You'll need 500 pros or premium. Answer from manofmatt on reddit.com
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › power-bi › fundamentals › service-features-license-type
Power BI service features by license type - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
November 3, 2025 - There are three per user license types: Fabric (Free), Power BI Pro, and Power BI Premium Per User (PPU). The license you need depends on where the content is stored, how you interact with it, and whether it uses Premium (capacity) features.
Microsoft Fabric Community
community.fabric.microsoft.com › t5 › Desktop › What-is-the-limitation-of-Power-BI-Free-license › td-p › 2439522
Solved: What is the limitation of Power BI Free license ? - Microsoft Fabric Community
April 6, 2022 - But, publish to web is a non-secure way to share reports, as it is public. Any one with a link can view he report without security authentication. To share securely, both sharer and recipient have to have pro license or the report needs to be in a workspace with premium capacity. Power BI Free doesnt give you:
Is Power BI desktop really free? What is the catch?
Power BI Desktop is free to use. If you want to publish the report to the Power BI Service and utilize features there, then you may need a paid license depending on what you're trying to do. More on reddit.com
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July 26, 2023Free Power BI License
In Admin panel, in the users part you can give a Power BI free licence. Did you try that?
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October 24, 2016Is power bi pro free to college students?
The Desktop version is free for everyone. Try ;)
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January 27, 2020PowerBI pro license
You can author reports locally using Power BI Desktop and users can open the report using this also. No license is required here but it becomes impractical when you're trying to share this with more than a few people.
If you want the full experience on-premise, i.e. published reports, scheduled refresh, dashboards, sharing etc. then you'll need Power BI Report Server, which is a lot more expensive than Pro.
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October 4, 2016Videos
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How To Get Free Microsoft Power Bi Pro License (Easiest Way) (2025 ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/powerbi › free license for only viewing users?
r/PowerBI on Reddit: Free License for only Viewing Users?
September 25, 2023 -
My company is currently in the process of reviewing if/how to implement Power BI.
As I'm sure you all well know, MS's licensing structure is stupidly complicated.
So hypothetically, we basically need 10 licenses for Dashboard creators, and 490 licenses for users who will be mainly just viewing the dashboards. (there will be some interactivity such as drill down/through data and pages for the users)
How should I structure our licenses? 10 Pros and 490 Free?
After some reading, some say it'll work, some say it won't. Some as offered buy 10 Premium licenses and implement Read-Only license for the using BI apps or Embedded dashboards.
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You'll need 500 pros or premium.
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It’s funny because Power BI is one of Microsoft’s simplest licensing models. One of the problems is people conflate the terms “free” and “included”. Viewers are included with Premium, not free. Embedded has included viewers but there are other development costs to deploy it. Publish to Web is a hack to have included Viewers with the cost of exposing all your company data to the entire Internet. If licensing costs are problematic, you have bigger problems. There are other costs like Azure, consultants to help get you up and running, and/or roles like Data Engineers who can create dimensional models in a Data Warehouse. Thinking this is all a $100/month investment is orders of magnitude off to roll out Enterprise BI to 500 people. Start small with Premium Per User ($20) licenses so you can use the right feature set.
DataCamp
datacamp.com › blog › power-bi-license-types
Power BI License Types: Who Each Plan Is For | DataCamp
May 7, 2025 - Power BI Premium Capacity (P SKUs): A capacity-based license providing dedicated resources for enterprise-grade performance. Pro or PPU users can create content and share it with users of any license type, including Free.
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › power-bi › fundamentals › service-self-service-signup-purchase-for-power-bi
Sign Up or Purchase Power BI as an Individual - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
This article explains how individuals in an organization can sign up for or purchase Power BI when self-service is enabled, so they can analyze data and create visualizations when self-service is enabled for their account by their organization. These self-service methods include upgrading to a paid license, starting individual trials, and getting free licenses if your organization allows self-service.
Microsoft
microsoft.com › en-us › power-platform › products › power-bi › getting-started-with-power-bi
Getting Started | Microsoft Power BI
Begin your Power BI free trial within Microsoft Fabric and experience the next generation of data analytics.
Visualitics
visualitics.it › home › power bi licensing guide
Power BI Licenses: differences between Pro, Free, and Premium | Visualitics
January 10, 2025 - However, sharing and collaboration features are not available. The Free license is ideal for individuals who want to develop dashboards using all the features of Power BI Desktop without the need to share them with other users.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/powerbi › is power bi desktop really free? what is the catch?
r/PowerBI on Reddit: Is Power BI desktop really free? What is the catch?
July 26, 2023 -
I’ve decided to self teach myself Power BI over Tableau on my personal laptop at home. I didn’t realize there’s a free version. However you also have to create a “Microsoft Fabric Account.” Is there a catch to this?
