Microsoft Power BI Pro vs Premium: In-Depth Comparison

If your organization is looking at business intelligence platforms to leverage existing IT systems while enhancing data reporting and analytics, learn more about Microsoft Power BI Pro and Premium products to inform your decision process.

Does choosing between Power BI licenses feel overwhelming? What started as a simple decision often turns into a journey through a dense forest of technical specifications and pricing models. While most professionals quickly realize the free tier won't cut it for serious business needs, the real challenge begins when comparing Power BI Pro vs Premium options.

Sure, there's the obvious price difference, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface lie several considerations you’ll need to navigate that can make or break your analytics strategy. Let's clear away the fog and focus on what matters for your specific situation, because the right choice isn't just about features—it's about finding the perfect match for how your team actually works with data.

Microsoft Power BI: What Is It Used For

Microsoft Power BI is a scalable, self-service platform for data visualization and enterprise business intelligence (BI) insights. As a Microsoft application, Power BI has standard Microsoft menus and easily integrates with standard Microsoft Excel, among other data sources. In addition, a user can quickly get up to speed with Power BI due to the Microsoft suite integration.

Using Power BI consistently and with quality data provides your organization with the advantage of:

• more accurate reporting,
• real-time data dashboard tools, and
• more holistic reporting incorporating multiple data sources.

Every Power BI user requires training to use Power BI features for consistent data analytics. In addition, an organization's version of Power BI impacts the per user cost, data report capacity, and workspace experience.

Microsoft Power BI Versions: Free, Pro, Premium

There are currently three versions (or levels) of Power BI:

• Microsoft Power BI Desktop (free)
• Microsoft Power BI Pro
• Microsoft Power BI Premium
  • per user
  • per capacity

Each version of Power BI serves the core function of data visualization of complex data coupled with business intelligence insights. However, there are differences in cost, license, capacity, and features, so it is crucial to select the Power BI that meets the business needs. While Power BI desktop, with a free license for each user, may be the fastest option, it may not meet your full organization’s need.

Power BI Desktop (free)

Power BI Desktop is a free download from Microsoft for creating Power BI reports, transformations, visuals, and DAX measures and calculations straight from the desktop for individuals.

Power BI Service: Pro and Premium

Power BI Pro and Premium have tiered sharing capabilities so that a user can create reports in PBI Desktop, publish them in their "My Workspace," and create dashboards. In addition, they are ideal choices for use by teams and in organizational settings.

Power BI Pro: Cost, Capacity, License, and Features

Power BI Pro is the next level up from Power BI desktop (free). As such, unlike the free version, Power BI Pro includes 10 GB per user data storage and allows for data report sharing among users. Features

include:

• building dashboards,
• creating reports,
• viewing, sharing, and consumption of your created reports with no limits, and
• viewing, sharing, and consuming reports shared by others with no limits.

Of particular note are the Power BI Pro features:

• on-premise data gateways and
• improved data refreshes for on-premise data.

Each user within the organization will need their own Power BI Pro license to maximize the sharing and collaboration features. Additionally, users must integrate their workspace and coordinate their efforts to maintain accurate and reliable reporting across shared data sets.

Microsoft quotes a cost of $14 per user, per month, in the U.S. as of March 2025. For Power BI Pro, the pricing is the same for every user, regardless of the number of licenses purchased by the organization.

Power BI Premium: Cost, Capacity, License, and Features

Microsoft at one point offered two premium options: Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) and Microsoft Fabric Capacity (F SKUs). Both provide all the great capabilities of Power BI Pro—like building dashboards, creating and sharing reports, and viewing content created by others—but also offer advanced features designed for enterprise-scale needs:

• Larger datasets: Up to 100 GB per dataset with PPU, and even larger limits with Fabric.

• More frequent data refreshes: Up to 48 refreshes per day, so your insights always stay current.

• Advanced analytics features: Including sophisticated AI, powerful dataflows, and streamlined deployment pipelines.

• Enhanced technical tools: Full read/write XMLA endpoint connectivity and improved automatic page refresh.

Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) is a great option for smaller teams or organizations that want premium features without having to manage dedicated computing resources. At $24 per user each month, it gives you flexibility and enterprise-grade analytics power in a simple per-user license.

