All Microsoft Power BI Reviews
1-25 of 1,442 Reviews
Sort by
Eric
Mining & Metals, 11 - 50 employees
Used free trial
OVERALL RATING:
4
Reviewed March 2023
Makes Excel-based Data Pretty
Michael
Verified reviewer
Tobacco, 501-1,000 employees
Used weekly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed June 2020
Ugly numbers to pretty pictures
Management loves it, I love developing with it but getting certain others to adopt it can be a bit of a challenge.
PROSAs the title says, it turns ugly numbers into pretty pictures. It is easy enough for a non-developer to use and turn a mess of data into an intelligent and understandable story.
CONSIt literally changes every three months. You just get used to it and with the next update a lot has changed. I don't really see this as a con though because this is more like a Christmas present waiting to see what they will have made better this go around.
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
Cloud based, integrated with other Microsoft products and it was first to have a huge amount of AI integration and capabilities.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
When preparing charts in MS Excel you wind up with too many human errors and you have to have someone who really knows excel to build great dashboards.
Imen
Banking, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2024
A powerful tool for data visualisations with considerations
Power BI creates interactive dashboards not only static charts. Power Query one of power BI tools enable us to shape transform and clean the data before visualisation.
CONSCreating advanced visualisations requires more technical knowledge and experiences. If working with big dataset power BI might experience some performance issues .
Federico
Verified reviewer
Banking, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2022
Great tool for Data Analysis and Dashboards
My overall experience is great, using it to compile, perform ETL, prepare reports and create Dashboards is simply powerful.
PROSThis is a great tool that integrates perfectly with Microsoft Excel (they are from the same family) it really makes life easy. Another great feature is the possibility to connect with a wide variety of sources such as Google Analytics, Facebook, SQL, data files, cloud files, and the list goes on. Free to use and very affordable price. Finally their visualization features are also impressive.
CONSLike any other tool, we found a high amount of the time required to train and master it, when you try to go beyond create reports, you would need to learn about additional tools like Gateways and Report Server. In addition, their language DAX is not the easiest language to work with, but nothing some training and research can't solve.
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
When performing our cost / benefit analysis it came with the highest rate.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
Power BI presented better tools to perform Data Analysis and work with Data.
Bonnie
Computer Games, 11-50 employees
Used monthly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed March 2024
Microsoft Power BI - a good start to Business Intelligence Gathering but not quite there yet
I find Microsoft Power BI quite cumbersome, not really doing all it promises.
PROSWhat I like most about Microsoft Power BI are the dashboards.
CONSWhat do I like least about Microsoft Power BI is the cost.
Imi
Verified reviewer
Government Administration, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2021
Excellent tool for small offices and datasets but can lead to frustration overtime
I am generally satisficed with the product, price and ease of learning with lots of YouTube video and the Power BI community, there is always something new to learn and implemented to improve or help meet your reporting requirements.
PROSEasy to get started with Power BI if you are on the Microsoft 365 platform. Power Bi provides an easy to connect and interactive method for pulling data in real time from data collection system such as the SharePoint online, MS Excel and others. The ease of connecting with SharePoint is the strong point for my review. Having the Power Bi connected to the SharePoint system provides the opportunity to have real time dashboards and dynamic reports for any small organization that is wishing to provide real or near to real-time reporting without the heavy upfront implementation cost for software, training and human resource. Microsoft has indeed liberated the Dynamic Reporting with Power BI, and has also allowed for some very elegant web reporting to be created by non technical users. My simple work flow , SharePoint for data collection, PowerBi for reporting.
CONSThe main issues are around the changes that are made by Microsoft, this will always be a learning curve for the users. The lack of consistency on certain actions will be the biggest issue.
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
Cost, Familiarity and given that is is a free offer within the MS Offfice 365 or M365 platform, it leads to an easy choice.
Osman
E-Learning, 201-500 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2024
Share important information through Power BI
How easy it is to connect with different systems, to create dashboards, limit who can see specific data and how everything can be updated in real time.
CONSI would say the different cost to have the cloud version.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
Limitations with the software, didn't offer the same capabilities
Martha
Information Technology and Services, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2024
Microsoft Power BI review
Easy squeezy. Very easy to implement. Very easy to teach my team. I rather like it.
CONSIt is not so much about not liking MSFT Power BI. There are just. There are many options on the market.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
The Microsoft options are cheaper and INFORMATICA charges an arm and a leg.
