8.1
SpotScore
Microsoft Power BI Desktop Review: Is It The Right Business Intelligence Software For Your Team?
Best for Enterprise
Free Trial & Free Plan Available
SOC 2
OSIsoft
Fordham UniversityTrusted by teams including OSIsoft
Overview
Pricing
Features
Buyer feedback
Alternatives
Customers
Media
Security & Compliance
FAQ
Blogs
What is Microsoft Power BI Desktop?
Microsoft Power BI Desktop helps you uncover hidden business value by quickly accessing actionable insights. Streamline your data-preparation tasks with powerful modeling tools while regaining hours in your day through the intuitive and commonly-known self-service Power Query feature in Excel. Delve deeper into data to surface patterns and make data-driven decisions. With features such as Quick Measures, Grouping, Forecasting, and Clustering, uncover the full potential of your data and successfully predict future outcomes
Pricing
Free Trial available
Best For
Enterprise-grade — typically requires a procurement process
Security & Compliance
SOC 2SSO & MFA supported
Data residency:Global
Platform
Desktop only — no mobile app
Microsoft Power BI Desktop Software Demo
Microsoft Power BI Desktop was reviewed internally using user feedback, in-house testing, and market research to assess its performance, reliability, and user experience. Learn how we review products and our evaluation process.
Who should consider Microsoft Power BI Desktop
- Team types
- Enterprise, Large Enterprises
Why teams choose Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Seamless integration with Excel enhances usability.
Powerful modeling tools streamline data preparation.
User-friendly interface makes data analysis accessible.
Is Microsoft Power BI Desktop right for you?
What buyers should know before choosing Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a powerful tool for uncovering business insights through data. Its integration with Excel and user-friendly interface make it a popular choice for data analysis.
Microsoft Power BI Desktop pros and cons
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop pros
Seamless integration with Excel enhances usability.
Powerful modeling tools streamline data preparation.
User-friendly interface makes data analysis accessible.
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop cons
Limited functionality outside the Microsoft ecosystem.
Complex features may require training.
Ready to try it?
Get started with Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
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See how it stacks up
Compare Microsoft Power BI Desktop side-by-side with top Business Intelligence Software alternatives.
What is the pricing of Microsoft Power BI Desktop?
Microsoft Power BI Desktop Pricing Plans
Weighing your options?
Not sure if Microsoft Power BI Desktop fits your budget?
Microsoft Power BI Desktop reviews and ratings
Buyer sentiment
Buyer sentiment is very strong across 25 reviews, with consistently positive feedback.
What buyers like
- Actionable insights
- Powerful modeling tools
- Data-driven decisions
Common complaints
- Limited to Microsoft ecosystem
- Can be complex for beginners
- Requires Excel knowledge
Are you using Microsoft Power BI Desktop?
- See if Microsoft Power BI Desktop fits your business
- Real pricing — no sales pressure
- A demo or quick answers, your call
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What are the features of Microsoft Power BI Desktop?
Ad hoc analysis is a powerful tool that allows users to perform data analysis on demand without the need for predefined criteria or reports.…
Ad hoc query is a software feature that lets users perform immediate, customized data analysis. Commonly used in databases and business inte…
Ad hoc reports are a powerful tool used in software applications to generate customized, on-demand reports. These reports provide users with…
Cleaning, converting, and modeling data to discover relevant information for business decision-making is what data analysis is all about. Da…
Strategic planning is the process of recording and establishing a company's trajectory by assessing its current and future position. A strat…
Microsoft Power BI Desktop security and data handling
Key compliance certifications and security features for IT and security teams evaluating Microsoft Power BI Desktop.
Certifications
Security features
Developer & data
Alternatives to Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Microsoft Power BI Desktop Customers
OSIsoft
Fordham University
Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Common questions buyers ask before choosing Microsoft Power BI Desktop.
Microsoft Power BI Desktop is a Business Intelligence Software. Microsoft Power BI Desktop offers Strategic Planning, Data Analysis, Ad hoc Reports, Ad hoc Query and many more functionalities.
Buyers commonly note the following limitations of Microsoft Power BI Desktop: Limited functionality outside the Microsoft ecosystem.; Complex features may require training.; Not ideal for non-Excel users..
Some top alternatives to Microsoft Power BI Desktop includes BizTalk360, Deep.BI, Trevor.io, Microsoft Power BI and Beckon.
Microsoft Power BI Desktop offers Free Trial, Freemium pricing models
The starting price is not disclosed by Microsoft Power BI Desktop. You can visit Microsoft Power BI Desktop pricing page to get the latest pricing.
Ready to try it?
Get started with Microsoft Power BI Desktop
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
About the reviewer
Rajat Gupta is the founder of Spotsaas. Over the past two years, he has reviewed 2,000+ tools across CRM, HR, AI, and finance — applying hands-on product research and a background in commerce and the CFA program to evaluate software through a business and ROI lens. His goal: help teams make software decisions they won't regret.
Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].