Power BI Licensing explained

[@bobsmiley5038]

This is the most helpful explanation of the confusing world of PowerBI Licensing that I've come across. Thanks so much for putting this together for us.

[@AccessAnalytic]

No worries, you’re welcome Bob. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know you found it useful

[@ankitkishore77]

thanks again ...that edit in the middle of the video was great help btw... so I am recommenting/ re thanking you..

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome, thank you

[@RanjanDas-lk9gi]

helpful explanations of Power BI free license, pro license, and PPU

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome.

[@ExcelWithChris]

Cannot wait to watch this. Been struggling to get info on this. Thanks Thanks

[@AccessAnalytic]

Hope it’s useful

[@TOPHOLM04]

Nice and simple explanation of the different license types. Keep up the goode work

[@AccessAnalytic]

Thanks, will do!

[@bagnon]

If you save the .pbix file and email it to a co-worker who has access to the same source data, can they open and interact with the report without it being published to a workspace?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yep sure. They can do whatever they want with the file so you lose control

[@arjunm8431]

I just loved the explanation simple and effective.

[@AccessAnalytic]

Cheers. Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind comment

[@MichealAngeloArts]

Is this for an outdated version of PowerBI Desktop? My Desktop version is 2.122 64-bit (October 2023) and I can't seem to find "Embed report" or "Publish to web (public)" In fact I'm not even able to log in since Power BI requires a work or school email address for sign-in so not sure of any possibility to share a dashboard (even using publicly-available data) without licensing

[@AccessAnalytic]

Licensing is not linked to Power BI desktop. Desktop is completely free. The licensing relates to PowerBI.com where you publish and share reports.

[@AccessAnalytic]

If you want to try publishing for free then follow the steps here pbi.guide/free-power-bi-service-and-pro-trial/

[@msubagjasastrawardaya1454]

great explanation, especially ppu create pro workspace for pro user

[@AccessAnalytic]

Glad to help

[@244nabil]

thank you so much!!! was getting so confused with all these licensing

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome. Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind comment

[@scobix1219]

Hello, i have few questions...until few weeks ago i worked on a free trial version and i could upload/ share / refresh my data sets properly, after trial ended, i encountered few problems with data refreshments most of them referring that i need to upgrade my workspace to a premium workspace. I mention that i 've bought PRO license for me and another 6 colleagues who need to check my reports daily, but unfortunately when i tried to refresh my data set, it still prompting me with same kind of error that my max data set must be 1024 mb and i have somewhere around 1200mb and i need premium capacity or something like that...i talked with someone and he recommended me to buy fabric so i bought also F2 SKU and assigned to my workspace but data set it s still not refreshing/updating properly...From your video what i understand is the fact that me and the other 6 colleagues need to have 20$ ( premium per license ) licenses for them to see my reports and for me to be able to have greater space for upgrade this sets? I'll be so glad if i will have an answer. Thanks!

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yep, sounds like you need PPU licence for everyone rather than fabric. Then ensure you make your workspace a PPU workspace.

[@scobix1219]

@@AccessAnalytic Wow, that was a fast answering, thank you , i think that i will do. Probably it s about " Model size limit" which in PPU is 100 GB and in PRO license probably it s limited to 1024 MB ( 1 GB ), if i' m not mistaken. Thank you again

[@AccessAnalytic]

@scobix1219 correct

[@scobix1219]

@@AccessAnalytic So in the end i will reject my fabric F2 SKU subscription...Thank you! I hope after i will purchase the PPU licenses everything will be normal again.

[@titankyo]

I have pro license, but my colleagues cannot access to my shared PBI report anymore as their PPU trial expired, "publish to web (public)" button like 2:02 is missing in my case, any idea why? Thanks in advance.

[@AccessAnalytic]

They’ll need a pro licence to view your shared report. Publish to web is off by default. The Power BI admin can go into settings and enable it

[@ankitkishore77]

thanks a ton mate...really informative and simple to understand.

