Microsoft Power BI vs Fluent BI
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Microsoft Power BI has the lower starting price: about $14 a month, against $49 for Fluent BI.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Power BI Desktop
- Copilot report creation
- DAX measures
- Scheduled refresh
- Microsoft Fabric integration
- Chat with your data
- Automatic chart selection
- Live shareable dashboards
- PDF report export
- Excel, CSV, PDF and Word parsing
| Feature | Microsoft Power BI | Fluent BI |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions | Ask questions of spreadsheets and PDFs and get charts and dashboards |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $14/mo | $49/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Microsoft | Fluent BI |
| Based in | United States | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Microsoft Power BI has the lower starting price: about $14 a month, against $49 for Fluent BI.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Free
Free
- Power BI Desktop
- Personal reports
Pro
$14/mo
- Per user
- Share and collaborate on reports
Premium Per User
$24/mo
- Per user
- Larger models and AI features
- Paginated reports
Fabric capacity
Usage-based
- Organization-wide capacity
- Pay as you go or reserved
2 plans
Hobby
Free
- 100 messages a month
- 50MB total upload
- 1 project
Pro
$49/mo
- 500 requests a month
- Unlimited projects and dashboards
- PDF export
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Microsoft Power BI
- Low cost per user
- Deep Microsoft integration
- Free desktop authoring
- Copilot needs higher capacity licenses
- DAX has a learning curve
- Desktop app is Windows only
Fluent BI
- No SQL or setup needed
- Works with documents as well as sheets
- Free plan to try it
- Team collaboration not available yet
- Free plan limited to 50MB and 1 project
- No direct database connections listed
Which one should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Power BI if you want:
- Low cost per user
- Deep Microsoft integration
- Free desktop authoring
Watch out: copilot needs higher capacity licenses.
Choose Fluent BI if you want:
- No SQL or setup needed
- Works with documents as well as sheets
- Free plan to try it
Watch out: team collaboration not available yet.
Microsoft Power BI vs Fluent BI FAQ
What is the difference between Microsoft Power BI and Fluent BI?
Microsoft Power BI: Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions. Fluent BI: Ask questions of spreadsheets and PDFs and get charts and dashboards. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Microsoft Power BI or Fluent BI cheaper?
Microsoft Power BI has the lower starting price: about $14 a month, against $49 for Fluent BI.
Do Microsoft Power BI and Fluent BI have free plans?
Microsoft Power BI: Yes. Fluent BI: Yes.
Who makes Microsoft Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is made by Microsoft, based in United States.
Who makes Fluent BI?
Fluent BI is made by Fluent BI.
Which should I choose, Microsoft Power BI or Fluent BI?
Choose Microsoft Power BI if you value low cost per user and deep microsoft integration. Choose Fluent BI if you value no sql or setup needed and works with documents as well as sheets.