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Power BI

Name: Power BI
Price: Free version available; Pro is $14.00 per user/month, Premium is $24.00 per user/month. USD
Author: Power BI

Backed By Power BI

A unified platform for self-service and enterprise business intelligence.

Data & Analytics

Overview

Power BI is a unified, scalable business intelligence platform that allows users to connect to and visualize any data. It infuses visuals into everyday apps and enables organizations to uncover insights and turn them into impactful actions.

Use Cases

Track key sales metrics in real-time.

Identify top-performing products and regions.

Visualize sales trends over time.

Segment customers based on demographics and behavior.

Analyze customer segments for targeted marketing campaigns.

Understand customer needs and preferences.

Monitor key operational metrics in real-time.

Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

Improve operational performance.

Create interactive dashboards for financial reporting.

Analyze revenue, expenses, and profitability.

Generate reports for stakeholders.

Track the performance of marketing campaigns.

Measure ROI for different channels.

Optimize campaigns for better results.

Product Info

Deployment Method

API-basedSaaS

Model Type

Closed Source

Support

Pricing

Power BI Pro (Old Price)

$10

Power BI Pro (New Price)

$14

Power BI Premium (Old Price - Implied PPU/Per User)

$20

Alternates Research On The Product

Top Features

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Data Cleaning and Transformation (using Query Editor/M-formula)

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DAX Implementation (for calculated metrics/measures)

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Date Formatting and Custom Format Strings

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Data Modeling (including Star Schema, relationships, cardinality)

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Visualization of Management Hierarchy

Strengths

Enables interactive, in-depth analysis of financial data (Balance Sheet, P&L, AR)
Least expensive BI tool on the market (comparatively)
Received more than 1,500 enhancements over the years (as of a March 2025 article)

Weaknesses

Reliance on clean data, as 'Excel Reliance and Data Issues' is a noted problem.
New Fabric platform is considered 'still very fresh and not fully stable' by some users.
Performance issues, unintuitive UI, and limited customization options are noted cons.
User-reported delays in support activities and report refreshes.
Significant, impending price hikes (25-40%) for core per-user plans.

Reviews From The Web

Real user experiences from across different platforms

1.5M+ records in excel, cannot query it. Excel or PowerBI. What should I use? [...] Cannot load the data into PowerBi too of it’s data limitations.

getbetterwithnb

8mo ago

reddit (r/dataanalysis)

Recommendations

Businesses heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (M365, Dynamics, Azure, Fabric)

stem (M365, Dynamics, Azure, Fabric)

Organizations prioritizing cost efficiency for a BI tool (still comparatively inexpensive for its feature set)

I tool (still comparatively inexpensive for its feature set)

Users highly sensitive to price increases (Pro/Premium price hikes are significant)

mium price hikes are significant)

Teams needing extensive custom visual formatting or a non-technical UI (reported limitations)

r a non-technical UI (reported limitations)

Final Verdict

Providing accessible, interactive data visualization and business intelligence capabilities, making complex data analysis manageable for finance and other departments, and remaining a comparatively inexpensive BI tool despite price hikes.

Best For

•Businesses heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (M365, Dynamics, Azure, Fabric)
•Organizations prioritizing cost efficiency for a BI tool (still comparatively inexpensive for its feature set)
•Teams needing in-depth, customizable financial and operational dashboards

Watch Out For

•High price increase (40% for Pro)
•Unintuitive user interface and limited visual flexibility (for design-focused teams)
•Reliance on clean data, as 'Excel Reliance and Data Issues' is a noted problem.
•New Fabric platform is considered 'still very fresh and not fully stable' by some users.

Query Editor limitations (mentioned as a con) Unintuitive User Interface (mentioned as a con) Limited Flexibility in Formatting (mentioned as a con, though custom formats exist) Excel Reliance and Data Issues (mentioned as a con) Cumbersome Cost Model for Premium Tier (mentioned as a con) Limited Visual Formatting Options (mentioned as a con) Compatibility and Learning Curve (mentioned as a con) Performance Issues (mentioned as a con, and a user reported slow performance/delay visualizing refresh) Collaboration Limitations (mentioned as a con) Complex Data Management and DAX (mentioned as a con) Potential computer RAM issues for loading very large datasets (1.5M+ rows mentioned as a potential issue) Q&A feature has limitations Store version of Python has connection problems

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