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@burtking4270]

MSFT - licensing clear as mud.

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yeah, not a strength!

[@Paul___L]

Very good explanation! Thank you.

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@marcelolopesdeamorimjunior9723]

Very helpful, good work 👏🏽

[@AccessAnalytic]

Thank you

[@rtoolsretailanalytics9488]

Thanks, great video, so the only way to share PBi dashboards to free users is having the "Per Capacity" option?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yes that’s right.

[@sebastienbcn1803]

So clear, thanks

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@jasonollivent6404]

great explanation - thank you!

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@Eryx.Muadib]

Hello! A bit late to the party here. Thanks for the information! Let me see if this works. I am working with a client and she is not tech savvy. However, I must present her reports via Power Bi. I was thinking that using the Power Bi Service would be a great to implement given the cloud benefits. However, just to get in the right path, if I want her to see the reports and other individuals that might want to see the dashboards, should I buy PPU and help them create a free account on Power Bi? What other ways would you suggest in presenting this to my client? Thanks in advance!

[@AccessAnalytic]

Hi, no you’ll need a pro licence each. Every viewer and publisher needs pro. They can either buy their own under their own tenant , (with their own emails ) or you add them to your tenant with their own dedicated emails ( [e-mail] ). PPU has additional features but anyone viewing a report saved in a PPU workspace would also need a PPU licence which is double the price of PRO, so not what you need.

[@jo_ngan]

Very useful. Thx for sharing

[@AccessAnalytic]

You're welcome

[@rafaeel731]

What about PowerBI embedding and the A/EM/P capacities? The cost a lot, and I wanted to know when they are needed

[@AccessAnalytic]

A and EM SKUs are not something I know much about. A SKUs used by Software Vendors to embed power bi reporting into their applications. Charged hourly for capacity I think. EM skus are for organisations wanting to just embed reports in SharePoint and Teams. So viewers don’t get access to the Power BI service. P SKUs have now been replaced with Fabric 64 and higher SKUs

[@wayneedmondson1065]

Good info! Thanks Wyn!!

[@AccessAnalytic]

No worries!

[@Jonay1990]

I saw there's an "Embedded" option there - what if I want to embed a client-specific dashboard on my website for a client to login and view their data that we produce? How would that work? Having multiple clients with their own dashboards in different secure areas of the website to see? Are mobile dashboards included with a "desktop" published dashboard or are they a separate cost? Ideally would like to have my clients to have the option to log in on their desktop through the website and have the option to view on a mobile/tablet device if required... thanks, Wyn. :)

[@AccessAnalytic]

There’s an option I didn’t mention for your scenario . More info here azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/power-bi-embedded/ And web development skills needed to implement it

[@kennedymwenda3357]

@@AccessAnalytic Can pro user account support this? Also is it a must to purchase a capacity to able to embed reports this way?

[@AccessAnalytic]

@@kennedymwenda3357 - you can't use a Pro User licence to embed in your own website, you must go down embed capacity path.

[@tomasfuenzalida3160]

very good information, thank you. I have a doubt, I have a premium license per user, is it possible with this license to publish reports in the cloud, and that users of my organization that do not have licenses can see the report without any problem? or do they need at least a pro license? thanks

[@AccessAnalytic]

If you have a PPU licence and you create a PPU workspace then only other PPU licence holders can view reports. If you create a Pro workspace then other Pro and PPU licence holders can view reports You need to pay for Premium Capacity not PPU if you want to share with free licence holders.

[@stephanebouillon2538]

Hi, if I want to export a paginated report to PDF and then email that out from a power automate flow, what licenses do I need ? Alternatively, what do I need if I want to make a report available via a power pages website (Dynamics) ?

[@AccessAnalytic]

I don’t know the answer sorry

[@defaultdefault812]

To be clear - can Premium users share a Power BI dashboard to external users? Can they interact with the dashboard using a free Power BI license?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yes, that is correct, more information here learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/enterprise/service-admin-azure-ad-b2b?WT.mc_id=M365-MVP-5002589

[@ruthlessluder]

What's the difference between publish to web vs embedding into an app? I have a react app and I want to embed some corporate reports in it for everyone in the company to view. What kind of license do I need?

