Price checkPer seat
Power BI FreeFreePower BI Pro$14/user/moPower BI Premium Per User$24/user/mo
See all 4 plans

All Power BI Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
View all features by plan (compare side-by-side)

Power BI Free

  • Power BI Desktop authoring
  • Local report creation
  • No credit card required

Power BI Pro

  • Publish and share reports
  • Shared workspaces
  • 8 dataset refreshes per day
  • 1 GB model memory
  • 10 GB storage per license
  • Included in Microsoft 365 E5 / Office 365 E5

Power BI Premium Per User

  • All Pro features
  • 100 GB model memory
  • 48 dataset refreshes per day
  • 100 TB storage
  • AI and Copilot features
  • Paginated reports
  • Deployment pipelines

Power BI Embedded

  • Embed in external apps
  • Branded dashboards
  • Automated management APIs
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What does Power BI actually cost you?

Drag the slider. Pick a tier. Your projected spend updates as you go.

Tier
Billing
Your projected cost$350per month · $14/seat × 25seats
Year 1 license$4.2K12 months at this rate
At a glance

List price by tier (annualized, per seat)

Per-seat list price across Power BI's plans, annualized. Custom-priced tiers show a hatched bar.

Power BI FreeCustom
Power BI Pro$168/yr
Power BI Premium Per User$288/yr
Power BI EmbeddedCustom
Real-world benchmark

Buyers actually pay a median of $699/yr for Power BI contracts (Vendr deal flow, n=161). That's a contract total — the more seats, the more leverage to negotiate down.

Quick Answer
Last verified:
Medium confidence

Power BI costs Free to $24 per user/month as of September 2026, with 4 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Power BI Free (free), Power BI Pro at $14/user/month, and Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month. Custom pricing is available on request. The median contract is $699/year based on 161 verified purchases.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes

Power BI offers 4 pricing tiers: Power BI Free, Power BI Pro, Power BI Premium Per User, Power BI Embedded. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Power BI Pro at $14/user/month, Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month. The Power BI Pro plan is teams collaborating on dashboards.

Compared to other business intelligence software, Power BI is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

  • Median contract: $699/yr from 161 purchases Precise
  • 4 documented hidden costs beyond list price
  • Contracts auto-renew — Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time; annual commitments require 30-day notice before renewal
Last verified: | Sources: 1 pricing pages and reviews

How much does Power BI cost?

Power BI offers 4 pricing plans, starting with a free tier and scaling to custom enterprise pricing. Plans include Power BI Free (free), Power BI Pro at $14/user/month, Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month, Power BI Embedded (custom pricing).

Power BI Pricing Overview

Power BI has 4 pricing plans, including a free tier. Paid plans range from $0 to $24/user/month. The Power BI Free plan is free and is best for individual exploration. The Power BI Pro plan costs $14/user/month, best for teams collaborating on dashboards. The Power BI Premium Per User plan costs $24/user/month, best for data professionals needing enterprise features. The Power BI Embedded plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for isvs embedding analytics in applications.

Power BI contracts auto-renew, with a Monthly or annual; no minimum term for monthly billing minimum commitment.

The median Power BI customer pays $699/year based on 161 verified purchases.

There are at least 4 documented hidden costs beyond Power BI's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.

This pricing was last verified in August 31, 2026 from 1 independent source.

Try Power BI Free

Power BI costs $14 per user per month for Pro and $24 per user per month for Premium Per User (PPU), both billed annually as of 2026. Power BI Desktop is free for individual report authoring with no sharing. Microsoft raised both paid tiers in April 2025 — Pro from $10 to $14, Premium Per User from $20 to $24.

The Pro plan ($14/user/month) enables publishing and sharing reports in shared workspaces, with 8 daily dataset refreshes and 1 GB model memory. Every person viewing shared reports also needs a Pro license, so team costs multiply by headcount.

Premium Per User ($24/user/month) adds enterprise-scale features per license: 100 GB model memory, 48 daily refreshes, paginated reports, deployment pipelines, and Copilot AI features. It is the most cost-effective path to advanced analytics without purchasing full capacity SKUs.

For large organizations embedding analytics or supporting hundreds of viewers, Power BI Embedded and Microsoft Fabric capacity options are available on a contact-sales basis, replacing the legacy Premium Per Capacity P-SKUs that Microsoft discontinued for new sales in 2024.

How Power BI Pricing Compares

Compare Power BI pricing against top alternatives in Business Intelligence.

Tableau $15-75/user/month Compare → Metabase $0-85/user/month Compare → Looker $3,000-5,000/month Compare →

Compare Power BI vs Alternatives

Before committing to Power BI, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.

