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Which Power BI licence do you need?
It depends on how many people look, not on how many build. Building is free in Power BI Desktop. The moment you share, every reader needs a paid licence, or you put capacity underneath and they read for free. With a handful of users, individual licences are cheapest. From a few hundred readers, capacity usually wins.
The four forms, in plain terms
| Form | What you get | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Free (Desktop) | Build and view yourself, no sharing | One builder working alone |
| Pro | Publish and share, per person | Up to a few dozen users |
| Premium Per User | Heavier models and more refreshes, per person | A small group with heavy models |
| Fabric capacity | Compute for the organisation, readers free | Many readers, or models that no longer fit |
The calculation nobody makes first
The question is almost never which licence has the nicest features. It is how many people will be looking. That number grows faster than expected: a report built for the management team turns out to be opened by three departments six months later.
So model two scenarios, readers today and readers in a year, and find where the lines cross. That crossing point decides it, not the feature list.
Our order of work
We look at the model first. Columns with high cardinality, timestamps down to the second and technical keys nobody uses cost memory without adding anything. Only once the model is right is the licence question a real question, and it usually lands lower than expected.
Half an hour is enough to know whether we fit
No slide deck and no quote at the end. We walk through your sources, your definitions and your biggest frustration.
Book half an hourFrequently asked questions
Which Power BI licence do I need?
It depends on how many people need to look, not on how many build. Building is free in Power BI Desktop. The moment you share, every reader needs a paid licence, unless you put capacity underneath and then they can read for free. With a handful of users, individual licences are cheapest. From a few hundred readers, capacity usually wins.
What is the difference between Pro and Premium Per User?
Pro is the standard licence to publish and share. Premium Per User adds heavier capabilities: larger models, more refreshes per day, and features that otherwise only run on capacity. It is still per person, so it only makes sense while the group stays small.
When do you need Fabric capacity?
Once the number of readers grows quickly, or once your model no longer fits within the limits of an individual licence. On capacity your organisation buys compute instead of seats, and anyone who only reads no longer needs a licence of their own.
What does a Power BI licence actually cost?
Microsoft adjusts its rates periodically and prices per country in local currency, so a figure here would be wrong within a year. Check the current rate on the Microsoft pricing page. What matters more than the price per seat is how many seats you genuinely need, and that often differs sharply from what is asked for first.
Do people who only view count too?
Yes, and this is the cost most often overlooked. Someone who never builds anything but opens a report once a month still needs a licence, unless the report sits on capacity. Work that group out beforehand, not afterwards.