Sapna
Hospital & Health Care, 5,001-10,000 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2024
Power BI application
It’s been an amazing experience. I think it’s a important tool.
PROSThe tools that are available gives user the flexibility of creating beautiful charts.
CONSI wish they had manual connectors already installed so we don’t have to keep looking for codes.
Gibson
Consumer Services, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed June 2024
Power BI experience
Fun and excellent, the software is great because it notifies the consultant as to the date and time if receiving your leads and as to when you actually contacted them.
PROSIt gave correct customer details such as contact details, email, home address, work address and more
CONSSometimes it would give a problem in sending us the letting agents capturing customers details.
KATE
Apparel & Fashion, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2024
The Reporting Tool
In general, this program is very useful, both for companies and individuals. The creation of dashboards and the organization of data make decision-making much easier
PROSWhat I like most about this tool is how easily it can be handled, you don't need to be an expert in any area to be able to do wonderful things
CONSWhat I liked the least is that the program is a bit heavy and you have to have a computer with good capacity for it to run properly
Radek
Entertainment, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed June 2024
Power BI - real power of analise in your hands
I like it, its very complex alnd powerfull tool, intuitive... but to be good in using it you must spent a lot of time.
PROSIts complex tool to analise your company. You can check you costs, your sell, and analise it in on many levels.
CONSPrice:] like always the bigest problem is price and the proces of switching form current tool to micrososft bi.
Chiel
Financial Services, 11-50 employees
Used weekly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2024
Microsoft Power BI review
- Opens up a world of data, amazing! - perfect way to visualise data
CONS- hard to start using for the first time - requires you to take some lessons
Luke
Real Estate, 5,001-10,000 employees
Used monthly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed May 2024
Custom reports and data visualisation are amazing
Reporting and data visualisation abilities are amazing, but definitely is capable of much much more
CONSThere is not much to dislike. It is customisable and can pretty much program a lot of different things.
Anonymous
10,000+ employees
Used monthly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2024
Exceptional data visualization software
Very famous software used in most companies for data visualization, it presents a lot of good functionalities and customization possibilities. Easy to integrate with other softwares.
CONSIt’s a complex tool, so to learn how to use it and master it takes time.
Louis
Retail, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed May 2024
great for data
Easy to download more data visualisation graphics
CONScan be quite tricky to use, especially for a beginner
Jerry
Non-Profit Organization Management, 201-500 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed December 2019
Very robust, though a little overwhelming
We're moving from having staff creating Excel reports or Access database reports to having Power BI do it all for us. We spend some time cleaning up the user's data, streamlining how they enter it (and where - we still use Access, some SQL, some Sharepoint), and Power BI does the rest after that. Our staff loves that they no longer have to manually create reports, and they love the way Power BI looks for them. We are enjoying it overall.
PROSThe dashboard creation is amazing. Give it a data source, design how you want to see your data, and it shows it to you. I enjoy creating dashboards for our different departments. And once our staff sees the reports and dashboards they get from this, vs how they used to get it in an Excel spreadsheet or an Access Report, they are hooked.
CONSOverwhelming in the back end. Sometimes you just cannot get the data to display the way you want. There are so many options, features, methods. It gets overwhelming. My biggest gripe is that the back end is not as user friendly as other programs. And, comparing it to something that one of my users would create in Excel, it's difficult for me to get the exact data reported that they want. I have to figure out how to display it, and because the Power Bi is just so robust, it's a little overwhelming in that respect.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
User data was all over the place. Excel files everywhere. And only the users who created them knew how to create their reports from them. Same with Access databases. Some "power" users would use Access to create a database and some reports, and then leave, and remaining employees wouldn't know how to create new reports, or change what data was collected. Creating standards for where and how we collect data, and then using Power BI to report on it all was our goal. We are getting there.
Shrinkhala
Management Consulting, 10,000+ employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2022
' Data Visualization and Business Analytics is just a click away with Microsoft Power Bi "
Its amazing till date. One of the best analysis and visualization software in the market with high credible name of Microsoft and high trust built there. One of the most dependable and accurate software for data visualization and analytics. One of the best analysis softwares for businesses to bring the best data insights on the table for making accurate business decision making.
PROSHigh end accurate data visualization and its easy and comprehensive reporting to management AI and ML driven data insights for better business decision making in holistic manner. The quick and accurate data insights helps businesses to scale and expand with good operating efficiency.It is available for both web and Mobile data visualization work and is quite comprehensive in providing output.We have recently started with Data Discovery and predictive and embedded analytics for high end data analysis of complex data inputs in easy and flawless way.
