Understanding Power BI Capacities: Choosing the Right Model for Your Needs

When organizations scale their use of Power BI, one of the most important questions is which capacity model fits best. Microsoft offers several: Power BI Pro, Premium Per User (PPU), Power BI Embedded (A-SKUs), and Microsoft Fabric capacities (F-SKUs).

Each model has its own strengths, pricing structure, and best-fit scenarios. Let’s break them down with real-world examples.

Power BI Pro — Best for Individual Users and Small Teams

How it works:

• Licensed per user ($10–$15/month)
• Users can create, publish, and share reports internally
• External sharing requires recipients to also have Pro licenses

When to use it:

• Small businesses or startups
• Internal collaboration with limited scale
• Teams without advanced Premium features needs

Example:

A small marketing agency with 12 employees uses Pro so each analyst can build and share campaign dashboards with colleagues. External sharing is not required.

Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) — Advanced Features Without Capacity

How it works:

• Licensed per user (~$20/month)
• Includes almost all Premium features: larger datasets (100 GB), paginated reports, AI, incremental refresh, deployment pipelines
• Still requires every consumer to have a PPU license
• Runs on shared cloud resources (no dedicated capacity)

When to use it:

• Mid-sized teams needing Premium features without buying Fabric capacity
• Proof-of-concept or pilot projects with advanced datasets
• Analytics teams with complex models but limited distribution needs

Example:

A pharmaceutical company equips 60 analysts with PPU so they can run large-scale clinical trial dashboards and paginated reports. Since only their internal team consumes the content, PPU is cheaper and simpler than a Fabric capacity.

Power BI Embedded (A-SKUs) — Flexible, Pay-As-You-Go

How it works:

• Billed hourly via Azure (A1–A6 SKUs)
• Capacity can be turned on/off to reduce idle costs
• Designed for embedding reports in apps, portals, or client-facing solutions
• No Pro/PPU required for viewers

When to use it:

• Consultancies or SaaS providers sharing dashboards externally
• Multi-client reporting portals with authentication and role-based access
• Scenarios where cost flexibility is critical

Example:

A healthcare consultancy provides analytics to 50 hospitals. Instead of buying hundreds of PPU licenses, they run reports on Power BI Embedded A-SKUs and only pay when reports are being accessed.

Microsoft Fabric Capacities (F-SKUs) — Unified Data & Analytics Platform

How it works:

• Enterprise-grade capacities for all Fabric workloads (Power BI, Data Factory, Synapse, Data Science, Real-Time Analytics, etc.)
• Billed monthly based on F-SKU size (F64, F128, etc.)
• Dedicated performance and advanced governance features

When to use it:

• Enterprises running end-to-end analytics across BI, data engineering, and AI
• Organizations with large-scale data models and thousands of users
• Businesses adopting Fabric as their unified analytics platform

Example:

A global retailer consolidates IoT sensor data, predictive modeling, and operational dashboards in a Fabric F128 capacity, supporting thousands of users with real-time insights across their stores.

Comparing the Models

Final Thoughts

The right Power BI capacity depends on your audience, usage patterns, and scale.

• For small internal teams: Pro is the simplest option.
• For mid-sized analytics teams: PPU unlocks advanced features affordably.
• For external sharing and multi-client solutions: Embedded is the most cost-effective.
• For enterprise-wide analytics modernization: Fabric provides the full unified platform.

With tools like the PowerBI Portal, organizations can maximize the value of Embedded — automating capacity, managing multiple tenants, and optimizing costs across clients.

👉 Book a demo today to see how PowerBI Portal helps you get the most out of Power BI capacities.