The Ultimate Guide to Sisense Geospatial Analytics: Choosing the Right Map for Your Analytics

Introduction

Sisense users today have access to several mapping plugins and widgets, each offering unique ways to visualize geospatial data. Whether you need to display territories, analyze point density, or tell data stories across regions, the right mapping tool can dramatically improve dashboard performance and insight clarity.

This article compares the most popular mapping solutions available for Sisense:

• Sisense Native Maps (Area Map & Scatter Map)

• QBeeQ Super Map

• QBeeQ Deck.GL Map

• RapidBI 3D Deck.GL Map

• PaldiMaps Google and Deck.GL Map

Through a detailed analysis of features, performance, and usability, we’ll show when to use each — and why QBeeQ’s Super Map stands out as the most robust, scalable, and mature mapping solution for any Sisense deployment.

Native Sisense Maps: Functional, but Limited

Sisense provides two built-in map widgets — the Area Map and the Scatter Map. Both offer basic visualization options, ideal for simple geographic data presentations.

Feature / Capability	QBeeQ Super Map	Sisense Area Map	Sisense Scatter Map
Map Type	Choropleth & Point-based with advanced overlay support	Choropleth (Polygons only: countries or US states)	Scatter Plot (Points only)
Max Data Points Supported	✅ Up to 50,000	⚠️ Limited by region type	❌ 500 points max
Prebuilt Map Layers	✅ US States, Counties, Census Tracts, EU Countries, UK Regions, and many more – additional territories available upon request	✅ World, US States	❌ None
Custom Territories / GeoJSON Support	✅ Yes – Upload custom regions and boundary shapes	❌ Not supported	✅ Partial – Latitude/Longitude or standard geo fields only
Base Map Style Options	✅ Street, dark, bright, and satellite map styles	❌ Not customizable	❌ Not customizable
Multi-Layer Data Overlay	✅ Yes – Combine multiple data layers for rich analysis	❌ No	❌ No
Customizable Polygon / Point Design	✅ Yes – Control styles, borders, markers, fill, opacity	⚠️ Basic area color	✅ Yes – Limited marker size and color
Color By Metric	✅ Multiple measures – per polygon or point	✅ One metric	✅ One metric
Measure Switcher (Dynamic Toggle)	✅ Yes – Easily switch between metrics on both polygons and points	❌ No	❌ No
Interactive Tooltips	✅ Yes – Rich tooltips with multiple values, links, filters	⚠️ Basic – Shows one field	⚠️ Basic – Shows value and tooltip
Custom Tooltip Design	✅ Yes – Fully configurable	❌ No	⚠️ Limited
Click-to-Filter (Point or Territory)	✅ Yes – Supported on all layers	✅ Yes – Region-based	✅ Yes – Point-based
Jump-to-Dashboard	✅ Yes – Built-in native functionality	❌ Not supported	❌ Not supported
Multi-Select Lasso Tool	✅ Yes – Select irregular or non-contiguous regions	❌ No	❌ No
Legend & Region Labels	✅ Yes – Full control over visibility, placement, and formatting	⚠️ Basic toggle and corner position	⚠️ Limited control
Export Options	✅ PNG, PDF, JPEG – with resolution and layout control	⚠️ Basic screenshot/export	⚠️ Basic screenshot/export
Supports Latitude & Longitude Data	✅ Yes – As point layers	❌ No	✅ Yes
Location Accuracy Enhancements	✅ Yes – Supports hybrid and multi-level geography	❌ No	✅ Yes – Add multiple location fields
Styling / Theming Options	✅ Extensive – Borders, themes, hover styles, gradients	⚠️ Minimal	⚠️ Marker-focused only
Performance on Complex Maps	✅ High – Optimized for scale and complexity	⚠️ Medium – Based on region size	❌ Low – Hard limit at 500 points
Best Use Cases	Advanced regional analysis, multi-KPI comparisons, executive presentations, territory optimization	Basic global/state-level summaries	Store or site mapping, geocoded events
Clustering	✅ Cluster option available for points	❌ No	❌ No

When to use Sisense Native Maps: If you need a simple visualization of basic metrics (e.g., country sales or location counts) and don’t require interactivity, custom regions, or multi-layer analysis. They are quick to deploy but limited in analytical depth and scalability.

