Microsoft Power BI Reviews

Name: Microsoft Power BI
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.0 (319 reviews)

Vendor: Microsoft

4.0 out of 5

319 reviews
93% willing to recommend

13K followers

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What is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization. This tool stands out for its ability to merge and analyze data from various sources. Widely adopted across different industries and departments, Power BI is instrumental in creating visually appealing dashboards and generating insightful business intelligence reports. Its intuitive interface, robust visualization capabilities, and seamless integration with other Microsoft applications empower users to easily create interactive reports and gain valuable insights.

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Microsoft Power BI is the #1 ranked solution in top Business Intelligence Tools and top Reporting Tools. PeerSpot users give Microsoft Power BI an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. Microsoft Power BI is most commonly compared to Tableau: Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau. Microsoft Power BI is popular among the midsize enterprise segment, accounting for 49% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 43% of all views.

Helped 832,138 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Shoury Priyanshu

Senior Manager, Strategy & Consulting at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

One of the key factors why I use Power BI is because it's very flexible with other Microsoft tools. The entire ETL process is easy and supports many databases, allowing data pipelines from multiple sources to be gathered in one place for visualization. This is the key aspect I like about it.

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PedroNavarro

BI Development & Validation Manager at JT International SA

If you try to have a big enterprise data model, it doesn't scale so well. You wouldn't get results similar to some of the other on-premises tools. In terms of its users, I don't know the exact number, but we have about 10,000 to 20,000 users. Its usage is increasing.

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Deepak Damodarr

Data Office Lead at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees

Over the last six years, Microsoft Power BI has evolved, matured, has brought in a lot of new features. Six years back, when I first started using Microsoft Power BI, it was just one of the tools among the crowd of tools that I had access to and may not have been that interesting, at that point in time. It was fairly rudimentary and fairly basic in terms of its feature capabilities. However, in the last six years, Microsoft has put a lot of focus and effort into developing it further, and has, on a regular incremental basis, started deploying and enabling capabilities and features, which now makes Microsoft Power BI one of the leading BI tools in the industry. We realized the benefits very quickly. In 30 minutes, a company can begin to realize the benefits. In the most basic use case, which is for a user to be able to just access a data which he or she normally would not have been able to himself or herself, since they don't have SQL query knowledge, or they don't know how to access, log into a SQL Server or a database. They can do that using Power BI within half an hour or less.

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Microsoft Power BI mindshare

Product category:

As of February 2025, the mindshare of Microsoft Power BI in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category stands at 21.4%, down from 22.6% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	BI (Business Intelligence) Tools	Feb 1, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Feb 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau	Feb 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Microsoft Power BI vs Amazon QuickSight	Feb 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	Microsoft Power BI vs Oracle OBIEE	Feb 1, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Tableau	4.2	18.2%	89%	295 interviews Add to research
Teradata	4.1	0.8%	87%	76 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Microsoft Power BI offers rich data visualization, user-friendly dashboards, seamless integration with Microsoft tools, and strong data modeling capabilities. Users appreciate its ease of use and customization, which allows data transformation and quick insights. Its drag-and-drop features and ability to handle large datasets make it ideal for business intelligence tasks. Integration with cloud and on-premises data sources is also highly valued, enhancing its data analysis and reporting effectiveness.

"Power BI allows me to show detailed improvements in quality and safety and patient experience."
"Power BI is a general-use visualization system. I can express the performance of our network through high-level key performance indicators."
"The ROI is high for small teams or basic use cases with limited datasets."

Room for Improvement

Microsoft Power BI faces challenges with large data handling, performance, and real-time data refresh capabilities. Users find it difficult to manage complex data models and there is a need for better integration with non-Microsoft databases. The interface and visualization options could be more intuitive. Pricing structure, licensing issues, and limited flexibility in visualization customization are concerns. Enhanced AI features and collaboration functions would also benefit users. A more user-friendly dashboard appearance and permission management are desired.

"It is not leading the charge on scalability, but it meets expectations."
"Visualization systems are still relatively young."
"Real-time data integration is an area for improvement. Although I've worked on several solutions involving real-time integration, it's not very user-friendly and often lags, especially with over a million data rows."

ROI

Microsoft Power BI offers significant cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved reporting capabilities. Many businesses report that it paid for itself quickly, with reduced reliance on additional software licenses and programmers. By enhancing data accessibility and streamlining operations, it saves time for management and developers. Using machine learning and natural query functions, businesses see a 25% revenue increase. However, ROI can vary depending on the use case, especially with complex data or larger teams.

Pricing

Microsoft Power BI offers a range of pricing options, making it suitable for various business sizes. The free desktop version is accessible, while the Pro plan costs approximately $10 per user per month, and Premium per user is $20. For enterprises, the Premium capacity plan starts at $5,000 monthly. Users find it cost-effective, especially when bundled with Microsoft 365, but note potential extra costs for additional features and third-party integrations. Discounts are possible through negotiation with Microsoft.

"The solution's costs are quite reasonable given the range of features provided."
"I rate the product pricing a ten."
"Downloading Power BI Desktop is free."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use Microsoft Power BI for analytics, reporting, and visualization across various departments including finance, sales, HR, and operations. They integrate data from multiple sources, create dashboards, track performance metrics, and support decision-making processes. It is favored for its cloud capabilities, enabling mobile access and seamless collaboration. Power BI is popular for real-time data processing, predictive analytics, and self-service reporting, empowering users with actionable insights for business improvements.

Service and Support

Microsoft Power BI's customer service is generally rated positively, with users appreciating responsiveness and the option to request product features. Technical support experiences vary, with users benefiting from online resources, community forums, and social media. While some find the technical support reliable and knowledgeable, others suggest areas for improvement, emphasizing the need for quicker responses and more detailed assistance. Community support and available documentation often aid users in resolving issues independently.

Deployment

Microsoft Power BI's initial setup is largely straightforward and easy with many finding it user-friendly, especially for cloud-based installations. Some experienced complexity when integrating with larger data sets or implementing on-premises. Familiarity with Microsoft's ecosystem can simplify the process, but navigating the more advanced features may require additional expertise. Training and experience enhance ease of use, yet newcomers might face a learning curve. Overall, the simplified setup aligns well with experienced users.

Scalability

Many find Microsoft Power BI scalable, supporting diverse uses from small to large organizations. However, scalability challenges arise with substantial datasets and require experienced implementation. Its cloud-based infrastructure helps handle scaling smoothly but might incur extra costs. Microsoft Power BI's compatibility with other Microsoft products aids in efficient scaling, though issues persist with non-Microsoft data sources. Performance might degrade with increasing data sizes, but thoughtful design can mitigate issues.

Stability

Microsoft Power BI is widely regarded as robust and stable by many users, though some report occasional instability with large data volumes or network issues. Most encounters of slowness are attributed to bandwidth rather than the platform itself. Frequent updates have improved its stability and added functions, making it suitable for reliable reporting. However, some users note possible slowdowns when dealing with extensive datasets. Stability is often rated highly compared to other tools.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Microsoft Power BI Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.