[@AccessAnalytic]

More info on Embedding into your own website here azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/power-bi-embedded/

[@AccessAnalytic]

Publish to web is completely unsecure (anyone can google the results potentially)

[@ruthlessluder]

@@AccessAnalytic Thank you!

[@ayushkumarsingh5875]

If we make a Power BI report using the ArcGIS map, (question) Do we need to purchase the ArcGIS subscription as well in order to embed that power BI report on a website? Please reply

[@AccessAnalytic]

I think some basic elements are free learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/consumer/end-user-arcgis

[@scottandreasen3265]

thanks for the video, can I embed a simple powerbi report based on a excel sheet on a public website with the pro account? would viewers be required to have powerbi? do you know of any examples?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yes you can using publish to web. You don’t even need a pro licence it’s completely free. Here’s a public report from my book app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNjBkMzRkOTYtZGQ1Mi00MzRkLTgwMGMtNjY1MzQ1MmMzMGUwIiwidCI6ImE0MTUwMGUwLTllZTktNDRjNS05MmJiLTRiMjVhNWU1Nzg2OSJ9 More info on it here: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-publish-to-web?WT.mc_id=M365-MVP-5002589

[@mirrrvelll5164]

Question, if someone has Premium cap., and shares or gives rights/access to Free user - do Free user can modify report/dataset or it is just for viewing?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Just viewing. You need pro to edit and publish & refresh

[@imanedakir9227]

Thank you

[@AccessAnalytic]

No worries.

[@hugoabreu310]

Great! Quite clear! ;)

[@AccessAnalytic]

Thank you

[@shadabpathan8155]

Hi , Can u please let me what licensing model should I propose for the following scenario I have 250 users for my reporting out of which only 50 users access the report..should I buy pro license for all 250 users ?

[@AccessAnalytic]

If there are 250 people who need to look at and interact with the report then you need 250 licences. I’m not understanding the difference between the 250 and the 50?

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Probably does reports relating to 250 people but only 50 people of them then view the reports@@AccessAnalytic So assume would be cheaper paying 9.99 for 50 users than having to do "per capacity"?

[@AccessAnalytic]

The cut-off in terms of price benefit on per-capacity is around 500 so it’s per user you’d go for whether 50 or 250

[@rafiurrahman4270]

thanks

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@makdaddy8888]

Is this updated for Microsoft Fabric Free licenses? Do we need a new video?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Fabric Free is just the new name for Power BI free.

[@MrSurfsAlot]

Thanks

[@AccessAnalytic]

You’re welcome

[@marvinpolo3180]

leave it up to microsoft to make everything counterintuitive and unnecessarily complex.

[@AccessAnalytic]

Yep and this is their simplest set up across their products up my view !

[@fellrunner1975]

It’s still so confusing 😂

[@AccessAnalytic]

And sadly it’s the simplest of most of Microsoft’s licensing set ups !

[@fellrunner1975]

Great explanation though. Think we’re going premium capacity 👍🏻

[@AccessAnalytic]

@fellrunner1975 good stuff

[@labbdogg2929]

Why can't just Microsoft simplify these license collaborations so it makes everyone's life easier? It's frustrating

[@AccessAnalytic]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@CautionCU]

Maybe worst licensing schema in all of microsoft? I get they need to get paid somehow but sheesh this sucks. Don't even read the Common Data Model. Anyone can explain if anything major is missing from the Dataverse for Teams? How fast is a small business going to run out of records in a 1 million line database?

[@AccessAnalytic]

Sadly this is the simplest of the Power Platform licensing. Power Apps / Dataverse licensing seems convoluted. Dataverse for Teams is likely seen as a stepping stone alternative to keeping records in an Excel file

[@saravanansteven3400]

Power BI is good than Tabelu