QBeeQ Super Map: The Ultimate Geospatial Tool for Sisense

The QBeeQ Super Map transforms static dashboards into powerful geospatial experiences. Built to handle large datasets (50,000+ points) and complex territory overlays, it supports multi-layer visualizations, interactive tooltips, and seamless Sisense dashboard integration.

Key Advantages:

• Multi-layer visualizations (polygons + points + heat-maps)

• Dynamic measure switching and click-to-filter actions

• Full GeoJSON support for custom regions

• Prebuilt territories including US, EU, UK, Canada and many others

• Multi Layered Point clustering for high-volume data

• Advanced Conditional Coloring options for both polygons and points

• Native jump-to-dashboard navigation

• High-performance rendering optimized for large data sets

  
  

When to use QBeeQ Super Map:Ideal for users who require advanced analytics, high interactivity, and professional-grade map presentations. Perfect for executive dashboards, territory management, sales performance analysis, fulfilment, logistics & supply chain analysis and operations coverage. Like all our other plugins, the Super Map is an absolutely no code solution - Zero JS or any kind of scripting required, all customization and look and feel, from functionality and UI/UX is controlled by the designer at the time of building the widget.

See a detailed demo here

QBeeQ Super Map Clustering options

Comparing QBeeQ Super Map to Other Vendor Solutions

While several third-party vendors offer mapping plugins for Sisense, none match the balance of depth, flexibility, and stability that QBeeQ provides. The table below summarizes the main differences.

Feature / Capability	QBeeQ SuperMap	QBeeQ Deck.GL	RapidBI	Paldi Maps
Core Map Engine	Mapbox + Custom	Deck.GL + Mapbox / Google Maps integration	Deck.GL	Google Maps Deck.GL
Map Types Supported	Polygons & Multi layered Points	Hexagon, Heatmap, Polygon (2D/3D), Arc/Trip, Scatter	3D GeoJSON polygons only	Heatmap (points) / HexagonLayer
Multi-Layer Support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes – Any combination of layers (Polygon + Heatmap, Arc + Scatter, etc.)	⚠️ No (Single-layer only)	❌ No
Built in territories	20 built in territories and growing	20 built in territories and growing	⚠️ Limited custom built only	⚠️ Limited custom built only
Max Volume Performance	✅ 50,000+ points	✅ WebGL optimized for large datasets	✅ 60,000+ shapes tested	⚠️Not build for scale
Base Map Styling Options	✅ 7 styles - Basic, Streets, Bright, Light, Dark, Sattelite, US white background	✅ 6 styles - Basic, Streets, Bright, Light, Dark, Sattelite	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Google Map types / ⚠️ Deck.GL defaults
Heatmap Layer	✅ Yes (with polygons or point overlay)	✅ Yes – Gradient heat overlays	❌ No	✅ Google Heatmap only
Hexagon/Grid Layer	❌ No	✅ Yes – Uber H3 Hex Layer	❌ No	✅ Yes – HexagonLayer (Deck.GL)
3D Visualization	⚠️ 2.5D via color/depth	✅ Yes – Polygons, Arcs, Heatmaps all in 3D	✅ Yes – 3D Polygons only	⚠️ Partial (Hex height only on Deck.GL)
Arc / Trip Layer	❌ No	✅ Yes – Arc + Scatter for routes/travel flows	❌ No	❌ No
Custom Territories / GeoJSON	✅ Yes – Including on demand	✅ Yes – Polygon layer supports GeoJSON	✅ Yes – GeoJSON support	❌ Google: No, Deck.GL: Partial via hexagon
Click-to-Filter	✅ Yes – Polygons or points	✅ Yes – Configurable per layer	✅ Yes – Dashboard filtering supported	❌ No
Jump-to-Dashboard	✅ Yes – Native	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Custom Tooltip Support	✅ Yes – Full control, interactive	✅ Yes – Per layer tooltip config	❌ No	⚠️ Limited styling
Measure Switcher (Dynamic Toggle)	✅ Yes – For any metric	✅ Yes – Per layer	✅ Yes – Via design panel	⚠️ Deck.GL: Yes / ❌ Google: No
Clustering / Aggregation	✅ Yes – Point clustering	✅ Yes – Through hex/bin and heatmap layers	❌ No	⚠️ Google: Yes (heatmap), Deck.GL: Yes (hex binning)
Export Options	✅ PNG, PDF, JPEG	✅ Screenshot/Export supported (format based on setup)	⚠️ Screenshot only	❌ Not specified
Ease of Customization	✅ High – UI/UX & logic, navigability, interactivity	✅ Full – Style, layout, interactivity, open layer architecture	⚠️ Medium – No-code config panel only	⚠️ Low – Mostly visual controls only
Ideal Use Cases	Sales by territory, KPI mapping, regional comparisons, logistics, fulfilment, State/County/Zip code/Census tracts mapping, territory hierarchy drilling	Mobility, routing, clustering, city/urban analytics, large scale trend analysis, logistics, fulfilment, supply chain	Australia postcode analysis, territory breakdowns	High-level heat/hex distribution, trend spotting

