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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Power BI

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 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

    Azure SQL Database

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AAzure SQL Database is Microsoft's relational database as a service (DBaaS).

    $0.50

    Per Hour

    Pricing
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month (billed annually) per user
    2 vCORE
    $0.5044
    Per Hour
    6 vCORE
    $1.5131
    Per Hour
    10 vCORE
    $2.52
    Per Hour
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    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 BIAzure SQL Database
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    Each has a different function. I think Microsoft Power BI is easier to use than Tableau and cheaper but SQL and databricks have so much more versatility
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Power BI
    The membership is cheaper compared to others. Great UX.
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Azure SQL Database
    The Azure SQL Database, compared to our on premise SQL server installation, is much easier to use in terms of seeing database diagnostics. There is a whole visualization platform that comes with the tool that will allow your database administrator to see what jobs are tying up …
    Incentivized
    Chose Azure SQL Database
    If you are a company that is already invested in Microsoft technologies, then the Azure suite is a better fit than the Amazon suite.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    110 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    103 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    14 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    73 Answers
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    16 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.1
    198 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.1169 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.6197 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.7180 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    196 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.4193 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.7193 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.4143 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.2191 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web8.1179 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF7.7174 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 Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.7
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.3183 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.1168 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.2138 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining7.339 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.3
    180 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.6169 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.1148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.1160 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.149 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.5141 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    162 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.6152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application7.5133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.8155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    REST API7.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API7.485 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API6.769 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)7.291 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.444 Ratings00 Ratings
    Database-as-a-Service
    Comparison of Database-as-a-Service features of Microsoft Power BI and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    Microsoft Power BI
    -
    Ratings
    Azure SQL Database
    7.2
    32 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Automatic software patching00 Ratings6.330 Ratings
    Database scalability00 Ratings7.832 Ratings
    Automated backups00 Ratings7.832 Ratings
    Database security provisions00 Ratings8.832 Ratings
    Monitoring and metrics00 Ratings6.831 Ratings
    Automatic host deployment00 Ratings6.127 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    MongoDB Atlas
    Score7.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Azure Database
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Google Cloud SQL
    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (199 ratings)
    8.0
    (32 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (115 ratings)
    8.5
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (52 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Power BIAzure SQL Database
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We have found it's a great alternative for making older legacy applications work with online databases instead of only on-premises databases. We've converted over a dozen applications this way, and it has allowed our clients to have a distributed workforce using their applications without incurring the expense of a complete application rewrite.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Maintenance is always an issue, so using a cloud solution saves a lot of trouble.
    • On premise solutions always suffer from fragmented implementations here and there, where several "dba's" keep track of security and maintenance. With a cloud database it's much easier to keep a central overview.
    • Security options in SQL database are next level... data masking, hiding sensitive data where always neglected on premise, whereas you'll get this automatically in the cloud.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • One needs to be aware that some T-SQL features are simply not available.
    • The programmatic access to server, trace flags, hardware from within Azure SQL Database is taken away (for a good reason).
    • No SQL Agent so your jobs need to be orchestrated differently.
    • The maximum concurrent logins maybe an unexpected problem.
    • Sudden disconnects.
    • The developers and admin must study the capacity and tier usage limits https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-subscription-service-limits otherwise some errors or even transaction aborts never seen before can occur.
    • Only one Latin Collation choice.
    • There is no way to debug T-SQL ( a big drawback in my point of view).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    This is best solution as a DBA one could expect from a service provider and as a cloud service, it removes all your hassles.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    The interfaces are intuitive once you are familiar with all the functions. The ability to use different tools to interact with the platform, such as directly via a browser or code editors such as VS Code or Visual Studio is a great option and allows for integrating withn the project and other testing and developing tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We give the support a high rating simply because every time we've had issues or questions, representatives were in contact with us quickly. Without fail, our issues/questions were handled in a timely matter. That kind of response is integral when client data integrity and availability is in question. There is also a wealth of documentation for resolving issues on your own.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We moved away from Oracle and NoSQL because we had been so reliant on them for the last 25 years, the pricing was too much and we were looking for a way to cut the cord. Snowflake is just too up in the air, feels like it is soon to be just another line item to add to your Azure subscription. Azure was just priced right, easy to migrate to and plenty of resources to hire to support/maintain it. Very easy to learn, too.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Perfect for small and medium databases, being very cost effective.
    • As a Platform as a Service, there is no concern about patches, upgrades and end of life.
    • Be aware of security and network capabilities. The service cannot run in the VNET as Azure Virtual Machines do.
    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