VSTableau
From $15/user/month

Organizations prioritizing best-in-class visualization and extensive community resources

Full comparison
VSMetabase
Free

Startups seeking simple, open-source BI without Microsoft dependency

Full comparison
VSLooker
From $3,000/month

Google Cloud customers needing enterprise data governance with LookML modeling

Full comparison

All Power BI alternatives & migration guides

What Companies Actually Pay for Power BI

The median Power BI buyer pays $699/year based on 161 verified purchase transactions.

What companies actually pay $699/yr Median across 161 community cost mentions Precise
Review scores
TrustRadius 8.5out of 10 (10)
Third-party review aggregates, as of Sep 2026
Top pricing complaints
No Power BI Desktop version available for Mac usersSlow performance and long preview times when transforming large datasetsFrequent monthly UI and feature changes require constant relearningHigher-tier license required for publicly accessible or shareable reports
Source: Community cost mentions (Reddit, Hacker News) — aggregated from 161 distinct user reports. Indicative only — not contract-grade data.

Power BI Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size

Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.

Solo Analyst (Free) $0 Year 1 total
Power BI Free
Total $0

A single analyst creating and exploring reports for personal use only, with no sharing requirements.

Small Team — 10 Users on Pro $140 Year 1 total
$14/user/month × 10 users
Total $140

10 users who need to share dashboards and collaborate on reports, each requiring Power BI Pro.

Mid-Size Team — 50 Users on Pro $700 Year 1 total
$14/user/month × 50 users
Total $700

50 users across a department sharing reports and dashboards at the Power BI Pro tier.

Premium Analytics Team — 25 Users $600 Year 1 total
$24/user/month × 25 users
Total $600

25 power users on Power BI Premium Per User for advanced Copilot AI features, larger dataset limits, and better performance on large data loads.

Current tier data

How Power BI Pricing Compares

Software Starting Price Top Price
Power BI Free $24/user/month
Alteryx Analytics Cloud $250/user/month $250/user/month
Databox Free $499/month
Databricks SQL Analytics $500/month $5000/month
Domo Custom Custom
Grafana Enterprise $25000/annual $150000/annual

Detailed pricing comparisons:

Browse all Business Intelligence pricing →

4 Power BI Hidden Costs Beyond the List Price

Beyond the listed price, Power BI has at least 4 documented hidden costs that can significantly increase total cost of ownership.

Watch for 4 hidden costs
  • Tier Upgrade Required for Report Sharing $14/user/month
    high 1 source
    TrustRadius "The pricing for the tier to have publicly, universally accessible reports was, for a long time, cost-prohibitive."
  • IT Infrastructure Costs for Large Datasets 10-20% of license costs
    medium 3 sources
    TrustRadius "It requires a robust and reliable IT infrastructure to work at its best"
    TrustRadius "Carrying out data transformation on large data sets is very time consuming as previewing data at each step takes a lot of time"
    TrustRadius "Data loading speeds can be improved if you are working with a large dataset the data preview takes a lot of time"
  • Undocumented Data Limits Requiring Engineering Workarounds 5-10% of license costs
    low 1 source
    TrustRadius "Text string length is capped during import, but it isn't well documented"
  • Recurring Training Costs from Monthly UI Changes 5-10% of license costs
    low 1 source
    TrustRadius "Changes too often, the feature options and look are updated monthly"
Tip

Ask your Power BI sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Intelligence sourced from 2 independent sources
TrustRadius Enterprise reviews pricing_page
Key claims include inline source attribution. Data verified against multiple independent sources. 13 source citations total.

Power BI Contract Terms

Power BI contracts auto-renew. Changes require Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time; annual commitments require 30-day notice before renewal. These terms are sourced from verified buyer experiences.

Contract Terms
Auto-Renewal Yes
Cancellation Notice Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time; annual commitments require 30-day notice before renewal
Minimum Commitment Monthly or annual; no minimum term for monthly billing
Mid-Term Downgrade Allowed
Payment Terms Monthly billing available at same price as annual; Enterprise Agreement customers pay annually
Price Escalation Microsoft has historically increased Power BI pricing; Pro was $9.99/month before increasing to $10/month. Enterprise Agreement customers can lock in pricing for 1-3 years.
Note

Can reduce license count or downgrade from Premium to Pro at next billing cycle

Based on 1 verified source

How to Negotiate Power BI Pricing

Power BI contracts are negotiable. These 5 tactics are sourced from real buyer experiences and procurement specialists.

Negotiation Playbook 5 tactics
Bundle with Microsoft 365 E5 high success

Microsoft 365 E5 ($57/user/month) includes Power BI Pro at no additional cost. If your organization already uses Microsoft 365, upgrading to E5 may be cheaper than purchasing Power BI Pro licenses separately, especially for teams over 50 users.

