Microsoft Power BI Review - why 4.5 stars?

Shlomi LaviShlomi Lavi / updated: Aug 14, 2020

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What is Microsoft Power BI?

Main category: Business Intelligence

Power BI is a web-based data visualization and business analytics that is designed for businesses of all sizes. Microsoft Power BI tracks the vital organizational data. The solution offers tools that quickly analyze, visualize, transform and share reports. Some of its core features include SQL Analysis and self-service portal.

The user can quickly create reusable models with the overall data using the Power BI offers SQL Server Analysis Services. The solution integrates with third-party apps such as Github, Zendesk, Marketo, and Salesforce to deliver reports with the real-time dashboard.

It has both free and paid versions where the free version is not limited by any period, and only data of 1GB per user can be analyzed. Otherwise, the pricing is $10 per user per month for 10GB storage.

Microsoft Power BI rating -

The rating of Microsoft Power BI is 4.5 stars out of 5 and the total score is 86 out of 100. The rating and score are based on ITQlick expert review. We publish unbiased reviews, learn more in our score and rating methodology page

Typical Customers

The typical customers include the following business size: Small business, Medium business, Large business.

Competitors & Alternatives

The two main competitors of Power BI include Pentaho Business Analytics and Necto. Pentaho Business Analytics offers business intelligence solution same to Power BI. Hitachi Vantara owns Pentaho Business Analytics, and on the other hand, Microsoft owns Power BI. Pentaho Business Analytics offers training via documentation whereas Power BI offers training via documentation and webinars.

Pentaho Business Analytics offers support online and 24/7 live rep, unlike Power BI that offers support online and during the business hours. Boh Necto and Power BI are cloud-based business intelligence solution. Necto is a flagship product of Panorama Software which was founded 1996 and is based in Canada and in comparison Microsoft owns Power BI which is a company that was founded in 1975 and based in the United States.

Necto offers support online unlike Power BI that offers support online and during the business hours. Power BI offers training via documentation and webinars, unlike Necto that offers training via documentation, webinars, live online and in-person.. The full list of competitors can be found here.

Microsoft Power BI Pricing Information

The cost of license starting from $9.99 per user/month. On top of the total cost of licenses which is easy to calculate - what is the REAL total cost of implementation? You need to add the cost of training, customization, data migration, and other "hidden cost". ITQlick pricing score is 2.6 out of 10 (10 is most expensive). Find here the REAL total cost breakdown for Microsoft Power BI

Questions to ask the vendor during a demo

Schedule a demo with Microsoft Power BI and access 25 must ask questions for the vendor while watching Microsoft Power BI in action.

Is it the right software for you?

Power BI is ideal for businesses of all sizes including start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises. It caters to different industries including retail, insurance, airline, manufacturing, professional services, consumer packaged goods, telecommunication, energy, public sector, and capital markets.

Microsoft Power BI Categories

BI & Analytics
Business Intelligence
Cloud BI
Dashboards & KPIs
Data analysis
Reporting
Data visualization
Visual Analytics
Data Management
Data migration

Microsoft Power BI specifications

ITQlick Score: 86/100
ITQlick Rating: (4.5/5)
Company: Microsoft
Address: Microsoft Corporation, 157th Avenue Northeast, Redmond, WA
Pricing: Starting from $9.99 per user/month
Typical customers: Small business, Medium business, Large business
Platforms: Mobile, Cloud
Operating Systems: Mac OS, Windows, Linux

Microsoft Power BI Vs. Alternatives

ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
ITQlick score ITQlick Score is a 1 to 100 score, based on pricing, and functionality Vs. alternative solutions
Pricing score pricing Score is a 1 to 10 score, based on the TCO (cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
License pricing license pricing (if provided by the software vendor)
Functionality score
Software review
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Microsoft
ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
ITQlick Score
86/100
Pricing score Pricing score ranges between 1 to 10 while 1 is low TCO and 10 is high TCO (TCO - total cost of ownership: cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
2.6/10
License pricing license pricing (if provided by the software vendor)
$9.99 per user/month
Functionality score
10
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ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
ITQlick Score
95/100
Pricing score Pricing score ranges between 1 to 10 while 1 is low TCO and 10 is high TCO (TCO - total cost of ownership: cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
3/10
License pricing license pricing (if provided by the software vendor)
$15 per user/month
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15
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SuiteAnalytics
ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
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94/100
Pricing score Pricing score ranges between 1 to 10 while 1 is low TCO and 10 is high TCO (TCO - total cost of ownership: cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
3/10
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$499 per month
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10
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ITQlick rating ITQlick Rating is based on the software score (below) and aggregated online reviews
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94/100
Pricing score Pricing score ranges between 1 to 10 while 1 is low TCO and 10 is high TCO (TCO - total cost of ownership: cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
4/10
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35
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ITQlick Score
92/100
Pricing score Pricing score ranges between 1 to 10 while 1 is low TCO and 10 is high TCO (TCO - total cost of ownership: cost of licences, customizations, training, hardware when relevant) Vs. alternative solutions
5.6/10
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Pricing not available
Functionality score
43
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Author
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Shlomi Lavi

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Shlomi holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information System Engineering from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Shlomi brings 15 years of global IT and IS management experience as a consultant, and implementation expert for small, medium and large size (global) companies.