Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft's business intelligence suite for data modelling, reports and shared dashboards.
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About Microsoft Power BI
Power BI is Microsoft's business intelligence platform and the most common choice in organisations already using Microsoft 365. Reports are built in Power BI Desktop, a free Windows app with data modelling, a formula language (DAX) and a wide range of visuals, then published to the Power BI service in the browser, where teams share dashboards, set up refreshes and view reports on mobile apps. It connects to Excel, SQL databases, cloud services and Microsoft Fabric, and recent versions include Copilot features for drafting reports. The free account covers personal use, while sharing reports with colleagues needs a Pro or Premium Per User licence, priced per user per month, with capacity-based options for large deployments. Its main drawbacks are that serious authoring is Windows-only and the licensing structure, especially around Fabric capacity, can be confusing. For teams living in Excel and Teams it is often the cheapest full-featured option.
Best for: Organisations on Microsoft 365 that want affordable, full-featured dashboards and reports.
Pros and cons
What works
- Free Desktop authoring app with strong data modelling
- Lower per-user price than most enterprise BI tools
- Fits closely with Excel, Teams and Microsoft Fabric
Why people leave
- Desktop authoring app runs only on Windows
- Sharing reports requires paid per-user or capacity licences
- Licensing tiers and Fabric capacity options are hard to follow
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Why people left Microsoft Power BI
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Microsoft Power BI: common questions
Is Microsoft Power BI free?
Microsoft Power BI has a free plan and paid plans.
Is Microsoft Power BI open source?
No, Microsoft Power BI is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Metabase.
What platforms does Microsoft Power BI run on?
Microsoft Power BI is available for Web, Windows, iOS and Android.
What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Power BI?
The highest-ranked Microsoft Power BI alternatives right now are Tableau and Metabase. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.