Microsoft Power BI vs. MySQL

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.
$168
per year per user
MySQL
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
MySQL is a popular open-source relational and embedded database, now owned by Oracle.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Editions & Modules
Power BI Pro
$14
per month (billed annually) per user
Power BI Premium
$24
per month (billed annually) per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPower BI Desktop is the data exploration and report authoring experience for Power BI, and is available as a free download.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Tableau is a solution with more tools; is more robust, able to handle large volumes of data, but Power BI has a cost-benefit ratio superior to other existing solutions in the market. It gives you what you need at a very low cost, even free.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Power BI, Tableau, and QlikView are the market leaders when analyzed on Gartner`s magic quadrant for business intelligence tool. One of the critical drawbacks of all these visionary tools is the absence or expensive back end that are needed to support the infrastructure. …
MySQL
Chose MySQL
I have evaluated MySQL Heatwave for some ETL pulls in our database to generate reports for stakeholders. It helped me to do so.
Features
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.2
198 Ratings
0% above category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports8.2169 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.7197 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates7.8180 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
196 Ratings
2% below category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis8.3193 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.7193 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.3191 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
189 Ratings
3% below category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Publish to Web8.1179 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF7.9174 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning7.7145 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.3148 Ratings00 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers7.9111 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.7
189 Ratings
4% below category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.3183 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1168 Ratings00 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.3138 Ratings00 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.339 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
8.4
180 Ratings
1% below category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)8.7169 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.2148 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.2160 Ratings00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.249 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.6141 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.9
162 Ratings
2% above category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access7.6152 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application7.5133 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.9155 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Power BI
7.6
116 Ratings
2% below category average
MySQL
-
Ratings
REST API7.9104 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API7.585 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API6.869 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)7.491 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Small Businesses
Yellowfin
Yellowfin
Score 8.7 out of 10
InfluxDB
InfluxDB
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
SQLite
SQLite
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Score 9.5 out of 10
SQLite
SQLite
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(197 ratings)
8.4
(145 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(3 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(113 ratings)
7.9
(18 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(52 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Power BIMySQL
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Has significantly improved collation of data and visualisation especially with business across Europe. Has given me the ability to see the Site availability at the click of a button to see which Site is in the "money" and seize opportunities based on Market data
Read full review
Oracle
MySQL is best suited for applications on platform like high-traffic content-driven websites, small-scale web apps, data warehouses which regards light analytical workloads. However its less suited for areas like enterprise data warehouse, OLAP cubes, large-scale reporting, applications requiring flexible or semi-structured data like event logging systems, product configurations, dynamic forms.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Options for data source connections are immense. Not just which sources, but your options for *how* the data is brought in.
  • Constant updates (this is both good and bad at times).
  • User friendliness. I can get the data connections set up and draft some quick visuals, then release to the target audience and let them expand on it how they want to.
Read full review
Oracle
  • Stable - it just runs, with minimal downtime or errors
  • Fast - well-structured data is quickly written and read
  • Secure - MySQL is easy to keep data secure from people and applications that shouldn't see it
  • Easy to use - SQL is industry standard so no problems with adding, editing and reading data stored in MySQL
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • It would be easier for users could Microsoft Power BI and Excel used the same programming languages.
  • Would like to see the online version of Microsoft Power BI be as powerful as the desktop version.
  • Publishing a Microsoft Power BI file online and then having to save the file is somewhat redundant.
  • Would like to export each page or chart as an image.
Read full review
Oracle
  • Learning curve: is big. Newbies will face problems in understanding the platform initially. However, with plenty of online resources, one can easily find solutions to problems and learn on the go.
  • Backup and restore: MySQL is not very seamless. Although the data is never ruptured or missed, the process involved is not very much user-friendly. Maybe, a new command-line interface for only the backup-restore functionality shall be set up again to make this very important step much easier to perform and maintain.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is an excellent and scalable tool. It has a learning curve, but once you get past that, the sky is the limit and you can build from the most simple to the most complex dashboards. I have built everything from simple reports with only a few data points to complex reports with many pages and advanced filtering.
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Oracle
For teaching Databases and SQL, I would definitely continue to use MySQL. It provides a good, solid foundation to learn about databases. Also to learn about the SQL language and how it works with the creation, insertion, deletion, updating, and manipulation of data, tables, and databases. This SQL language is a foundation and can be used to learn many other database related concepts.
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Usability
Microsoft
Automating reporting has reduced manual data processing by 50-70%, freeing up analysts for higher-value tasks. A finance team that previously spent 20+ hours per week on Excel-based reports now does it in minutes with Microsoft Power BI's automated Real-time dashboards have shortened decision cycles by 30-40%, enabling leadership to react quickly to sales trends, operational bottlenecks, and customer behavior.
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Oracle
I give MySQL a 9/10 overall because I really like it but I feel like there are a lot of tech people who would hate it if I gave it a 10/10. I've never had any problems with it or reached any of its limitations but I know a few people who have so I can't give it a 10/10 based on those complaints.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
It is a fantastic tool, you can do almost everything related with data and reports, it is a perfect substitutive of Power Point and Excel with a high evolution and flexibility, and also it is very friendly and easy to share. I think all companies should have Power BI (or other BI tool) in their software package and if they are in the MS Suite, for sure Power BI should be the one due to all the benefits of the MS ecosystem.
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Oracle
We have never contacted MySQL enterprise support team for any issues related to MySQL. This is because we have been using primarily the MySQL Server community edition and have been using the MySQL support forums for any questions and practical guidance that we needed before and during the technical implementations. Overall, the support community has been very helpful and allowed us to make the most out of the community edition.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
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Oracle
1. Estimate your data size. 2. Test, test, and test.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would not pay for Tableau or Sigma anymore. Not worth it at all.
Read full review
Oracle
MongoDB has a dynamic schema for how data is stored in 'documents' whereas MySQL is more structured with tables, columns, and rows. MongoDB was built for high availability whereas MySQL can be a challenge when it comes to replication of the data and making everything redundant in the event of a DR or outage.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Power BI usage reduced the effort of analytical reports creation by about 80%
  • Empowered all the level of employee to be more vigilant of the data and business insights, gained the profit of 8% overall.
  • AI-powered predictive analytics improved forecasting accuracy by 17%, that topped the overall sales.
Read full review
Oracle
  • As it is an open source solution through community solution, we can use it in a multitude of projects without cost license
  • The acquisition by Oracle makes you need to contract support for the enterprise version
  • If you have knowledge about oracle databases, you can get more out of the enterprise version
Read full review
ScreenShots

Microsoft Power BI Screenshots

Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Turns insights into impact for business usersScreenshot of Power BI integrates easily with Microsoft 365Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - AI-Powered CapabilitiesScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Copilot can be used to create reportsScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Data HubScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Scales as organizational needs grow