From One Chart to The Whole Page
In Tableau, you focus on one visual at a time in a Sheet. In Power BI, you design the Page all at once.
While Tableau requires you to manually set up 'Actions' to make charts talk to each other, Power BI does this automatically. They already know how to filter one another the moment you drop them on the canvas. Of course you can turn this function off.
Format Tools
In Tableau you usually right-click on the chart or a pill to change colors, fonts, or sizes. It’s all hidden in different menus. In Power BI on the other hand almost everything you want to change is in the Format Pane. you know exactly where to go for every visual change. It feels a bit more like formatting a PowerPoint slide.
Filter vs Slicers
In Tableau, you drag a field to the 'Filters' shelf and then 'Show Filter' to incorporate some kind of interaction with it. Power BI as such you have a specific visual called a Slicer. You just drop it onto your page like any other chart. Slicers are very flexible. You can turn them into buttons, dropdowns, or even a search bar, and move them anywhere on the page just like a picture. It makes the dashboard feel very interactive.
Automatic Actions Between Charts
In Tableau: If you want clicking a bar in Chart A to filter Chart B, you have to go to the 'Actions' menu and set it up manually.Every chart works interactively to every other chart automatically. If you click on "Germany" in a map, your sales line chart will automatically filter to Germany. It makes exploring your data feel very fast and connected.
Just Drag and Drop
In Tableau: You have to use "Containers" (Horizontal and Vertical) to get your charts to sit nicely next to each other on a dashboard. It can be a bit of a puzzle. Power BI shows a more canvas like style. You just grab a corner of a chart and stretch it, or move it exactly where you want it. It feels much more like "designing" a page. If you want a small gap between two charts, you just move them. You have total control over the layout without fighting with containers.
To sum up
Tableau can be used to explore the data on the fly. You analyse you data while creating the visuals. Power BI on the other hand, you need to know what you are analysing beforehand and create your charts then.