Understanding Power BI Licensing

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Zain Mohsin

Introduction

Leveraging data is no longer an option—it’s a strategic imperative. Microsoft’s Power BI is a powerful tool that empowers executives to make informed decisions, but its licensing nuances can seem complex. This executive overview distills the essentials of Power BI licensing, helping top-level decision-makers strategically invest in a solution that aligns with their business goals and fosters growth.

Infographics show essentials of Power BI licensing

The Imperative of C-Level Understanding of Power BI Licensing

For C-level executives, understanding Power BI licensing isn’t about the technicalities—it’s about business leverage. As the leaders of the company’s vision and growth, executives must ensure that investments in technology yield maximum ROI. The right licensing choice can unlock competitive advantages, foster efficiency, and improve decision-making across the enterprise. Conversely, a suboptimal choice could lead to unnecessary costs, underutilized resources, and missed opportunities. Thus, a comprehensive grasp of Power BI licensing is crucial for operational efficiency and strategic agility, enabling the organization to adapt, innovate, and lead in a data-driven market.

Navigating Power BI Licensing Structure

Power BI licensing structure is flexible. Users often have questions about which features are accessible in which license tier. A valid license is required for each user of the Power BI service. The scope of their license limits a user’s capabilities. Free, Pro, and Premium Per User (PPU) licenses are available. Their license grants them access to those features if the workspace is a Premium workspace.

Users can obtain licenses in one of two ways: via an administrator or self-service. Users can join up for their own free, Pro, or Premium Per User license through self-service sign-up with the help of a work or school email address. Power BI licenses may be purchased by administrators and distributed to end users. All of Power BI’s licenses fall into one of two categories:

License Type User Based/ Capacity Based Pricing

Power BI Free 
User Based

NA 

Power BI Pro 
User Based
$10 Per user/month

Power BI Premium Per User 
User Based
$20 Per user/month

Power BI Embedded 
Capacity Based
Variable

Power BI Report Server 
On-Premise Solution
It depends on the enterprise agreement with Microsoft

Bonus read: Power BI Pricing Model.

Power BI Free:

There is still a free option for sharing reports in Power BI, even if Microsoft removed the option to do so from the Free edition of the Power BI Service. The report may be made public using the “Publish to Web” function, which generates a lengthy and obtuse HTTP URL. The report is accessible to anybody with the URL, which is a bonus. Unfortunately, anybody who has the URL can view the report. Obfuscate it further by framing it into an internal or external network page.

Infographics show Power BI Free licensing

Alternatively, you may save your PBIX files in a cloud storage service like OneDrive or share the folder or the file. You may also send tiny PBIX files through email. There are some apparent downsides, but this would work so long as everyone has Power BI Desktop (which is free).

Infographics show Power BI Desktop Free licensing

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Forget “Free as in Speech”; “Free as in Beer” is the operative term here. Microsoft provides this for free, and no conditions are attached. Nonetheless, restrictions and downsides exist because it is a gift and lacks some features.

Power BI Pro:

Power BI has maintained its $10 per user per month pricing structure since the beginning of time (or at least Power BI). Each person who creates or reads the report effectively gives a portion of their income to Microsoft. The Desktop is, and always has been, available at no cost to users. You pay the $10/month fee only if you wish to share or collaborate on work with others.

Bonus read: The Value of Consulting Expertise in Power BI Implementations. 

Infographics show Power BI Pro licensing

Power BI On-Premises:

SQL Server Reporting Services and Power BI have been integrated, allowing businesses to use Enterprise SQL Server with Software Assurance to publish Power BI reports internally.

Power BI Embedded:

Power BI’s Embedded option is a usage-based service tailored to Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that enables the incorporation of Power BI reports and visualizations into branded, public-facing web apps. A monthly Pro license costs $10 for publishers. There are six different A6 SKUs, and their prices increase from low to high. T The Embedded service may only be used for external reporting per the terms of service and may not be utilized for internal reporting. Said this is not meant to be a cheap method of report sharing that eliminates the need for a Pro subscription for all users. But please see Embed below.
Infographics show Power BI Embedded licensing

Power BI Premium:

Microsoft effectively eliminated the requirement for customers to pay separately for View Only by introducing the Premium model. Capacity-based licensing is used instead. For your money, you get 100 terabytes of data storage or a license for SQL Server Reporting Service Power BI Edition with a Power BI Premium instance. Report creators and editors still incur the monthly fee of $10, but readers are free of charge.

Power BI Embed:

This is where the ambiguity begins. Power BI Embed SKUs are an emerging yet underutilized feature. EM1, EM2, and EM3 are the available stock-keeping units (SKUs). These categories of products are aimed at medium-sized enterprises that need to disseminate reports widely but cannot afford Premium and cannot justify requiring all users to have a Pro license. Some limitations apply to these SKUs; for instance, Power BI Apps are inaccessible to view-only users. These SKUs’ fundamental goal is to integrate reports into SharePoint Online or Teams and distribute them to a wide audience without upgrading to a Premium SKU.

Want to leverage your data your way? Here is a detailed guide on “Power BI Dashboards for B2B Sales” that will help you decide. 

Power BI Licensing: A Complete Comparison

  • It is important to remember that developers must still be allocated a PBI Pro license to use PBI Capacity Premium or PBI Embedded.
  • A data model in Power BI PPU could hold up to 100GB of information, the same as the P3 Capacity.
  • You can save money by signing up for a Microsoft Customer Agreement.
  • An Office E5 License comes with a Power BI Pro license, and the pricing of both may be reduced through your CSP.
  • Your PBI report may be embedded without a separate Power BI Embedded license.

Note: You can read on updated details on Power BI PPU license here.

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Conclusion

When considering Power BI licensing options, assessing your business’s scope takes priority. The free version of Power BI provides sufficient capabilities for individuals who want to view data for personal use or share it publicly. However, for most businesses, Power BI Pro offers the optimal choice. Power BI Pro provides advanced features, collaboration capabilities, and enhanced data security, making it suitable for organizations of various sizes. However, Power BI Premium is designed to cater to larger enterprises’ needs. This licensing option is more suitable for organizations requiring on-premises data access, high-performance computing, or exceeding 500 Power BI Pro licenses. Power BI Premium offers dedicated capacity, scalability, and additional functionalities that can accommodate the complex data demands of large-scale enterprises.

Ultimately, the choice between Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium depends on the scale of your organization, specific data requirements, and the need for advanced features and performance. Evaluating these factors will help you determine the most suitable licensing option that aligns with your business goals and objectives. If you are still troubled with choosing between the two, you can always rely on partner help from AlphaBOLD. As a trusted solution provider, we have helped many businesses navigate through the decision stage. Request for a consultation and we will take up from there.

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