Power BI License

Power BI licensing determines the capabilities available to a user within the Power BI service. This includes:

The way a user works with the tool

Where content (data) is stored

Report sharing options

Available compute resources and report size limits

Available Licenses

Power BI Free – A free license for individual use, offering basic features.

Power BI Pro – Enables creation, sharing, and collaboration on reports and dashboards in the cloud within an organization.

Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) – Builds on Pro: higher data limits, AI features, advanced data management tools, etc.

Power BI Embedded – Designed for sharing reports outside the organization by embedding them in web applications.

Microsoft Fabric Capacity (Power BI Premium Capacity) – Allows organization-wide report sharing and unlocks additional Microsoft Fabric services.

Power BI Desktop / Free

Power BI Free (Desktop) is a cost-free license allowing users to connect to data sources, analyze data, and build reports. Intended for individual users who do not need to share content via the cloud.

Features:

Connect to hundreds of data sources

Build reports locally in Power BI Desktop

Store data and reports in the personal “My Workspace” in the cloud

Export reports/data to Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF

Use Python scripts

Create visualizations with R

Sharing is possible, but only as individual .pbix files, e.g., via email, to be opened in Power BI Desktop on another device

Power BI Pro

Power BI Pro is a paid license extending Free with collaboration and sharing features in the cloud, suitable for business users. It is intended for business users who need to share reports and collaborate within a team or across the organization.

Pro includes:

Publishing reports and dashboards to the Power BI service.

Sharing (as part of Power BI Service) content with other Pro users within your organization.

Organizing and managing content in team Workspaces

Scheduling automatic data refreshes

Price: $14 per user/month 

It is worth noting that Power BI Pro is included in the Microsoft 365 E5 license, so no additional cost is required if you’re already covered by it. 

Power BI Premium Per User (PPU)

Power BI Premium per User (PPU) is an enhanced version of the Power BI Pro license, offering additional analytical capabilities, improved performance, and access to enterprise-grade features. It is aimed at advanced users and analysts working with large data volumes or requiring access to advanced Power BI functionalities.

PPU includes all Pro features, plus:

Sharing content with other PPU users

Advanced AI and machine learning capabilities

Paginated reports

Support for larger data models (up to 100 GB)

Up to 48 daily data refreshes

In short: Premium Per User = Power BI Pro + Premium capabilities for an individual user (see below in the Power BI Premium Capacity section)

Perfect for:

people working with big data models,

users who need more power and AI functions,

those who want to create or share paginated reports (e.g. for printouts).

Price: $24 per user/month (or $10 as an add-on for existing Pro users)

Power BI Embedded

Power BI Embedded is a licensing option available through Azure that allows developers to embed interactive Power BI reports and dashboards into web applications without requiring end users to have Power BI accounts. It is intended exclusively for external scenarios such as clients, partners, or SaaS applications.

Embedded features:

Embed reports and dashboards in custom applications and web services.

Customizable analytics experience using APIs, SDKs, and full UI control

Scaling resources based on usage with different capacity tiers (A SKUs)

No need for end users to have individual Power BI accounts or licenses

Starting Price: $735/month (depending on selected compute SKU) 

Power BI Premium Capacity  (Microsoft Fabric Capacity)

Power BI Premium under the Microsoft Fabric license is an enterprise-class solution that provides dedicated computing power and storage for the entire organization. It is part of the wider Microsoft Fabric platform, meaning that these resources can be shared not only by Power BI, but also by other data services (e.g. Data Factory, Synapse).

This license is ideal for large organizations that want to provide unlimited access to reports for users without individual Pro/Premium per User licenses and who need central management, high performance and scalability in the area of data analytics.

Premium Capacity features:

Sharing reports and other content with all users in the organization, without requiring recipients to have a Pro or PPU license.

Using dedicated computing power (e.g. SKU P1, P2…)

Hosting very large data models (400+ GB)

Creating paginated reports, Dataflows, Datamarts, and using advanced AI features

Integrating with Microsoft Fabric services (Lakehouse, Notebooks, Pipelines)

Starting price: approximately $5,000 per month (for P1 SKU), depending on compute capacity, subscription payment method (Pay-as-you-go or Reservation), and region.

