kitio.aiMicrosoft Power BI vs Tableau
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 $15 for Tableau.
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
- Drag-and-drop visualizations
- Tableau Agent
- Tableau Pulse metrics
- Data preparation
- Wide connector support
| Feature | Microsoft Power BI | Tableau |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions | Salesforce's BI and visual analytics platform with AI agents |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free trial |
| Starting price | $14/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No, 14-day trial |
| Made by | Microsoft | Salesforce |
| Based in | United States | 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 $15 for Tableau.
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
Viewer
$15/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- View and interact with dashboards
Explorer
$42/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- Self-service analytics on existing data
Creator
$75/mo
- Per user, billed annually
- Tableau Desktop and Prep
- At least one required per deployment
Tableau Cloud+
Contact sales
- Tableau Agent and Pulse
- Premier Success, 50 sites
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
Tableau
- Excellent visualization depth
- Large user community
- Works with many data sources
- Costly per-user licenses
- Takes time to master
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 Tableau if you want:
- Excellent visualization depth
- Large user community
- Works with many data sources
Watch out: costly per-user licenses.
Microsoft Power BI vs Tableau FAQ
What is the difference between Microsoft Power BI and Tableau?
Microsoft Power BI: Microsoft's BI tool with Copilot for reports and data questions. Tableau: Salesforce's BI and visual analytics platform with AI agents. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Microsoft Power BI or Tableau cheaper?
Microsoft Power BI has the lower starting price: about $14 a month, against $15 for Tableau.
Do Microsoft Power BI and Tableau have free plans?
Microsoft Power BI: Yes. Tableau: No, 14-day trial.
Who makes Microsoft Power BI?
Microsoft Power BI is made by Microsoft, based in United States.
Who makes Tableau?
Tableau is made by Salesforce, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Microsoft Power BI or Tableau?
Choose Microsoft Power BI if you value low cost per user and deep microsoft integration. Choose Tableau if you value excellent visualization depth and large user community.