Microsoft Power BI is a bI & dashboards tool for Enterprise and Small businesses, offered as freemium ($14/mo). Founded in United States in 2015. Popular alternatives include Tableau, Zoho Analytics, Domo.
About Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is the most widely used business intelligence platform in the world, especially in organizations that already run on Microsoft 365, Azure and Excel. It turns data from spreadsheets, databases, cloud services and enterprise systems into interactive reports and dashboards.
The workflow starts in Power BI Desktop, a free Windows application where analysts connect to hundreds of data sources, clean and reshape data with Power Query, build data models with relationships, and write calculations in DAX. Reports are published to the Power BI service, where they are shared through workspaces and apps, embedded in Teams, SharePoint and custom applications and secured with row-level security. Microsoft Fabric, launched in 2023, adds data engineering, warehousing, real-time analytics and OneLake storage on shared capacity. Copilot generates report pages, summaries and DAX from natural language. Licensing is per user (Pro, Premium Per User) or per capacity through Fabric, where viewers on larger capacities do not need paid licenses; Microsoft raised Pro and Premium Per User prices in April 2025.
Power BI suits organizations of every size inside the Microsoft ecosystem, and enterprises that need governed, company-wide reporting at a low per-user cost. DAX and data modeling have a real learning curve, and Desktop authoring runs only on Windows. Tableau offers more flexible visual exploration, Looker focuses on a governed semantic layer for Google Cloud users, and Metabase or Superset are open-source options for teams wanting simpler or self-hosted BI.
Key features of Microsoft Power BI
- Power Query data preparation
- DAX data modeling and measures
- Interactive reports and dashboards
- Copilot for report and DAX generation
- Teams and SharePoint integration
- Microsoft Fabric for end-to-end data
Pros and cons
Pros
- Low price per user
- Deep Microsoft integration
- Powerful modeling with DAX
- Huge community and talent pool
Cons
- Desktop authoring is Windows-only
- DAX learning curve
- Licensing complexity with Fabric
- Less visual polish than Tableau
Microsoft Power BI pricing
Microsoft Power BI uses a freemium model. A 60-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Fabric free account, personal authoring |
| Pro | $14 / user/mo | Paid yearly; publish and share reports |
| Premium Per User | $24 / user/mo | Paid yearly; larger models, more refreshes |
| Fabric capacity | Custom | Variable capacity pricing |
Source: www.microsoft.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Microsoft Power BI compares in BI & dashboards
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 16
- Starting price
- $14
- Free alternatives
- 4
0 votes from members
82% below the category median ($77/mo)
Free or open-source tools in BI & dashboards
Microsoft Power BI ranks #1 of 16 bi & dashboards tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Finance reporting from Excel and ERP data
- 2Sales dashboards shared in Teams
- 3Operational KPIs across departments
- 4Enterprise data platform on Fabric
Best for
Organizations on Microsoft 365 that want affordable, scalable BI.
Not ideal for
Mac-only teams or startups preferring lightweight tools (Metabase).
Integrations
- Excel
- Azure
- Microsoft Fabric
- Teams
- SharePoint
- Dynamics 365
- Salesforce
- SQL Server
- Google Analytics
Our take
Power BI is the default BI for Microsoft shops and hard to beat on price. Invest in DAX skills to get its full value.
FAQ
- What is Microsoft Power BI?
- Microsoft Power BI is a BI & dashboards tool: Enterprise BI in the Microsoft ecosystem.
- How much does Microsoft Power BI cost?
- Microsoft Power BI uses a Freemium model; paid plans start at $14 per month.
- What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Power BI?
- Community-listed alternatives to Microsoft Power BI include Tableau, Zoho Analytics, Domo, Qlik Sense.
- Does Microsoft Power BI have a free trial?
- Yes, Microsoft Power BI offers a 60-day free trial.
- What does Microsoft Power BI integrate with?
- Microsoft Power BI integrates with Excel, Azure, Microsoft Fabric, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics 365 and more.
- Which platforms does Microsoft Power BI support?
- Microsoft Power BI is available on web, windows, ios, android.
- Who is Microsoft Power BI for?
- Organizations on Microsoft 365 that want affordable, scalable BI.
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