Microsoft licensing documentation
Negotiate Through Enterprise Agreement (EA) high success

Organizations with Microsoft Enterprise Agreements can negotiate Power BI pricing as part of broader Microsoft licensing. EA customers typically receive 10-30% discounts on list pricing through volume commitments.

industry analysis
Use Premium Per Capacity Instead of Per User high success

For organizations with 500+ report viewers, Power BI Premium capacity licensing (starting at $4,995/month) is more cost-effective than per-user Premium licensing ($20/user/month). At 250+ Premium users, capacity pricing breaks even.

Microsoft pricing calculator
Start with Power BI Free Desktop high success

Power BI Desktop is completely free with full authoring capabilities. Use it for individual analysis and only purchase Pro licenses when cloud sharing and collaboration become necessary, reducing your initial paid user count.

pricing analysis
Competitive Leverage Against Tableau medium success

Reference Tableau's higher per-user pricing ($15-75/user/month) when negotiating, but also mention free alternatives like Metabase and Google Data Studio to demonstrate willingness to switch. Microsoft is aggressive about preventing losses to Tableau/Looker.

pricing analysis
High success Medium Low / difficult

Full negotiation guide →

Power BI Price History

Pricing changes CostBench has tracked for Power BI, verified across 2 snapshots going back to 2026Q1.

  1. Power BI price increase

    Highest tier increased from $20 to $24/month

    +20%

  2. Power BI tier restructure

    Changed from 3 to 4 pricing tiers

  3. Power BI tier renamed

    "Free" renamed to "Power BI Free"

  4. Power BI tier renamed

    "Pro" renamed to "Power BI Pro"

  5. Power BI tier renamed

    "Premium" renamed to "Power BI Premium Per User"

View Power BI's full price history →

Power BI Pricing FAQ

01 How much does Power BI cost in 2026?

Power BI Desktop is free. Power BI Pro costs $14 per user per month (paid annually). Power BI Premium Per User costs $24 per user per month (paid annually). Microsoft raised both tiers in April 2025 — up from the previous $10 and $20 prices.

02 What is the difference between Power BI Pro and Premium Per User?

Pro ($14/user/month) allows publishing and sharing reports in shared workspaces with 8 daily refreshes and 1 GB model memory. Premium Per User ($24/user/month) adds 100 GB model memory, 48 daily refreshes, paginated reports, deployment pipelines, and AI/Copilot features — all without needing a shared capacity SKU.

03 Do viewers need a Power BI Pro license?

Yes. Under Pro licensing, every person who views a shared report must also have a Pro license at $14/user/month. This means costs scale directly with the number of viewers. Organizations with many read-only viewers may find capacity-based licensing more cost-effective at scale.

04 Is Power BI included in Microsoft 365?

Power BI Pro is included in Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 subscriptions. If your organization already has E5 licenses, you may not need to purchase Power BI Pro separately. Lower Microsoft 365 tiers (E3, Business) do not include Pro.

05 What happened to Power BI Premium Per Capacity?

Microsoft stopped selling new Premium Per Capacity P-SKUs in 2024. New customers requiring capacity-based licensing are directed to Microsoft Fabric F-SKUs instead. Existing P-SKU customers can continue to renew. For embedded analytics in applications, Power BI Embedded capacity is still available.

06 How does Power BI pricing compare to Tableau?

Power BI Pro at $14/user/month is generally a lower-cost option than Tableau for team dashboard collaboration. Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month serves data professionals needing enterprise features. Power BI Free also supports individual exploration without a monthly license cost.

07 Is there a Power BI Desktop app for Mac?

No. Power BI Desktop is Windows-only. Mac users must rely on the Power BI web service at app.powerbi.com, which reviewers consistently note is less capable than the Windows desktop application.

08 Can I share reports on the free plan?

No. Power BI Free does not allow sharing reports or dashboards with other users. You must upgrade to Power BI Pro at $14/user/month to share content with colleagues or distribute reports across your organization.

09 Does Power BI work well with large datasets?

Performance can degrade with large datasets — multiple users report that previewing data at each transformation step in Power Query is slow. If your team regularly works with large data volumes, Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month provides larger dataset size limits and improved refresh performance.

10 How well does Power BI integrate with Microsoft 365?

Very well. Power BI connects seamlessly to Microsoft data sources including SharePoint files, OneDrive, and SQL Server, authenticating directly with your existing Microsoft account. It also supports a wide variety of non-Microsoft data connectors.

11 What is Power BI Embedded and when do I need it?

Power BI Embedded is a custom-priced Azure capacity-based offering that lets developers embed Power BI reports and dashboards into external-facing applications without requiring end-users to hold Power BI licenses. Pricing is custom, based on Azure capacity tier selection, and suited for ISVs or organizations building customer-facing analytics.

12 Are there hidden data limits in Power BI I should know about?

Yes. Power BI imposes limits that are not always clearly documented — for example, text string lengths are capped during data import. Teams can encounter these constraints unexpectedly mid-project and may need to restructure their data pipelines as a result.

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