Power BI is a Microsoft business analytics service offering interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities, enabling users to create reports and dashboards from various data sources.
The best part about Power BI pricing is that there are different prices which user can choose according to their requirement.
Power BI Price (Versions)
There are four types of Power BI pricing
Version | Price |
|---|---|
Power BI Desktop | Free |
Power BI Pro | $10 per user per month |
Power BI Premium | $20 per user per month |
Power Bi Embedded | Depends on the node type and numbers. |
Note – Power BI Pro is available for $3/month/user for non-profit organizations.
Power BI Free License (Desktop)
Power BI Desktop is a free version (free license) provided by Microsoft that allows users to connect to data, transform that data, and build reports and visualizations.
It’s an integral part of the Power BI product suite, designed for individual users to analyze data and share insights.
Features of the Power BI Desktop
- Data Connectivity: Connect to a wide range of data sources, including files (Excel, CSV, XML), databases (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL), cloud services (Azure, Salesforce, Google Analytics), and many others.
- Data Transformation: It includes a robust set of tools for transforming data—filtering, sorting, and merging datasets, creating new calculated columns and measures, and much more, all through a user-friendly interface.
- Data Modelling and Dax – Users can create relationships between different datasets. Use Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) for creating custom calculations and measures.
It’s a perfect version to start with if you want to start learning power bi.
Power BI Pro License
Power BI Pro is available for $10 per user per month. It offers an enhanced version of Power BI, with features such as collaboration, publishing, sharing, and ad hoc analysis.
Unlike the Free one, it provides more frequent data refreshes and greater data capacity.
It is suitable for businesses that require extensive data analysis capabilities and collaboration among employees.
1. Sharing and Collaboration
Power BI Pro users can share reports with other users within their organization creating workspaces. Reports, dashboards, and datasets can be distributed as apps to the whole organization or specific people.
2. Data Connectivity and Refresh
Power BI Pro offers live connectivity to various data sources. And users can set up to 8 data refreshes daily for their reports.
3. Publish to Web & Consume
Users can publish reports publicly to the web and consume content shared with them by other Pro users.
4. Row-level Security
Power BI Pro allows row-level security implementation on data models to control access to information based on user roles.
Power BI Premium License
Power BI Premium is designed to provide enhanced analytics capabilities, greater scalability, and more flexible distribution options than Power BI Pro. It caters primarily to large organizations and enterprises that need to deploy business intelligence solutions at scale.
Power BI Premium is available in two pricing models:
- Per User: This model is aimed at individual users who need access to Premium features. $20 per user per month.
- Per Capacity – It offers dedicated cloud resources and is priced based on the capacity needed by the organization rather than the number of users.
Other than Pro benefits here are some of the most important benefits of Power BI Premium.
- Data Refresh Rates – Offers up to 48 refreshes per day and significantly higher data capacities, catering to the needs of enterprise-level data workloads.
- Advanced Analytics and AI – Includes access to advanced AI capabilities, big data analytics, and integration with Azure Machine Learning.
- Sharing Capabilities – Enables wider distribution of content without requiring recipients to have Pro licenses. Content can be shared with anyone in the organization, including those with free Power BI licenses operating within dedicated Premium capacity.
Power Bi Embedded
Power BI Embedded is designed to offer developers the functionality to integrate interactive Power BI reports and dashboards directly into their applications.
Another notable feature of Power BI Embedded is its unique capacity-based licensing model. Unlike other services, the cost of using Power BI Embedded depends on the capacity required.
Points to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the Power BI
Here are a few tips to help guide your decision:
1. Data Analysis and Reporting Needs
Power BI Desktop might work for individual users, but Power BI Pro is better suited for collaborative, real-time analytics, sharing across a team and often you need your data to be refreshed.
2. Collaboration Requirements
If your organization relies heavily on collaboration and needs to share reports, Power BI Pro is the minimum requirement. Power BI Desktop won’t work for you.
3. Need for Advanced Features
Power BI Pro and Premium offer advanced features, such as AI capabilities, more extensive data storage, and higher refresh rates, which are not available in the Desktop version.
4. Budget
Define your budget for business intelligence tools. Power BI Pro offers a cost-effective solution at $9.99 per monthly user. On the other hand, Power BI Premium is a more significant investment but provides additional capabilities and is billed per user or capacity.
5. User Count
Consider the number of users needing access to Power BI and their roles. Power BI Pro is charged per user, so it’s cost-effective for small to medium-sized teams. Power BI Premium might be more economical for larger organizations or when using BI solutions organization-wide, especially considering the per-capacity pricing model.
Power Bi Pro Vs. Power BI Premium
Power BI Pro is ideal for individuals and teams who need to create, share, and consume power bi content within their organization, while Power BI Premium is tailored for large organizations that require enterprise-grade capabilities, including extensive sharing and distribution, performance, and scalability.
Note – Please use the free versions or trial periods for Power BI Pro and Premium to test the features and assess their value to your organization before committing to a purchase.