---
title: Reporting compared to Performance Analytics
description: Reporting and Performance Analytics are two distinct applications. They address different use cases and are complementary to each other.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/now-intelligence/reporting/reporting-vs-pa.html
release: australia
product: Reporting
classification: reporting
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Exploring reporting, Reporting, Reporting, dashboards, and Performance Analytics in the Core UI, Platform Analytics]
---

# Reporting compared to Performance Analytics

Reporting and Performance Analytics are two distinct applications. They address different use cases and are complementary to each other.

Performance Analytics is able to generate accurate historical trends by capturing continuous snapshots on a regular schedule. As illustrated by the following diagram, table data answers the question of "Where are we today," while indicators answer questions of what is happening over time.

\[Omitted image "pa-vs-reporting.png"\] Alt text: Reporting answers questions about what is happening now. Performance Analytics answers questions about where we were and where we are going.

In addition to calculating trends from snapshots, Performance Analytics is able to:

-   Track performance against Targets.
-   Alert when Thresholds are met.
-   Forecast future performance.
-   Compare performance at different points in time.
-   Accelerate time to value with best practice metrics.

For more information on using Performance Analytics, see [Exploring Performance Analytics](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/now-intelligence/performance-analytics/c_GetStartedwithPA.md).