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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft BI (MSBI)

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.

    $14

    per month per user

    Microsoft Power BI

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.

    $10

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Microsoft BI is ideal for proficient Excel users, and it is the best choice in terms of visualizations. We decided to use Microsoft BI for these reasons.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Microsoft is a distant me too in a world that is crowded and drowning in BI Me too products. Visualizations 5/10. Micro Strategy, ClickView, Domo, BOBJ etc will kill this product. The issue is cost and speed to implementation. The cost is far less than any of the previously …
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    95%
    Would buy again
    101 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    11 Answers
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    96 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    11 Answers
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    103 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    63 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    67 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    48 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.8
    140 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports9.041 Ratings8.5120 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.048 Ratings10.0140 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates9.046 Ratings8.0128 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.8
    48 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.2
    140 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Drill-down analysis9.043 Ratings7.0139 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.048 Ratings9.0138 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages9.038 Ratings8.0103 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration9.048 Ratings9.0135 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    47 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.6
    134 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Publish to Web9.043 Ratings8.0129 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.043 Ratings9.0122 Ratings
    Report Versioning9.039 Ratings9.0102 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling9.042 Ratings8.0104 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers9.023 Ratings9.074 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    47 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.7
    136 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.046 Ratings9.0131 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.043 Ratings8.0122 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics9.041 Ratings9.0102 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining9.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    48 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.6
    127 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.045 Ratings9.0121 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.042 Ratings9.0102 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.045 Ratings10.0111 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.01 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.027 Ratings8.394 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    38 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.0
    117 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.035 Ratings8.0111 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.026 Ratings7.793 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile10.035 Ratings7.7112 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.8
    20 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.4
    80 Ratings
    8% above category average
    REST API9.018 Ratings8.072 Ratings
    Javascript API9.018 Ratings9.956 Ratings
    iFrames9.017 Ratings8.055 Ratings
    Java API9.016 Ratings8.046 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)9.017 Ratings8.163 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.016 Ratings8.444 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score9.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (72 ratings)
    8.5
    (142 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (14 ratings)
    7.9
    (58 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    10.0
    (53 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Microsoft Power BI
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI is well suited for Stream analytics, easy data integration, report creation and UI/UX designs (limited but what all available are great ones) Microsoft BI may be less appropriate for handling huge number of datasets and difficult queries. It may also be difficult for a company with heavy data.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Has significantly improved collation of data and visualisation especially with business across Europe. Has given me the ability to see the Site availability at the click of a button to see which Site is in the "money" and seize opportunities based on Market data
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Comparatively easy to use compared to other data analytics solutions, collaborating with other colleagues on data work is simple.
    • Using Visual Studio for database, ETL, reporting, and analytics development save time and money.
    • Transfer of data from one application to another via Excel and comparison of data attributes between applications
    • Dashboard functionality, as well as Python support, are available, allowing you to add additional charts and graphs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Options for data source connections are immense. Not just which sources, but your options for *how* the data is brought in.
    • Constant updates (this is both good and bad at times).
    • User friendliness. I can get the data connections set up and draft some quick visuals, then release to the target audience and let them expand on it how they want to.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • The race to perfect gathering of Non-Traditional datasets is on-going; with Microsoft arguably not the leader of the pack in this category.
    • Licensing options for PowerBI visualizations may be a factor. I.e. if you need to implement B2C PowerBI visualizations, the cost is considerably high especially for startups.
    • Some clients are still resistant putting their data on the cloud, which restricts lots of functionality to Power BI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • It would be easier for users could Microsoft Power BI and Excel used the same programming languages.
    • Would like to see the online version of Microsoft Power BI be as powerful as the desktop version.
    • Publishing a Microsoft Power BI file online and then having to save the file is somewhat redundant.
    • Would like to export each page or chart as an image.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI is fundamental to our suite of BI applications. That being said, Northcraft Analytics is focused on delighting our customers, so if the underlying factors of our decision change, we would choose to re-write our BI applications on a different stack. Luckily, mathematics are the fundamental IP of our technology... and is portable across all BI platforms for the foreseeable future.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Power BI is an excellent and scalable tool. It has a learning curve, but once you get past that, the sky is the limit and you can build from the most simple to the most complex dashboards. I have built everything from simple reports with only a few data points to complex reports with many pages and advanced filtering.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    The Microsoft BI tools have great usability for both developers and end users alike. For developers familiar with Visual Studio, there is little learning curve. For those not, the single Visual Studio IDE means not having to learn separate tools for each component. For end-users, the web interface for SSRS is simple to navigate with intuitive controls. For ad-hoc analysis, Excel can connect directly to SSAS and provide a pivot table like experience which is familiar to many users. For database development, there is beginning to be some confusion, as there are now three tool choices (VS, SSMS, Azure Data Studio) for developers. I would like to see Azure Data Studio become the superset of SSMS and eventually supplant it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Automating reporting has reduced manual data processing by 50-70%, freeing up analysts for higher-value tasks. A finance team that previously spent 20+ hours per week on Excel-based reports now does it in minutes with Microsoft Power BI's automated Real-time dashboards have shortened decision cycles by 30-40%, enabling leadership to react quickly to sales trends, operational bottlenecks, and customer behavior.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Microsoft
    SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) can drag at times. We created two report servers and placed them under an F5 load balancer. This configuration has worked well. We have seen sluggish performance at times due to the Windows Firewall.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    While support from Microsoft isn't necessarily always best of breed, you're also not paying the price for premium support that you would on other platforms. The strength of the stack is in the ecosystem that surrounds it. In contrast to other products, there are hundreds, even thousands of bloggers that post daily as well as vibrant user communities that surround the tool. I've had much better luck finding help with SQL Server related issues than I have with any other product, but that help doesn't always come directly from Microsoft.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It is a fantastic tool, you can do almost everything related with data and reports, it is a perfect substitutive of Power Point and Excel with a high evolution and flexibility, and also it is very friendly and easy to share. I think all companies should have Power BI (or other BI tool) in their software package and if they are in the MS Suite, for sure Power BI should be the one due to all the benefits of the MS ecosystem.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Microsoft
    I have used on-line training from Microsoft and from Pragmatic Works. I would recommend Pragmatic Works as the best way to get up to speed quickly, and then use the Microsoft on-line training to deep dive into specific features that you need to get depth with.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    We are a consulting firm and as such our best resources are always billing on client projects. Our internal implementation has weaknesses, but that's true for any company like ours. My rating is based on the product's ease of implementation.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    We have used the built in ConnectWise Manager reports and custom reports. The reports provide static data. PowerBI shows us live data we can drill down into and easily adjust parameters. It's much more useful than a static PDF report.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would not pay for Tableau or Sigma anymore. Not worth it at all.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • As a SaaS provider we see being able to provide self-service BI to our client users as a competitive advantage. In fact the MSSQL enabled BI is a contributing factor to many winning RFPs we have done for prospective client organisations.
    • However MSSQL BI requires extensive knowledge and skills to design and develop data warehouses & data models as a foundation to support business analysts and users to interrogate data effectively and efficiently. Often times we find having strong in-house MSSQL expertise is a bless.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Power BI usage reduced the effort of analytical reports creation by about 80%
    • Empowered all the level of employee to be more vigilant of the data and business insights, gained the profit of 8% overall.
    • AI-powered predictive analytics improved forecasting accuracy by 17%, that topped the overall sales.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Microsoft Power BI Screenshots

    Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Turns insights into impact for business usersScreenshot of Power BI integrates easily with Microsoft 365Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - AI-Powered CapabilitiesScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Copilot can be used to create reportsScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Data HubScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Scales as organizational needs grow