Have you ever wondered what is the most important part of implementing a Power BI consulting solution? A Power BI consultant? Yes, but it is something else. A well-structured Power BI consulting plan? It is one of the most important things for better results. But, it is something else. The most important part of implementing a Power BI consulting service is a Power BI license! Yup, you’ll need a Power BI license to use Power BI for consulting effectively and peacefully. So, Microsoft offers three main Power BI plans that we will discuss in this blog. Let’s get started!
Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of each Power BI license plan, let’s understand why a Power BI license is needed.
What is a Power BI license?
Imagine going to a gaming zone. You need to buy a ticket for the games you want to play. But, if you buy a certain pass, you get to access a select few games. Depending on the pass type, the number of games changes. The higher the value of the pass the more games you will be able to play. Power BI license is like this pass. Therefore, the features and services you get from Power BI change in each license.
Therefore, a Power BI license is an essential part of using and benefiting from Power BI professional services. So, whether you offer Microsoft Power BI consulting services or use it for your organization, you’ll need a license to use the platform. The licenses are categorized on the diverse services they offer. The services include access to advanced tools, more storage space, sharing rights, and more.
So, to select the right Power BI license, you need to know what each plan means for you. Oh, and there is one more thing you need to know about Power BI plans (hint: it’s an extra service you can benefit from!). We’ll talk about it later in this blog. So, let’s get back to understanding the Power BI plans!
Let’s understand Power BI license plans!
(you can use the following table to create an image
You can use checkbox or ✅ and ❌icons)
Power BI license features
| Power BI Free | Power BI Pro | Power BI PPU | |
| Integrate Various Data Sources | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Create Interactive Dashboard | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Create Reports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Share Insights | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automatic Dataset Refresh | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Share Power BI Reports | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Access To Microsoft 365 | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Credit Card Needed | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| AI Features | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| On-Premise Reporting | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Use Large Data Models | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Microsoft Power BI offers three main licenses to be used for Power BI consultants:
- Power BI Free
- Power BI Pro
- Power BI Premium Per User (PPU)
Each of these licenses has special features, depending on which you can choose a plan that suits your needs. Let’s look at what each license offers to a Power BI consulting company or individual user.
Power BI Free
You might have guessed it already, but this one is free. NIL cost! It is designed for those testing the waters with Power BI, whether it’s a company or individual learning Power BI. So, it helps the aspiring Power BI consultant determine the answer to their question “Is Power BI a good career?”.
You only need a Microsoft account to get the Power BI free license. Power BI or Office 365 administrator service can give you access to the free version of Power BI. It has limited services like integrating data sources and creating dashboards and reports. However, there is a limit to one user only. So, you can’t share your reports and insights with other users.
Power BI Pro
Power BI pro comes to the rescue if you want to share reports with other users. The Power BI Pro license is mostly for developers who can set up an advanced setup. The Power BI Pro license costs $10 per month for a single user. Here, you get all the services included in the free version: creating a dashboard and reports after integrating data sources. Additionally, you can share the report with other users with similar or higher-level licenses. You get to refresh your data sets 8 times in a day! Thus, you can get real-time insights for accurate decision-making.
What makes this license a pro? Well, first of all, it is perfect for developers. It allows the user to integrate diverse data sources, design data flows for dashboards and reports, create paginated reports, share access to data sets and reports, establish a few data governance settings, and has 10GB capacity. Furthermore, the Power BI Pro allows the users to create diverse shared work environments like workspace, shared sources, or using the Power BI app. Therefore, you can establish a smooth workflow and save time.
It allows you the necessary features to create useful reports and share them with other members to work on them together. Therefore, it is perfect for those with limited needs and users. With basic data governance features you can control the access to datasets and workshops.
Power BI Premium Per User (PPU)
Power BI Pro offers a 1 GB model size. But, what if you need more? Or, What if you need advanced features and more refreshes in a day? Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) is your solution. The Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) license costs $20 per month for individual users. So, it is the most advanced license for Microsoft Power BI consulting at a large scale.
So, in addition to the features offered by Power BI Free and Pro, Power BI PPU offers a model size of 100GB, allows the integration of large data sources smoothly, AI features, 48 refreshed in a day, creating deployment pipelines, and access to Power BI data marts for relational analysis with no-code experience. Furthermore, the Power BI PPU plan allows you to set up advanced data governance measures to ensure the security of your data.
The Power BI PPU was designed to help large-scale organizations with advanced analysis services needs or a Power BI consulting services company. Therefore, advanced features allow you to get the best Power BI has to offer for data modeling, dashboard designing, data analysis, and supporting features. Thus, it is one of the popular plans chosen by many Power BI consulting company in the USA.