CONSNo hassle with the software as its one of the best and keep improving their features time to time. Also, we would only request for slight reduction of sign up and annual renewal costing as its on higher end and bit difficult for small and marginal organizations to continue with long term engagement due to burden of expense
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
Well, the best and most reliable data analysis and visualization software with strong utilities and features in the current market. No competition can beat them as they are versatile and brings the best on the table time to time and stay absolutely relevant in the market and satisfy customers at its best.
Sri
Hospital & Health Care, 5,001-10,000 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2020
Really good for aggregating data from multiple sources
Power BI has helped us go from random spreadsheet reports to consolidated dashboards that are pleasing to look at and easy to interpret.
PROSThe interface is beautiful and easy to navigate. Once data sources are all connected, it's pretty easy to create a new dashboard/layout if you know how to analyze your own data. Nearly every integration that we needed was already included.
CONSIt's hard to build some more complex reports. If you want to combine two different data sources into one view/metric, you will need some advanced skills.
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
We are fairly well integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem and Power BI integrates well with the other tools we use. It offered the best balance of features, maturity, and value for our needs.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
We switched from our basic Excel reports because they weren't very good, they were hard to update, and they didn't include a lot of useful information on each screen.
Satya
Computer Software, 51-200 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed December 2022
Power BI, widely used Tool
Concluding or summing it all up, I think this is by far the most convenient tool out there for performing various things such as extract data from different sources, clean, visualize, create colorful dashboards and reports. All in all, a great way to present what we have to say in words. With the use of Artificial Intelligence too, its clever enough to handle certain tasks really well.
PROSMost of what I like about this is the outcomes of it, it is simply brilliant as to how we get such clarity on insights with this tool. This can make businesses take the correct decisions that drives them into good decision making that profits them. A one stop BI solution tool.
CONSWhile creating complex relationships among data, it can be a little tedious to do it because if there are multiple links amongst the tables/data, POWER BI cannot handle them quite well at times. The factor of modeling the data in the right way comes in picture.
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
Well, I did not find Tableau that good when it comes to features.
MUHAMMAD
Automotive, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2019
Best Business Intelligence Tool Ever!
Great experience and great tool to experience has a very easy interface and can make dashboards easily.
PROSMicrosoft PowerBI is the most easy tool to use, an non IT personnel and not a well trained personnel can easily use this tool. This tool has an interactive Graphical user interface and if you have any problem you can just google it.
CONSThe frequent update sometimes will be much tricky to handle as if you have the newest version of the desktop and the old version of desktop so it may be tricky and the file may not upload to the server.
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
As we have the SQL Server Enterprise license and we can deploy the reporting services of the powerbi onto the server so that we opt for Powerbi as it is cost effective rather than other products.
Satbir
Verified reviewer
Information Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed September 2021
Best Self Service BI Solution to start with
Dashboard, Reports, Data extraction/Transformations from websites, PDF's and other sources, transformations and also as an alternative to vba)
PROSCapability to Extract, Transform data at the desktop level in a single package. (Others solutions like have Data transformation feature inbuilt)
CONSOn publishing your report online, it gets slightly cumbersome to configure through (like configuring gateways for auto-refresh)
Reason for choosing Microsoft Power BI
Ease of deployment, cost and eased-up learning curve
Reasons for switching to Microsoft Power BI
Ease of use, be it using it as an alternative for VBA or using it for analysing large amount of data (that excel cannot handle)
Robert
Construction, 10,000+ employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2021
Enterprise Analytics - with some gotchas
We're using this as our enterprise analytics platform to supplement paginated reports in SSRS/PBIRS. Aside from the wrinkles mentioned, it's been a solid performer. If there was a little more "admin" capabilities around subscriptions and permissions, it'd be a home run.
PROSNear-constant updates and feature additions. It's exceptionally easy to throw together a Power BI Report across a bunch of different data sources and then share it with 1 or 100 people. Tons of connectivity support - if you have data somewhere it can *probably* read it into a model for consumption. The "front end" development is pretty straightforward with the ability to get very fancy with custom visuals - although you need to be a real developer to build those yourself.
CONSIt feels like there are some (currently) missing enterprise features. We still haven't really figured out a holistic way of managing both the enterprise stuff, as well as the "power user" self service stuff that gets published around the org. To Microsoft's credit, there are pretty much monthly releases that add ne functionality and features. Some things I'd like to see include more API support and additional sources like Box, perhaps.
