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Microsoft Idea

Power BI

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Power BI Lite License

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on 09 May 2017 00:25:49

Power BI should have a Lite License for people that only consume dashboards or reports every now and then. This is for people that don't create reports but need to see the dashboards and may need to use the "report level" to be able to export output to PowerPoint (since you can't export the dashboard to PowerPoint but can only do it at Report level).

Administrator on 22 Oct 2017 01:35:52

With the introduction of Power BI Premium earlier this year, there are now two licensing options for Power BI: Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium. This provides the flexibility to select the model that best meets the needs of individual users and entire organizations – whether that’s equipping users with access to self-service BI, broadening the reach of BI content for users occasionally viewing dashboards and reports, or elevating storage sizes, increasing refresh rates and introducing other performance capabilities based on workload requirements. The right choice, Pro or Premium, depends on your particular situation. We've been listening to your questions on UserVoice, the community, and other forums about what option to choose, and have developed a FAQ on our blog that answers the most common questions. Check it out at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-pro-power-bi-premium-flexibility-to-choose-the-licensing-best-for-you-and-your-organization/.

Comments (139)
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Henry on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:54

RE: Power BI Lite License

Agree. It only seems fair given the recent licence changes

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Power BI User on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:49

RE: Power BI Lite License

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

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Brian Smith on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:38

RE: Power BI Lite License

I agree with edh. This is really no different than PDF files as far as I'm concerned. You pay to be able to create PDF files but the reader is freely available. The same should apply to Power BI. Same goes for exporting to Excel and PowerPoint. This is basic stuff and should be free.

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Johan van den Brink on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:29

RE: Power BI Lite License

Please offer a cheaper license for small companies that need PowerBI on premise.

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Daniel Bartley on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:28

RE: Power BI Lite License

You've made a odd choice for the name but oh well.

Power BI Premium is a great idea but lower specs to hit a lower price point is necessary for SME clients.

A clearer product name might have been Power BI Enterprise with standard and premium pricing tiers.

The v1 pricing for Power BI Embedded was an equivalent of charging for a sql database at a flat rate per kb of IO.

Fixed capacity for a fixed price takes away all the uncertainty and complexity of the current model.

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Power BI User on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:28

RE: Power BI Lite License

Agree with Matt. We need more flexible license that can scale. If you develop something on PowerBi you cannot afford to pay for Premium as you are just starting and you do not have so much customers.

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Daniel Bartley on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:28

RE: Power BI Lite License

So basically you want export to excel and PowerPoint to be included in a free or near free licence?

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edh on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:18

RE: Power BI Lite License

It makes no sense to me that someone just reading a PowerBI report has to have the same license as someone that is actually creating and publishing PowerBI reports.

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Matt Allington on 05 Jul 2020 22:48:17

RE: Power BI Lite License

This licence needs to be scalable to all sized businesses, not just large corporates. Power BI Premium already caters for the big end of town. Small customers can't afford to pay $36,000 per year for 300 lite readers of content.