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Power BI Desktop is free to use. If you want to publish the report to the Power BI Service and utilize features there, then you may need a paid license depending on what you're trying to do.
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No catch, you just don’t get access to paid features. Those paid features make it much, much easier to use Power BI in an organizational setting, but if you’re just using it for yourself it’ll be fine.
Kwixand
kwixand.com › post › power-bi-pro-vs-free-vs-premium
Microsoft Power BI Pro vs. Free vs. Premium
April 10, 2025 - Users may share PBIX files outside of the Power BI cloud service and consume them using Power BI Desktop without requiring any Power BI license · While Power BI's free desktop version allows you to access the program’s basic functionalities, if you need to share your created reports with colleagues and other users, you need the Pro version.
Veelead Solutions
veelead.com › home › blog › power bi license types: power bi free vs pro vs premium plan comparison
Power BI License Types: Power BI Free Vs Pro Vs Premium Plan Comparison - Veelead Solutions
August 24, 2021 - The multiple versions of the software often lead to the debate on the benefits of Power BI Free vs Pro versions. What are Power BI license types that are available? Power BI currently has three versions: Microsoft Power BI Free / Desktop Microsoft Power BI Pro Microsoft Power BI Premium What ...
DynaTech Consultancy
dynatechconsultancy.com › blog › power-bi-licensing-comparison-free-vs-pro-vs-premium-plans
Power BI licensing comparison: Free vs Pro vs Premium Plans
May 9, 2025 - Its true strength lies in its scalability and adaptability, catering to individual users, small businesses, and large enterprises. But, as with any tool, the capabilities you can access depend on the license you choose. The Power BI Free version is perfect for individuals exploring the platform’s potential.
Microsoft
microsoft.com › en-us › power-platform › products › power-bi › pricing
Power BI: Pricing Plan | Microsoft Power Platform
Enabling content consumers to review and interact with Power BI reports without additional paid per-user licenses is available at P1 and above (and F64 and above). ... Representative of features available in general availability (GA) status. ... Power BI Desktop is the data exploration and ...
Syskit
syskit.com › blog › power-bi-comparison-free-pro-premium
Power BI Pro Vs Premium Vs Free Comparison
November 13, 2024 - Power BI Free: Exactly what is in the name, it’s free. Power BI Pro: $10 per user with access to all services and features · Power BI Premium per user: $20 in a compromise for smaller businesses who want to avail Premium license services ...
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Star Knowledge
star-knowledge.com › home › power bi free vs power bi pro vs power bi premium: a detailed comparison
Power BI Free vs Pro vs Premium: Which One to Choose?
November 21, 2025 - Power BI Desktop, available for free download from Microsoft, serves as a versatile tool. Its functionalities include connecting to diverse data sources, easy data modeling, and the creation of insightful reports.
Folio3
dynamics.folio3.com › blog › power bi free vs power bi pro vs premium -a detailed comparison
Power BI Free vs Pro vs Premium: Key Differences
July 9, 2025 - Microsoft currently offers several licensing options: Power BI Free (Desktop) – a free license ideal for personal use and learning.
Antdata
antdata.eu › home › articles › power bi license and subscription types. which one to choose?
Power BI License and Subscription Types. | Antdata
June 16, 2025 - Power BI Free (Desktop) is a cost-free license allowing users to connect to data sources, analyze data, and build reports.
Microsoft
microsoft.com › en-us › power-platform › products › power-bi › landing › free-account
Getting Started with Power BI for Free | Microsoft Power BI
Try Power BI as part of a free Microsoft Fabric account.
Dynamics Square
dynamicssquare.com › blog › power-bi-pricing-and-licensing-free-vs-pro-vs-premium
Power BI Pricing and Licensing: Free vs Pro vs Premium
The capabilities and server strength cannot be shared with another user. Power BI Free or Desktop version is freely available for all users to help them analyze and visualize the reports.
Cobalt
cobalt.net › home › blog › power bi free vs pro vs premium (feature & pricing examples)
Power BI Free vs Pro vs Premium (Feature & Pricing Examples)
December 1, 2023 - The Power BI Free license for Microsoft Fabric gives users access to a wide array of features at no cost. Power BI Pro licenses add content sharing and collaborative features through Workspaces for a monthly cost of $10 per user.
New Horizons
newhorizons.com › resources › blog › power-bi-pro-vs-free
Power BI Pro vs Free: Budget Conscious Comparison
March 3, 2025 - Discover the differences between Microsoft Power BI's Pro and Free licenses and see which one is best for your organization. Learn about features and more.