, hybrid and cloud, driven by customer requests.
Qlik Reporting Services
Fast development, but only inside Qlik Cloud and Microsoft 365. No roadmap for QlikView, external sources or hybrid deployments.
Mail & Deploy vs Qlik Tabular Reporting
| Feature | Mail & Deploy | Qlik Reporting Services |
|---|---|---|
| General | Powerful tabular reporting for complex requirements and unlimited multi-dimensional cycling. Reports are built in the Excel-based Report Designer with flexible formulas, variables, conditions and pivoting. | Excel-based tabular reporting via a Microsoft 365 add-in. Cycles limited to three dimensions, no custom folder structures, maximum 500 unique reports per task, templates capped at 10 MB, no macros. |
| Templates | One or more templates per report, including multilingual variants of the same report. | Multiple templates per report task supported. No multilingual template handling. |
| App | Combine data from several Qlik Sense apps in one report. | Each template is bound to one Qlik Sense app. Multi-app output only via a separate Qlik Automate flow. |
| Filename | Fully customisable rules for file names, folder structures and dynamic subfolders. | Fixed pattern: name, cycle value and timestamp. No special characters, no folder structure; dynamic naming is a Qlik roadmap item. |
| Elements | Conditions, embedded images and linked report elements across templates. | Tables, levels, chart images, variables and expressions. No linked elements across templates, no native conditional logic. |
| Format output | XLSX, XLSM, HTML, ZIP and PDF from a single template. | XLSX, PPTX, DOCX, PDF and HTML, each via its own template type and Microsoft 365 add-in. No XLSM, no ZIP bundling. |
| Filters | Simple filter definition in the supporting app. | Filters must be created manually as report filter objects in the app's filter editor. |
| Sharing | Email, file server, FTP, Microsoft SharePoint and Teams, OneDrive, Dropbox, AWS S3, Google Drive, or the Mail & Deploy Hub. | Email and Microsoft SharePoint folders only; SharePoint delivery is unavailable with Section Access. Other cloud drives require Qlik Automate. |
| Fully customisable email subject and body text. | Limited dynamic subject. Rich body text only via a separate HTML template, and not available when cycles are used. | |
| Log management | Comprehensive monitoring: execution logs, dashboards, timestamps, error tracking, notifications and execution calendar. | Task status per app only. No central overview of all report tasks across apps. |
| Extensions | Renders Vizlib, AnyChart, Inphinity, ks quadrat and trueChart into every output format. | Third-party extensions are not supported, per Qlik documentation. |
| Custom fonts | Support for custom fonts in Excel templates. | Custom fonts not supported; unavailable fonts fall back to a default Excel font. |
General
Mail & Deploy
Powerful tabular reporting for complex requirements and unlimited multi-dimensional cycling. Reports are built in the Excel-based Report Designer with flexible formulas, variables, conditions and pivoting.
Qlik Reporting Services
Excel-based tabular reporting via a Microsoft 365 add-in. Cycles limited to three dimensions, no custom folder structures, maximum 500 unique reports per task, templates capped at 10 MB, no macros.
Templates
Mail & Deploy
One or more templates per report, including multilingual variants of the same report.
Qlik Reporting Services
Multiple templates per report task supported. No multilingual template handling.
App
Mail & Deploy
Combine data from several Qlik Sense apps in one report.
Qlik Reporting Services
Each template is bound to one Qlik Sense app. Multi-app output only via a separate Qlik Automate flow.
Filename
Mail & Deploy
Fully customisable rules for file names, folder structures and dynamic subfolders.
Qlik Reporting Services
Fixed pattern: name, cycle value and timestamp. No special characters, no folder structure; dynamic naming is a Qlik roadmap item.
Elements
Mail & Deploy
Conditions, embedded images and linked report elements across templates.
Qlik Reporting Services
Tables, levels, chart images, variables and expressions. No linked elements across templates, no native conditional logic.
Format output
Mail & Deploy
XLSX, XLSM, HTML, ZIP and PDF from a single template.
Qlik Reporting Services
XLSX, PPTX, DOCX, PDF and HTML, each via its own template type and Microsoft 365 add-in. No XLSM, no ZIP bundling.
Filters
Mail & Deploy
Simple filter definition in the supporting app.
Qlik Reporting Services
Filters must be created manually as report filter objects in the app's filter editor.
Sharing
Mail & Deploy
Email, file server, FTP, Microsoft SharePoint and Teams, OneDrive, Dropbox, AWS S3, Google Drive, or the Mail & Deploy Hub.
Qlik Reporting Services
Email and Microsoft SharePoint folders only; SharePoint delivery is unavailable with Section Access. Other cloud drives require Qlik Automate.
Email
Mail & Deploy
Fully customisable email subject and body text.
Qlik Reporting Services
Limited dynamic subject. Rich body text only via a separate HTML template, and not available when cycles are used.
Log management
Mail & Deploy
Comprehensive monitoring: execution logs, dashboards, timestamps, error tracking, notifications and execution calendar.
Qlik Reporting Services
Task status per app only. No central overview of all report tasks across apps.
Extensions
Mail & Deploy
Renders Vizlib, AnyChart, Inphinity, ks quadrat and trueChart into every output format.
Qlik Reporting Services
Third-party extensions are not supported, per Qlik documentation.
Custom fonts
Mail & Deploy
Support for custom fonts in Excel templates.
Qlik Reporting Services
Custom fonts not supported; unavailable fonts fall back to a default Excel font.
Last revised: September 2026, facts per Qlik Cloud Help and release notes. Provided without guarantee of completeness or accuracy.
Each additional data source is licensed separately.
Need the full comparison?
We will send you the comparison as a PDF so that you can share it with your team.
Why teams switched
Named by organisations that extended Qlik Cloud reporting.
Mail & Deploy extends Qlik Cloud's capabilities, enabling high-quality reports and the level of customization World2Meet required.
World2Meet - Travel & tourism Mail & Deploy made the transition from Qlik NPrinting to cloud-based automation seamless. It's intuitive, efficient, and scalable.
Berlin Recycling - Waste management and recycling Mail & Deploy is our key solution for delivering timely, accurate, and actionable analytics to regional managers and B2B partners.
Technodom - Retail
When the other one is the better answer
If your reporting is a handful of scheduled PDF exports going to a fixed internal distribution list, out of Qlik Cloud only, with no extensions and no per-recipient variation - the native service does that, it's included in what you already pay, and adding a platform on top would be waste. The same applies to Tabular Reporting: if your output is a handful of Excel templates cycling over one or two dimensions, delivered by email or to SharePoint, it covers that and is included in what you already pay.
One hour, together, on your data.
Against your Qlik Cloud tenant, we connect one data source and build a first report with you - without elaborate formatting. In the two complimentary onboarding hours, we get together as far as your report allows.
- Connects to your Qlik Cloud tenant
- Runs against your own apps and data
- Ends with a working task you can keep
- Guided onboarding included
Book a Mail & Deploy workshop
Build your reporting skills with guided, hands-on training. Work through connecting data sources, creating reports and setting up distribution with a Mail & Deploy consultant.
Workshops cover both client-managed and SaaS versions of Mail & Deploy. Choose the session format that fits your team.