Microsoft Fabric Replaces Power BI Premium per Capacity (P SKUs)

For larger organizations needing greater scale, as of March 2025, the former Power BI Premium per Capacity (P SKUs) is now transitioning to the new Microsoft Fabric Capacity (F SKUs). Fabric not only includes all the features of Power BI Premium, but also adds access to additional Azure-powered capabilities like trusted workspace access and Managed Private Endpoints, essential for secure and private data handling. Plus, Fabric capacity spending can be counted toward your Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), offering additional financial benefits.

Current Power BI Premium customers can keep using their existing capacities until the end of their current agreements. You can no longer renew P-SKUs; and as of writing this, Microsoft still needs to update thta in their FAQ section. Once it's time to renew, you'll need to transition to Fabric. Microsoft helps make this migration easier by offering:

• A 30-day period of free Power BI Premium capacity after your previous subscription ends. This free capacity matches your existing P-SKU, giving you extra time without paying for two capacities simultaneously.

• A 90-day transition window to access and migrate your data smoothly.

• An automated migration tool designed for large-scale workspace migrations. Whether you have hundreds or thousands of workspaces, this tool helps simplify and speed up your transition using Fabric REST APIs.

After the initial 30-day grace period, if you haven't migrated fully, your capacity will start to experience reduced performance, with interactive operations delayed by approximately 20 seconds. After 90 days, the capacity may freeze entirely, and eventually, data could become inaccessible. To avoid disruption, Microsoft recommends migrating promptly and deleting your unused Power BI Premium capacities once migration is complete.

Additionally, with Fabric SKUs, you'll continue to have access to Power BI Embedded and, with Fabric 64 SKU Reserved Instances, you'll also get Power BI Report Server included. Remember, a Power BI Pro license is still necessary for report publishers and consumers, but with Fabric 64 SKU capacities (equivalent to Power BI Premium P1) and higher, report viewers only require a free Fabric license if the content is hosted in the capacity.

As you prepare for renewal, Microsoft encourages you to plan ahead, review Fabric pricing, and consult your Microsoft representative or partner to ensure a smooth transition that fully meets your organization's needs.

Power BI Pro vs Premium

Microsoft provides a detailed comparison of the Power BI levels (Free, Pro, Premium) to help IT professionals and leaders right-size their organization's IT infrastructure and dataset requirements. Overall, the key differentiator between Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium is Performance.

Feature	Power BI Pro	Power BI Premium (Per User)
Storage	10 GB/user	100 GB/user
Refresh Rate	8/day	48/day
AI Capabilities	Standard	Advanced
Ideal For	Small teams	Power users
Price	$14/user/mo	$24/user/mo
Licensing	Per Person	All Users
Features List	Visualize Data, Live Dashboards and Reports, Share Insights Across Org, Collaborate Across Org	All Pro features, plus..., Accelerate Access to Insights, Unlock Self-Service Data Prep for Big Data, Simplify Data Management, Access at Enterprise Scale

Note: costs listed are US pricing as of April 2025.

Power BI Premium vs Pro: Which Version to Use?

You can use Power BI for dashboard and report building, unlimited viewing, sharing, and use of reports (both created and shared). An organization planning to use  needs to consider which level of the tool is necessary. Work with the company's IT department and the data analytics team to answer these questions to inform the selection.

• What data sources are available?
• Do data analysts need access to Power BI on both their mobile and desktop devices?
• Is the Power BI service needed?
• What type of training do the data analytics team and anticipated users require?
• How is a Power BI report server configured (and kept up) initially?
• How many people are going to create items using Power BI?
• Who requires access to reports generated with this technology?
• How many users will only be viewing dashboards as opposed to creating them in Power BI.

In a smaller setting, Power BI free will meet all needs. With a large company, more users will only view reports, not create them. That would indicate that Power BI Pro or Premium per user would be sufficient. In settings with high amounts of report creation and modeling, the Power BI Premium capacity solution would fit in addition to large data sets.

Summary

Assess your reporting needs, budget, and data scope to help guide your decision-making for which Power BI (free, Pro, or premium) meets your performance requirements. Power BI Pro can meet the needs of smaller companies with contained data needs and a per user license model. However, building from Power BI Pro, larger organizations will require Power BI Premium, with either the per user model or capacity model, for the expanded features and computing power.