QBeeQ Deck.GL Map: Built for Power Users

For organizations requiring 3D analytics, route visualization, or multi-layer scientific analysis, QBeeQ also provides a Deck.GL-based plugin.It supports a wide variety of layers including Heatmap, Polygon, H3 Hexagon, and Arc - all of which can be combined into complex visualizations.

Unlike other 3rd party options, QBeeQ’s Deck.GL Map is packed with a plethora of features and layers allowing to achieve so much more in one plugin than multiple options from multiple vendors. It also offers unmatched flexibility and customization for truly advanced geospatial analytics and investigation.

Use it when you need:

• 3D data exploration

• Hexagonal or route-based analysis

• High-volume rendering across multi-dimensional data

More QBeeQ Deck.gl Map options:

RapidBI 3D Deck.GL Map: Great Visuals, Limited Flexibility

RapidBI’s Deck.GL add-on shines in 3D territory representation, allowing users to visualize metrics by height and color. It performs well even with large GeoJSON files (e.g., 60,000+ shapes).

When to use RapidBI’s Map:It’s a solid choice for 3D geographic storytelling or for companies that need specific Australian territories. However, it supports fewer analytical layers and customization options than QBeeQ’s maps.

PaldiMaps: Google Look, Limited Depth

Paldi’s Google Heatmap and Deck.GL Hexagon Map are designed for simplicity and basic aesthetics. The Google Heatmap offers the familiar Google Maps interface and is best suited for light visualizations of point data or density clusters.

When to use PaldiMaps:If you prefer the Google Maps aesthetic or want a fast, simple way to display point concentrations with minimal setup. However, customization and analytics depth are limited compared to QBeeQ.

Why QBeeQ leads the scene

The QBeeQ Super Map is not only the most feature-rich solution — it’s also the most mature, stable, and widely adopted mapping plugin for Sisense.With 100+ companies using QBeeQ’s mapping tools, the plugin has evolved based on real-world feedback from enterprise clients and analytics professionals.

Highlights:

• Packed with more Geospatial analytics features than all other tools combined

• Longest-running mapping solution for Sisense, proven across hundreds of deployments.

• Co-developed with customer feedback for real business use cases.

• Partnership with Mapbox, offering high-quality base-map integrations.

• Superior performance with large datasets and multi-layer geospatial visualizations.

• Flexible architecture, allowing both low-code and advanced configurations.

Free Options available as well!

If you’re looking for a light weight US state map, contact us today to get a hold of our US state Honeycomb and tile maps, they are part of our FREE Starter PowerUp which holds 10 more free plugins!

Final Thoughts

The mapping ecosystem for Sisense has significantly evolved , offering users a range of visualization options for different needs.However, when it comes to depth, performance, integration, and interactivity, the QBeeQ Super Map stands as the ultimate geospatial solution for modern Sisense deployments.

For even more about the QBeeQ Mapping offerings see this guide on Choosing the right map for your geospatial needs. 

From interactive filtering to multi-layer storytelling and enterprise-grade stability, QBeeQ has set the standard for what a professional mapping experience in Sisense should be.

Note: Sisense also offers a premium ArcGis plugin though it has been reported as outdated and somewhat pricey for a mapping solution. If your organization is already licensing Arcgis it may be worth your while to check it out.