That was all about the basic Power BI plans you need to choose from. However, remember, we said something about the Power BI service you can benefit from? It is Power BI embedded!
Power BI embedded is a plan with varying prices designed for developers. So, Power BI embedded allows the user or developer to add live reports, dashboards, or KPIs on their desired platform (website or app). You can customize the panel you embed for branding purposes. The prices depend on the capacity you need. So, if you are into showcasing a live feed of your KPI, you need to explore Power BI embedded!
So, we talked about all the plans offered by Power BI for the Power BI consulting firms and individual users in a company. But, how do you choose the right consulting plan? It can be tricky to pick the right Power BI plan. So, the following are a few factors that influence the choice of Power BI plans.
How do you choose the right Power BI plan?
Once you list the answers for the following factors, you can easily pick a plan suitable for your project needs. So, let’s look at some factors affecting the choice of Microsoft Power BI plans:
Consider project requirements
The first and foremost consideration is about your project. Therefore start by setting the goals and identify the services you’ll require for Microsoft Power BI consulting service. Thus, you can list out the Power BI features you require to achieve those goals.
For example, you can start by asking yourself the following questions:
- Do you need to share a report in Power BI?
- How often will you need to refresh your datasets?
- Do you need AI assistance to optimize your analysis process?
- Will you need advanced data modeling features?
- Is your data source large or complex?
So, after considering such factors, you can compare what each plan has to offer and make your final decision.
Advanced features requirements
To be on the safe side, you can start with the free or pro version to see if it fits your needs. However, if you feel that you need advanced features, you can switch to a higher license. For example, you can start with Power BI Pro to refresh your data and share reports. However, your data sets grow with your organization. In such cases, you can switch to Power BI PPU for integrating large data sets and more refreshed data.
Data capacity requirement
Whether you are doing Power BI dashboard consulting for a firm or yourself, datasets are your building block! So, it becomes a crucial factor when choosing a Power BI plan. The Power BI Pro offers a 10 GB model size optimum for small to medium-sized organizations with limited data sets and analysis needs. However, If you have large data sources for analysis and dashboard you’ll need more space. In such cases, Power BI PPU with a 100 GB model size is more suitable for you.
Requirements based on the user’s role
Each team member has a unique role in the organization. So, it’s logical that all of them will use Power BI based on their needs. Therefore, instead of buying all of your team members similar licenses. You can focus on their needs and the features they might need to efficiently complete their task. Based on their needs, you select which plan is best suitable for them.
Your budget for Power BI services
If you’re a Power BI consulting company, choosing the right plan for your client can be tricky with budget constraints. This is true for direct users as well. So, understand what Power BI is used for in the project and the available budget. You need to determine what is the best course of action and how you can maximize the use of a license for your project. Therefore, smart planning and execution is the key here.
Scalability of the Power BI plan
A business changes every day. So, your Power BI plan must be scalable to fit your needs. You can start with free and gradually decide whether your project needs advanced features. The Power BI license can be upgraded as your needs grow.
How does Squillion Tech help you with Power BI consulting service?
Squillion Tech provides diverse tech and analysis services including Power BI consulting service. Our Power BI consulting company focuses on helping you understand your data and establish a well-structured system for dashboards and reports. In addition to our Power BI dashboard consulting, we help you identify the most suitable plan for you.
Our organization is a certified Microsoft partner offering Power BI consulting services. Therefore, we start with understanding your project needs and setting the deliverable goals. Based on your project we help you choose the right plan for better results and high ROI. Furthermore, our team of certified Power BI developers integrates the data sources, creates data models and dashboards, and enables you to use advanced features easily.
So, do you want to empower your decision-making process with data? We can help you with our Power BI consulting services! Let’s talk more about you and your project. Contact us now!
Conclusion
Microsoft Power BI is a crucial tool to help you understand your business and make effective decisions backed with data. So, whether you are offering Power BI consulting services or using it in your organization, you’ll need an individual user license. There are three types of licenses offered by Microsoft Power BI as we have discussed in this blog. The three licenses are Power BI Free, Power BI Pro, and Power BI Premium Per User (PPU). Furthermore, Microsoft offers Power BI embedded for developers to include a live report or dashboard in their website or app. Additionally, your choice depends on your project needs for data set size, advanced features, budget, and more. Squillion Tech can help you with each step from understanding your needs and selecting the best suitable Power BI plan to establishing a report generation setup.
