kitio.aiMicrosoft Power BI vs Qlik
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Microsoft Power BI starts at $14/mo and Qlik starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
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
- Qlik Sense dashboards
- Associative engine
- Qlik Answers
- Talend data integration
- Predictive analytics
| Feature | Microsoft Power BI | Qlik |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions | Analytics and data integration platform with Qlik Answers agents |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free trial |
| Starting price | $14/mo | See pricing page |
| Free plan | Yes | No, trial available |
| Made by | Microsoft | Qlik |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Microsoft Power BI starts at $14/mo and Qlik starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
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
4 plans
Starter
Contact sales
- Move data from SaaS apps and databases
- Managed cloud data pipeline
- Data catalog and profiling
Standard
Contact sales
- Real-time CDC replication
- Cloud, client-managed or hybrid
- Qlik Open Lakehouse
Premium
Contact sales
- ELT/ETL transformations
- Column-level lineage
- Application and API integration
Enterprise
Contact sales
- SAP and Mainframe connectivity
- Everything in Premium
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
Qlik
- Powerful data exploration
- Pipelines and BI from one vendor
- Mature enterprise product
- Complex licensing
- Script-based data loading has a learning curve
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 Qlik if you want:
- Powerful data exploration
- Pipelines and BI from one vendor
- Mature enterprise product
Watch out: complex licensing.
Microsoft Power BI vs Qlik FAQ
What is the difference between Microsoft Power BI and Qlik?
Microsoft Power BI: Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions. Qlik: Analytics and data integration platform with Qlik Answers agents. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Microsoft Power BI or Qlik cheaper?
Microsoft Power BI starts at $14/mo and Qlik starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do Microsoft Power BI and Qlik have free plans?
Microsoft Power BI: Yes. Qlik: No, trial available.
Who makes Microsoft Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is made by Microsoft, based in United States.
Who makes Qlik?
Qlik is made by Qlik, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Microsoft Power BI or Qlik?
Choose Microsoft Power BI if you value low cost per user and deep microsoft integration. Choose Qlik if you value powerful data exploration and pipelines and bi from one vendor.