Beyond The Numbers: 4 Power BI Pricing Tiers Explained

If you work within an organization that uses its data for better decision-making, you have probably heard of Power BI, Microsoft’s business analytics tool.

This program has rapidly gained popularity among organizations wanting to understand their data visually. It offers a robust platform to convert data from various sources into visualizations, dashboards, and reports. 

However, the true costs of Power BI and what type of tier you should purchase for your business can be complicated. While it seems straightforward on Microsoft’s pricing page, it can get complicated when you begin to scale and add more users to your process.

To try and make sense of it, we have put together all the Power BI tiers and some important key takeaways from each. Before you decide to dive into Power BI and all it has to offer for your business, first take a minute to understand what tier will truly benefit your business model. 

Power BI Free 

The free version is helpful for small businesses or individuals who want to learn how to use Power BI without purchasing other plans or who have small data sets that need little functionality.

It’s no question that the free version of Power BI is a fantastic opportunity to use and get a feel for the platform. 

However, this free version is very restricted, and if you want to work with large data sets or dig into more advanced features, you will hit a brick wall. 

Also, the free version does not allow for any direct report sharing. The only option to share your findings is to publish your Power BI report online, meaning anyone on the web can search and access your Power BI data. 

Key Takeaways of the Power BI Free Version:

• Great way to understand the platform without paying for a subscription.  
• Lack of report-sharing options.
• Potential data exposure when publishing reports online.
• Lacks the ability to work with large data sets.

Power BI Pro

As organizations grow and data analysis requirements become more sophisticated, many users find the limitations of the free version restrictive. That’s where Power BI Pro steps in.

Power BI Pro is designed for businesses that need enhanced collaboration, data sharing, and data analytics features. A single Power BI Pro license allows a user to access a wide range of capabilities. The pricing for Power BI includes such capabilities like creating and publishing reports and dashboards, collaborating with colleagues, and securely sharing data insights within and outside the organization.

Power BI Pro also seamlessly integrates with Microsoft’s productivity tools and others. This integration with tools such as Teams or Excel allows users to embed Power BI reports and dashboards directly into these applications, building a cohesive and immersive user experience.

The price of Power BI Pro begins at $9.99 per user per month. With this fee, you can access Power BI’s full capability, including collaboration, publishing, sharing, and ad hoc analysis.

While the Pro license offers all the features of the free trial plus seamless sharing of reports, it does have its limitations.

The Pro license has limited storage capabilities (10 GB/user) and is unsuitable for businesses with large databases. Also, if you want to share your reports with others (without publishing them online), they will need to have a Power BI Pro license. This is where the price can increase internally, as multiple Power BI pro licenses might need to be purchased to keep sensitive data internal and shared within a company and not published online for all to see.

Key Takeaways of Power BI Pro:

• Enhanced collaboration and increased data-sharing capabilities.
• Integration with Microsoft productivity tools.
• Expanded data storage and 8/per-day real-time data refresh options.
• Cost can creep up with multiple licenses to share reports.
• Not suitable for extremely large data sets. 

Power BI Premium

As organizations continue to scale up and data workloads increase, companies will encounter limitations. Power BI Premium is tailored for large enterprises with high data consumption needs, offering enterprise-grade features.

With Power BI Premium, organizations can improve performance and responsiveness, even during peak usage. This premium capacity allows for faster data refresh rates (48/day) and ensures all users experience consistent and reliable performance across the platform.

Another significant advantage of Power BI Premium over the others is the capability to distribute content to a broader audience without requiring each user to have a Power BI Pro license. However, others would still need a Power BI Pro license to publish reports to the Power BI Service even with a Power BI. 

Available for $20/month, Premium users have all the access to Pro features but can also use AI capabilities like AutoML, which enable advanced data analysis and reporting. Organizations can harness these advanced functionalities to gain deeper insights and create sophisticated reports and visualizations.

Key Takeaways of Power BI Premium:

• Dedicated capacity for improved performance.
• Content distribution to a broader audience without Pro licenses.
• Access to advanced features and AI capabilities.
• Expanded data storage and 48/per-day real-time data refresh options.
• Suitable for extremely large data sets.

Power BI Premium For Your Organization

Power BI Premium (per capacity) is the pinnacle solution for organizations seeking to tap into everything Power BI offers. Priced at $ $4,995 per month, licensing offers everyone in your organization access have Power BI Pro licenses and focuses on the analytics path from data analysts to business users. 

With dedicated capacity ensuring optimal responsiveness, expansive on-premises Power BI report server and increased data storage, and the ability to distribute content without mandating individual Pro licenses, Power BI Premium catalyzes data-driven transformation. 

Key Takeaways of Power BI Premium For Your Organization:

• Can have users’ consumer power BI content without a per-user license.
• On-premises reporting server.
• 100/TB of data storage.
• Auto scale add-on included.
• Excellent for enterprise organizations.
• Costly for small businesses.

How to Pick the Right Power BI Pricing Solution For Your Business

The right Power BI pricing plans for your business will depend solely on your business size and how much computing power you want to view your data. Before you move beyond the free version of Power BI, you must carefully evaluate your data analytics needs and budget constraints to choose the best version for your business. 

While the free version may be sufficient for smaller businesses or individuals, Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium will offer enhanced capabilities and performance for larger organizations with more complex data requirements. 

However, with some of the enhanced capabilities comes an enhanced price tag. Consider hiring a Rōnin Power BI consultant to save money and know exactly how much you spend monthly and on every project. Our Power BI experts will not only help you choose the best Power BI pricing model for your business but will also ensure that your investment aligns precisely with your organization’s needs. A Rōnin Power BI consultant brings a wealth of strategy and experience to the table, adeptly navigating the intricate landscape of Power BI offerings, licensing costs, and performance nuances. To learn more about Rōnin Consulting and our Power BI consultants, contact us today.