APPLIES TO: 
Power BI service for business users 
Power BI service for designers & developers
Power BI Desktop
Requires Pro or Premium license
What's the Microsoft Power BI service?
The Power BI service is a cloud-based business analytics service that enables anyone to visualize and analyze data with greater speed, efficiency, and understanding. It connects users to a broad range of cloud-based and on-premises data through easy-to-use dashboards, interactive reports, and compelling visualizations that bring data to life. For more information, see What is Power BI.
What's a Power BI business user?
The way you interact with Power BI depends on your job role. As an end user or business user, you're the person who receives content (dashboards, reports, and apps) from colleagues. If you work in the online or mobile version of Power BI, then you're using the Power BI service to review and interact with content to make business decisions. For more information, see Power BI for business users.
What's the difference between Power BI Pro, Premium Per User (PPU) and Power BI Premium?
Power BI Pro is an individual user license that allows access to all content and capabilities in the Power BI service. You can even share content and collaborate with other Pro users. Only Pro users can publish content to other workspaces, share dashboards, and subscribe to dashboards and reports.
Premium Per User (PPU) gives organizations a way to license premium features on a per-user basis. PPU includes all Power BI Pro license capabilities that were previously only available with a Premium capacity subscription. With a PPU license, you don't need a separate Power BI Pro license because all Pro license capabilities are included.
Power BI Premium is a subscription that provides a capacity to deliver more consistent performance. It also supports larger data volumes in Power BI. For individual users, Premium enables widespread distribution of content by Pro users, and doesn't require per-user Pro licenses for recipients viewing the content. This means business users can collaborate with colleagues and view and interact with dashboards, reports, and apps that are shared with them.
To learn more, see What type of license do I have? and Premium Per User FAQ
What if I have questions about Power BI Premium?
For questions related to Power BI Premium, see Power BI Premium FAQ.
What is Power BI Desktop?
Power BI Desktop is a free application you install on your computer. Power BI Desktop works cohesively with the Power BI service. Data scientists, report designers, admins, and developers work with Power BI Desktop to produce reports and make them available to the Power BI service business users like you. For more information, see What is Power BI Desktop.
What do I need as a business user to get started with the Power BI service?
If your company purchased Power BI licenses or a Premium capacity account, all you need to start is a Web browser and credentials. To log in, use your work email address and a password (set by your Power BI administrator).
You can also sign up for the Power BI service as an individual. For more information, see the Power BI self-service sign-up process.
Why do I have to sign up with my work email?
Power BI doesn't support email addresses provided by consumer email services or telecommunications providers. To learn more, see the Power BI self-service sign-up process.
Does Power BI support mobile devices?
Yes. Power BI has native apps for Android phones and tablets, iOS devices, and Windows 10 devices. Download one of the Power BI mobile apps from its respective store.
What do I need to install to use Power BI?
To use the Power BI service for free, you need a Web browser and email, then download the Power BI mobile apps from their respective stores (also for free).
Where do I get started with Power BI?
The following resources are available to help get you started:
- Power BI Blog
- Getting started videos on our YouTube Channel
- Get started with Power BI as a business user article
- Join our community and ask questions
- See 10 tips for getting help for more suggestions
Which browsers does Power BI support?
Here's a complete list of supported browsers for Power BI.
What regions and languages does Power BI support?
Here's a complete list of regions and languages supported by Power BI.
Where can I learn more about security?
Learn more about Power BI security, privacy, and compliance here:
How do I undo in Power BI?
Like many other Microsoft services and software, Power BI provides an easy way to undo your last command.
- To undo your last action or last few actions, press CTRL+Z.
Next steps
- What is a Power BI business user?
- How does a business user interact with Power BI?
- More questions? Try asking the Power BI Community
- Still have an issue? Visit the Power BI support page