Power BI Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Power BI costs Free to $24 per user/month as of June 2026, with 4 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Power BI Free (free), Power BI Pro at $14/user/month, and Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month. Enterprise pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Power BI offers 4 pricing tiers: Power BI Free, Power BI Pro, Power BI Premium Per User, Power BI Embedded. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Power BI Pro at $14/user/month, Power BI Premium Per User at $24/user/month. The Power BI Pro plan is teams collaborating on dashboards.
Yes, Power BI offers a forever free plan as of June 2026. The free tier includes 3 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $14/user/month (Power BI Pro). Pricing verified from 1 sources by CostBench.
Power BI's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Power BI Desktop authoring
- Local report creation
- No credit card required
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Publish and share reports
- Shared workspaces
- 8 dataset refreshes per day
- 1 GB model memory
- 10 GB storage per license
- Included in Microsoft 365 E5 / Office 365 E5
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Publish and share reports or Shared workspaces
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Power BI branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Power BI Pro Plan Comparison
| Power BI Free $0 | Power BI Pro $14/user/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 3 included | 6+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Power BI branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Individual exploration | Teams collaborating on dashboards |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Power BI free?
Yes, Power BI offers a forever free plan with 3 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Power BI's free plan?
Power BI's free plan includes: Power BI Desktop authoring, Local report creation, No credit card required. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Power BI's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Publish and share reports, Shared workspaces, 8 dataset refreshes per day, 1 GB model memory, 10 GB storage per license. You'll also have Power BI branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Power BI's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Publish and share reports or Shared workspaces, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $14/user/month.
05 Is Power BI's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Power BI's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.