Microsoft Power BI
Enterprise business-intelligence platform for data modeling, interactive dashboards, self-service analytics and Microsoft Fabric-powered reporting.
Power BI remains one of the most complete business-intelligence platforms, combining Power Query, semantic modeling, DAX, interactive dashboards, scheduled refresh, governance, mobile apps, embedded analytics and deep Microsoft Fabric integration. Premium Per User adds larger models, AI, XMLA and deployment-pipeline capabilities.
G2 currently rates Microsoft Power BI 4.5/5 from 1,657 reviews and Capterra rates it 4.6/5 from 1,893, with Capterra ease of use at 4.1 and customer service at 4.2. Reviewers praise Excel familiarity and visualization power but consistently note the advanced DAX/modeling learning curve.
Microsoft publishes clear list pricing: Free, Power BI Pro at $14/user/month paid yearly and Premium Per User at $24/user/month paid yearly. Fabric capacity and Embedded are variable. Pro is also included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5.
Power BI uses the broad Power Query connector ecosystem across files, databases, Azure, online services and custom connectors, and is deeply integrated with Microsoft 365, Azure, Dataverse and Fabric. Security runs on Azure with Microsoft Entra authentication, tenant controls, encryption and enterprise governance.
Scored by Shikha Goyal
Quick facts
- Vendor
- Microsoft Corporation
- Pricing model
- paid
- Plan pricing
- $14/user/mo paid yearly Vendor source checked; not a hands-on review
- Free plan
- Yes — check limits
- Free trial
- Yes — check eligibility
- Last verified
- Not yet verified
About Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is a business-intelligence and analytics platform for connecting data, modeling it with Power Query and DAX, building interactive reports and dashboards, and securely sharing insights across organizations. It is tightly integrated with Microsoft Fabric, Azure and Microsoft 365, while Premium Per User adds larger semantic models, AI, XMLA endpoints, deployment pipelines and other enterprise capabilities.
Best for
Organizations that need scalable self-service and enterprise BI, especially teams already using Excel, Microsoft 365, Azure, Fabric, SQL Server or other Microsoft data services.
Microsoft Power BI pros and cons
Pros
- Free account available for individual exploration.
- Power BI Pro is transparently priced at $14/user/month paid yearly.
- Premium Per User adds enterprise-scale features at $24/user/month.
- Very broad Power Query connector ecosystem.
- Excellent Microsoft 365, Azure and Fabric integration.
- Strong enterprise security, governance and identity controls.
Cons
- −Advanced DAX, Power Query and semantic modeling have a significant learning curve.
- −Sharing generally requires Pro/PPU licenses or suitable Premium/Fabric capacity.
- −Large models and complex reports can face performance/tuning challenges.
- −Licensing becomes more complex once Fabric capacity, PPU and Copilot are involved.
- −Copilot/Fabric AI capabilities can require additional capacity or Copilot licensing beyond Pro/PPU.
Features
Platforms
Integrations
Pricing
Free Fabric/Power BI account for creating and exploring reports in personal scenarios; sharing and collaboration are limited without paid licensing/capacity.
$14/user/month paid yearly. Included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5.
$24/user/month paid yearly. Includes all Pro capabilities plus premium-scale features.
Variable capacity/consumption pricing for organizational scale, Fabric workloads and embedded analytics.
Official pricing / availability source · Checked 6 October 2026. Confirm current taxes, regional terms and allowances. A listed plan is not necessarily the cheapest option.
Editorial verification: Not yet verified. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.