Power BI features available to free users

Applies to: ✅ Power BI service

With a free Power BI license, you can create content for personal use in My workspace. You can also view and interact with reports, dashboards, apps, and other content shared with you when the content and its dependencies are stored on qualifying capacity.

Feature availability depends on:

  • Where the content is stored
  • Your workspace role and permissions
  • Your organization’s administrator and tenant settings

This article compares the tasks available for personal use in My workspace with those available to free users who have the Viewer role for shared content on qualifying capacity. Shared content that isn't on qualifying capacity requires a Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) license. Content in a PPU workspace requires a PPU license. An administrator or tenant setting can disable some otherwise available features.

Note

In sovereign cloud environments with capacity (Fabric F64+ or Premium), all users can view content without needing an assigned license. Behavior can vary by sovereign cloud region. Consult regional documentation for any exceptions.

App capabilities with a free Power BI license

When the app and its dependent content are on qualifying capacity, free users can:

  • Install an app automatically, if an administrator enables this feature.
  • Open an app.
  • Add an app to favorites.
  • Download and open an app from the organizational store.

Free users can't:

  • Edit, update, or republish an app.
  • Create an app.
  • Download and open an app from AppSource.
  • Reshare an app.

Workspace capabilities with a free Power BI license

Only on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Open and view a workspace.
  • Read data stored in workspace dataflows.

The Viewer role isn't sufficient to consume Dataflow Gen2 data by using the dataflow connector. That task requires an Admin, Member, or Contributor role.

Free users can't:

  • Create, edit, or delete a workspace or its content.
  • Add endorsements.

Other workspace roles require a Pro or PPU license.

Dashboard capabilities with a free Power BI license

A free user can view and interact with a dashboard shared from qualifying capacity. The dashboard and its dependent content must be stored on qualifying capacity.

Important

Q&A experiences are going away in February 2027. We recommend using Copilot for Power BI, which offers a more advanced and integrated way to query your data using natural language. For more details and recommended alternatives, see Deprecating Power BI Q&A.

In My workspace, or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Add alerts to tiles.
  • Export a tile to a .csv file.
  • Add a dashboard to favorites.
  • Use full screen and focus modes.
  • Refresh a dashboard.

When enabled by an administrator, free users can do the following in My workspace or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role:

  • Copy a visual as an image.
  • Use global search.
  • Use Q&A on a dashboard.
  • Print a dashboard.

Only in My workspace, free users can:

  • Save a copy.
  • Create, edit, update, or delete a dashboard.
  • Add featured Q&A questions.
  • Pin tiles from Q&A or reports.

In My workspace, free users can get insights on tiles. On qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, this capability must be enabled by an administrator.

Only on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Receive, view, and interact with a dashboard from a colleague.
  • Subscribe to a dashboard if an administrator enables the feature.
  • View a dashboard embedded in Power Apps or a SharePoint page.
  • View, respond to, and add comments if enabled by an administrator.

Free users can't:

  • Add saved Q&A questions.
  • Review questions asked with Q&A.
  • Reshare a dashboard.
  • Subscribe others to a dashboard.

Free users also can't add featured Q&A questions on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role.

Semantic model capabilities with a free Power BI license

A free user can create and manage a semantic model in My workspace for personal use. By using Build permission, a free user can also create reports in My workspace from a shared semantic model stored on Fabric F64 or higher or Power BI Premium capacity.

In My workspace, or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can use Analyze in Excel with Build permission and enabled tenant settings.

Only in My workspace, free users can:

  • Add, delete, or edit a semantic model.
  • Get insights on a semantic model.
  • Schedule refresh.
  • Create a report.
  • Create a paginated report.

Create reports from a shared semantic model

With Build permission, a free user can create a report from a shared semantic model in another workspace when the semantic model is stored on Fabric F64 or higher or Power BI Premium capacity. Create the report in Power BI Desktop or the Power BI service, and store the resulting report in My workspace.

The supported report creation options are:

  • Create a blank report.
  • Use Quick insights.
  • Create a paginated report.
  • Use auto-create.

Queries from the report consume capacity units (CUs) on the capacity that hosts the shared semantic model.

A free user can't share the report or save it to another workspace. Sharing or collaborating requires a Pro or PPU license.

Free users can't:

  • Create a report in another workspace from the semantic model.
  • Share a semantic model.
  • Manage permissions.
  • Save a copy.
  • Create from a template.

Report viewing and interaction capabilities with a free Power BI license

A free user can view and interact with a report shared from qualifying capacity when the report and its semantic model are both stored on qualifying capacity.

In My workspace, or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Change display dimensions.
  • Cross-highlight and cross-filter visuals.
  • Drill.
  • Add a report to favorites.
  • Interact with filters.
  • Use full screen and focus modes.
  • Get insights on reports.
  • Interact with a Q&A visual.
  • Refresh a report.
  • Show visual data as a table.
  • Interact with slicers.
  • Sort report visuals.
  • View related content.
  • Change a visual type.
  • Hover over visuals to view details and tooltips.

When enabled by an administrator, free users can do the following in My workspace or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role:

  • Drill through to details.
  • Change filter types.
  • Use persistent filters.
  • Search in the filter pane.
  • Change visual types while viewing a report.

Only on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Receive a report from a colleague.
  • View bookmarks created by others and add personal bookmarks.
  • View, respond to, and add comments.
  • View a report embedded in Power Apps or a SharePoint page.

Note

A free user who opens an embedded report that isn't stored on qualifying capacity is prompted to upgrade their license. Assign the user a Pro or PPU license, or store both the report and its semantic model on Fabric F64 or higher or Power BI Premium capacity.

Report export and subscription capabilities with a free Power BI license

An administrator can disable export and subscription features.

In My workspace, or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can:

  • Analyze a report in Excel with Build permission and enabled tenant settings.
  • Create a QR code.

When enabled by an administrator, free users can do the following in My workspace or on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role:

  • Copy a visual as an image.
  • Export summarized data from a visual.
  • Export underlying data from a visual with Build permission.
  • Export to PDF.
  • Export to PowerPoint.
  • Print report pages.

Only on qualifying capacity with the Viewer role, free users can subscribe to a report when enabled by an administrator.

Free users can't:

  • Subscribe others to a report.

Report creation, editing, and sharing capabilities with a free Power BI license

A free user can create and edit reports in My workspace for personal use. Creating or collaborating on content in another workspace requires a Pro or PPU license.

Only in My workspace, free users can:

  • View lineage.
  • Use Performance Analyzer.
  • Add or delete slicers.
  • Change visual interactions.
  • Add visuals.
  • Add fields to visuals.

Free users can't:

  • Save a copy of a report.
  • Create a publish-to-web embed code.
  • Promote content to Home.
  • Share content with external users.
  • Allow others to reshare items.

Anyone can view an existing public link, subject to administrator settings and organizational governance policies.

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