Note: Power BI Premium Capacity is included as a part of License F64 (P1) or higher, as shown in the table and chart below:

SKU	Capacity (CU)	Pay-as-you-go (monthly)	Reservation (monthly)
F2	2	$262.8	$156.334
F4	4	$525.6	$312.667
F8	8	$1,051.2	$625.334
F16	16	$2,102.4	$1,250.667
F32	32	$4,204.8	$2,501.334
F64	64	$8,409.6	$5,002.667
F128	128	$16,819.2	$10,005.334
F256	256	$33,638.4	$20,010.667
F512	512	$67,276.8	$40,021.334
F1024	1024	$134,553.6	$80,042.667
F2048	2018	$269,107.2	$160,085.334

This means that by purchasing, for example, an F2 license, you gain access to Fabric features such as Lakehouse, Notebooks, Pipelines, Power BI, and more. However, you will not be able to publish reports for all users within your organization unless each user is assigned a Power BI Pro or Premium per User license. Power BI Premium Capacity becomes available only with a minimum purchase of SKU F64.

Read more about Microsoft Fabric, and billing plans in the article below:

FABRIC IMPLEMENTATION

License	Best For	Key Benefits
Power BI Free	Individuals or small teams building personal reports	Full authoring capabilities; no sharing beyond personal use
Power BI Pro	Small to mid‑sized teams needing collaboration	Cloud sharing, team workspaces, scheduled refreshes
Power BI Premium Per User	Advanced analysts or teams with large data/AI needs	Large models, AI features, paginated reports, 48 refreshes/day
Power BI Embedded	ISVs and developers embedding reports in external applications	Whitelabel embedding, autoscaling, consumption-based pricing
Premium Capacity	Large enterprises requiring broad access and high performance	Org-wide sharing, dedicated compute, massive model support

Scenario 1: Mid‑sized Retail Company (80 users)

A mid-sized retail company employs 80 staff members who use Power BI. Among them, 30 users regularly create and share detailed analytical reports. The remaining 50 use those reports to support operational and strategic decision-making.

License recommendation:

Option 1 (Pro for all): To ensure that all users – both report creators and consumers – have access to Power BI reports, the company needs to purchase Power BI Pro licenses for all 80 users.
80 users x $14 = $1,120/month

Option 2 (PPU for all): The same organization also wants to take advantage of Premium features such as enhanced data refresh, AI-powered analytics, and the ability to store large datasets for advanced reporting.
To provide all users – both report creators and consumers – with access to Premium capabilities, the company needs to purchase Power BI Premium Per User licenses for all 80 users
80 users × $24 = $1,920/month

Product	Unit Cost	Users	Total monthly cost
Power BI Pro	$14/month	80	$1.120/month
or
Power BI Premium	$24/month	80	$1.920/month

Scenario 2: Enterprise with 2,000 users (M365 E5)

The company employs 2,000 staff across various departments. All employees are covered by a Microsoft 365 E5 license, which includes Power BI Pro – enabling report sharing and collaboration within the organization.
The HR department, with 80 users, requires access to Power BI Premium features such as paginated reports and frequent data refreshes (up to 48 times per day) to meet more advanced reporting needs.

License recommendation:

To maintain existing sharing and collaboration capabilities, all employees continue using Power BI Pro through their M365 E5 licenses.
To give the HR department access to Premium features, the company purchases Power BI Premium Per User add-ons for those 80 users.

Microsoft 365 E5 (includes Pro) for all 2,000 users: 2,000 × $57 = $114,000/month

HR team (80 users) Premium Per User (PPU): 80 × $10 = $800/month

Total: $114,800/month

Product	Unit Cost	Users	Total monthly cost
Microsoft 365 E5	$57/month	2000	$114.000/month
Premium Per User	$10/month	80	$800/month
		Total	$114.800/month

Scenario 3: Large Organization (1,200 users)

The organization employs 1,200 people, of whom around 100 actively create and manage Power BI reports.
The remaining employees only need to view reports and dashboards to support operational decision-making.
The company wants to share reports at scale across the organization while ensuring access to Premium features.
The organization does not have Power BI Pro licenses for all users and wants to avoid purchasing them, while still making reports available to everyone.

License recommendation:

The company purchases a Power BI Premium Capacity (P1) SKU, which allows reports to be hosted in Premium workspaces.

Premium Capacity (P1): from  $5,000/month

Only the 100 report creators need Power BI Pro licenses to publish content to Premium workspaces.

Power BI Pro users: 100 × $14 = $1,400/month

The remaining 1,100 users can view the reports without any additional licenses (as “Free” users), since the content is hosted in Premium Capacity.

Total: from* $6,400/month

Product	Unit Cost	Users	Total monthly cost
Power BI Premium Capacity (P1)	>$5000/month*	n/a*	>$5.000*
Power BI Pro (for creators)	$14/month	100	$1.400/month
		Total	>$6.400/month*

*Power BI Premium Capacity is quoted on a case-by-case basis, with pricing driven by your organization’s compute requirements, data storage needs and usage patterns. Entry-level P1 capacity starts at approximately $5.000 per month, and costs scale up for higher SKUs – precise pricing must be obtained through Microsoft sales based on your specific needs and region.