Swapnil
Verified reviewer
Security and Investigations, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed February 2023
Using Business Intelligence to Its Full Potential
Overall, Microsoft PowerBI is a well-known business intelligence application that is extensively utilised by businesses of all kinds. Its robust data visualisation features, data connection choices, and capacity to find insights using AI and machine learning make it a useful tool for organisations looking to extract more value from their data. However, for certain users, the steep learning curve, restricted data preparation capabilities, and convoluted licencing approach may be disadvantages. Furthermore, the restricted third-party connection may be inconvenient for enterprises that employ a range of tools and systems. Regardless of these restrictions, PowerBI is a highly rated programme that is extensively used and trusted by enterprises seeking a comprehensive business intelligence solution.
PROSPowerBI enables users to connect to a wide range of data sources and generate visually beautiful visuals that bring data to life and make it easier to comprehend. The programme is also extremely customisable, allowing customers to design dashboards and reports that are tailored to their individual requirements. PowerBI's mobile capability and connection with Microsoft products like as Excel make it an excellent alternative for enterprises that require on-the-go data access and interaction. Furthermore, PowerBI's AI and machine learning features enable users to quickly uncover insights and trends in their data, making it a useful tool for businesses of all sizes.
CONSPowerBI has a steep learning curve, making it difficult for new users to rapidly become acquainted with the product. For some users, particularly those new to business intelligence and data analysis, this might be a barrier to entrance. Because PowerBI lacks a powerful data preparation tool, users may find it difficult to clean, process, and prepare their data for analysis. This might be a disadvantage for those that require more complex data preparation operations.
rajiv
Public Relations and Communications, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed September 2017
Power BI is one of the most user friendly BI software for adding visual representation and analytics to your existing reports
Overall good software for beginners and can be explored to get the best efficiency from the software
PROSbelow are a few pros • Sharing dashboard in a group a. Sharing can be done once you have the Pro version of Power BI. Dashboard can be shared with the respective department members or your own team members. b. Since you have prepared the dashboard you will be the owner and you can decide whether you want to give the other members only viewing rights or editing rights as well. c. With this feature reports will always be on the cloud server and can be viewed as and when required d. Reports can be downloaded as and when required. • Viewing dashboard in Mobile/ tab and preparing phone layout a. Once a dashboard has been prepared and saved, the same can be accessed on Power BI App with the same login. b. Since the screen is small compared to laptop, all the dashboard elements can be redesigned to suit the phone screen. c. The other features remain the same and the dashboard is interactive on the phone as well however it cannot be edited on phone. • Export dashboard to PowerPoint, PDF a. This is one of the most important features of Power BI. Reports or dashboards prepared can be exported on PowerPoint or PDF with a click of a button. b. Hence Management reports and department reports can be automated on Power BI and once you refresh the data, the report will be ready to share. c. One problem is that few images which are not compatible with PowerPoint don’t show post downloading. • Narratives for dashboard a. This is one of the recent features offered by Power BI. With the help of narratives you can get the insight of the dashboard in a story form. b. Narrative uses its intelligence to study the data and give output in pointers, paragraphs etc which can be customised. • Importing visuals to suit your need a. Apart from the general visualizations available in Power BI, there are additional visualizations released by Power BI from time to time. These visualizations enhance the visual appearance as well as the adds to further analytics in different ways. b. Visualizations which have downloaded and used in the dashboard are Infographic designer, Narratives for Business Intelligence, KPI Column chart, and Timeline. • Edit interactions in dashboard a. It is important to understand the interactions and groupings in power BI since with the help of these you can control which graphs you want to automatically change by clicking on the other. b. With the help of grouping you can define groups and sub group which can be viewed together as a group if required. • KPI Column Chart a. This is a recent custom visual developed by Power BI. With the help of this visual you can put the KPI target against the actual on a monthly basis. b. Forecasted revenue/ cost can also be put in this visual which will be shown in different colour. c. Individual monthly targets can also be put which can be interchanged by putting variance. d. Data can also been viewed in a table form along with graphical.
CONS• One of the important features of exporting report in PowerPoint does not allow custom visual to be exported. Hence if there are custom visuals in your report then the same will show error once exported. • Arranging dashboard is a bit tedious and takes a lot of time • To share reports, we need to publish to MS Cloud. We cannot share report from Power BI Desktop • For sharing a report even members to who report needs to be shared have to get Power BI Pro. Since the department to whom report is shared is just to view giving them a Pro license might not be useful.