Power BI has revolutionized the way businesses analyze and visualize data. Whether you’re an individual, small business, or large enterprise, choosing the right Power BI license can be daunting, especially when you consider the introduction of licenses like Microsoft Fabric and how they integrate with Power BI.
Microsoft announced its first Power BI pricing update in nearly a decade, effective April 1, 2025. In this blog and video, we will unpack everything – covering these new changes, a breakdown of Power BI licenses and Microsoft Fabric licenses, and the reasons to invest in these tools – so you can make an informed decision that fits your needs.
Why Invest in Power BI?
Power BI is more than just a data visualization tool. It’s a powerful business intelligence platform designed to make sense of complex data and empower organizations with actionable insights. Here’s why businesses choose Power BI:
- User-Friendly Interface: Ideal for both beginners and advanced users thanks to its drag-and-drop interface and robust customization.
- Affordable Pricing: Power BI is cost-effective compared to competing tools like Tableau and Qlik.
- Seamless Integration: Sync Power BI effortlessly with existing Microsoft tools like Excel, Teams, and SharePoint.
- Community & Support: With millions of users globally, finding learning resources and expert support is easier than ever.
- Performance & Scalability: Handle large datasets and scale analytics across your organization with ease.
Why Invest in Microsoft Fabric?
Microsoft Fabric is an integrated analytics platform recently introduced by Microsoft. It combines enterprise-level data engineering, integration, and analytics tools under one umbrella. Here’s why Fabric is worth exploring:
- Unified Analytics: Fabric brings together Power BI, Data Factory, Synapse, and AI capabilities into a single service. This makes it easier to manage and analyze data at scale.
- Streamlined Collaboration: Teams can collaborate across the analytics life cycle seamlessly, improving workflow and productivity.
- AI & Machine Learning: Leverage built-in AI features for predictive analytics and smarter decision-making.
- Flexibility with Licensing: Fabric is designed to complement Power BI licensing, giving organizations flexibility in how they implement enterprise analytics.
Power BI Licenses Explained
Understanding Power BI licenses is crucial to ensure you’re getting all the features you need without overspending.
There are four main licensing options for Power BI: Free, Pro, Premium Per User and Embedded.
Power BI Free
This license is ideal for individual users who want to explore Power BI’s basic features. It allows you to create reports and dashboards, but sharing content with others or accessing premium features isn’t possible.
- Best for: Individual users exploring Power BI
Power BI Pro
Power BI Pro is the most popular plan for small teams and businesses. It enables users to share reports, collaborate in real-time, and integrate Power BI with Microsoft tools like Teams.
Key Features:
- Share and collaborate on dashboards
- Real-time data sharing and alerts
Cost: $14 per user/month
Best for: Teams looking for collaboration and sharing feature.
Power BI Premium Per User (PPU)
This plan unlocks advanced capabilities like AI-powered data analysis and large dataset handling for individuals. It offers Premium features but is designed for single users.
Key Features:
- Use AI features like predictive analysis
- Manage datasets up to 100GB per model
Cost: $24 per user/month
Best for: Professionals who need advanced tools for data analysis.
Power BI Embedded
Power BI embedded analytics allows you to embed your Power BI items such as reports, dashboards and tiles, in a web application or in a website.
Key Features:
- Continues to leverage A SKUs for ISVs and developers
- Now available via F SKUs to leverage Fabric capabilities
Cost: Variable
Best for: Enterprises needing large-scale data processing and sharing.
Note: If your organization wants all Microsoft Fabric workloads (beyond Power BI) under one capacity, you should look at the new Fabric (F SKUs) licensing instead.
Power BI License Comparison
Here’s a simplified comparison to help you decide which license works best depending on your needs:
| Feature | Free | Pro | Premium Per User | Embedded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost (former) |
Free |
$10/user/month |
$20/user/month |
Variable |
|
Cost (current) |
Free |
$14/user/month |
$24/user/month |
Variable |
|
Content Sharing |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Collaboration |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
AI Features |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Dataset Limits |
1GB |
10GB |
100GB |
100GB+ |
New Power BI Pricing (Effective 04/01/2025)
The price change may impact you differently, depending on your existing agreement:
- New Customers: New customers purchasing Power BI Pro and PPU (Premium Per User) will contract with the new pricing.
- Existing Enterprise Agreement (EA) customers of Power BI Pro and/or Power BI PPU standalone: Customers will continue to have their current pricing until the next renewal. Any new agreements after April 1, 2025, will contract with new pricing.
- Microsoft 365 E5 suite and O365 suite annual subscriptions: No pricing changes for customers who purchase Power BI through Microsoft 365 E5 or Office 365 E5 annual term subscriptions with annual billing.
Microsoft Fabric Licenses Explained
Microsoft Fabric licensing extends Power BI’s capabilities, offering tiered pricing based on usage. Fabric integrates seamlessly with Power BI Premium licenses, making it an ideal choice for enterprises looking to enhance their analytics capabilities.
Key Features of Fabric Licensing:
- Capacity-based pricing similar to Power BI Premium (Capacity) plans
- Cross-platform integration with other Microsoft services like Synapse and Data Factory
- Dynamic Workload Management to handle analytics at scale
Licensing details for Microsoft Fabric are similar to Power BI Premium (Capacity), and the two work best together to create a strong data and analytics ecosystem.
What’s the difference between Power BI and Fabric?
Simply, Power BI is an example of one of the workloads integrated with Microsoft Fabric. Each Fabric tenant has a single data store called OneLake. OneLake data can be used, analyzed, or visualized across all workloads and roles, making it easier to perform analysis and analytics on multiple sets of data. Large organizations find Microsoft Fabric useful, since it can corral large sets of data and store it in a way that makes it available to all of the Fabric workloads, including Power BI.
Microsoft Fabric License Comparison
Here is a breakdown of Fabric licensing (US):
| SKU | Capacity Unit | Pay-As-You-Go | Reservation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
F2 |
2 |
$262.80/month |
$156.33 4/month |
|
F4 |
4 |
$525.60/month |
$312.66 7/month |
|
F8 |
8 |
$1,051.20/month |
$625.33 4/month |
|
F16 |
16 |
$2,102.40/month |
$1,250.66 7/month |
|
F32 |
32 |
$4,204.80/month |
$2,501.33 4/month |
|
F64 |
64 |
$8,409.60/month |
$5,002.66 7/month |
|
F128 |
128 |
$16,819.20/month |
$10,005.33 4/month |
|
F256 |
256 |
$33,638.40/month |
$20,010.66 7/month |
|
F512 |
512 |
$67,276.80/month |
$40,021.33 4/month |
|
F1024 |
1,024 |
$134,553.60/month |
$80,042.66 7/month |
|
F2048 |
2,048 |
$269,107.20/month |
$160,085.33 4/month |
Which Licensing is Right for You?
- Individual Users: Power BI Free or Pro should cover most needs, unless you work on large-scale data projects requiring advanced features like AI.
- Small Teams or SMEs: Power BI Pro is an excellent choice for collaboration and moderate data demands. Premium (User) can add more advanced analytics without breaking the bank.
- Enterprises: Power BI Premium Embedded and Microsoft Fabric are go-to solutions for organizations looking to scale analytics, unify workflows, and unlock enterprise-level features.
Need Help Deciding?
Choosing the right Power BI license depends on your goals, team size, and data needs. Whether you’re a sole proprietor looking to understand your data better or an enterprise scaling its analytics operations, Power BI has a licensing plan to fit.
If you’re ready to take your data analytics to the next level, start exploring Power BI today – your insights await!
Do you have more questions about Power BI licensing? Get in touch with us!