# Database Discussions > Reporting Services >  differences between ssrs reports and crystal reports

## vinayak.v

hi....

as u all know about ssrs reports...

now i'm using the crystal reports 
and i want to go through ssrs reports

can anyone answer the following question. 
1)what is the need of ssrs...
2)and why we should use ssrs..,
3)what are the advantages
4)what are the disadvantages
5)how it will on work  webapplication..
6)how much loadtime it will take by server
7)whether it is a lightweight application or heavyweight..
8)what the problem that we face in future..

please help me  it'll be very helpfull for me

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## rmiao

You like someone else to do research work for you?

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## randheer

In my view there are quite a few benefits that RS has over CR,

I have listed them below


1) Really easy to create simple reports with less formatting, in CR if you want to create a simple report in table format it is quite difficult to do as you have to format everything and you are unable to get the same level of consistency with the fields. With RS all the fields within a table give a much better result.

2) Data Driven Functions - This allows you to send reports based on the results of a query. For example if you want to send a report to all customers who have made orders and not include those who have not made any orders then you can do this quite easily. I have seen the CR equivalent in XI R2 but it is difficult to set up in comparison to RS.

3) MHTML or Web Archive format - In RS you can send report data within an email in CR this is not possible.

4) Export to Excel - The export to excel format is excellent compared to the CR export. All the column widths and sizes are perfect.

5) Cost - There is a significant cost difference between RS and CR, RS is a lot cheaper.


Obviosuly there are lot more benefits to RS this is just a quick list

This link will provide some more info

http://www.crystalreportsbook.com/SS...xecSummary.asp


//http://reportingservicestnt.blogspot.com/

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## mareleng

I have used both RS and CR. I started with CR but during my struggles with some of my reports I talked with the people at <a href="http://www.reportingguru.com/"> Reporting Guru </a> ,who have been a great help to me in all of my reporting experiences, and they suggested that RS for me and that was a huge help specially since I need to constantly export to excel, and the cost thing was just a plus. Good luck finding what works for you!

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