Forum Discussion

pbiwork's avatar
pbiwork
Frequent Visitor
8 years ago

Does Power BI Report server require annual user licensing?

With the Report Server model, my assumption is that I can install PBI Report Server locally and have my report-creation users download Power BI Desktop at no additional cost.  Past the cost of SQL Server Enterprise, to run PBI Report Server, are there any other costs involved with setting up a Power BI Report Server environment? 

 

For example, would there be any per-user licensing involved (is there still a need for Power BI Pro or Power BI Premium yearly licenses if we are only working locally with Report Server)?  Also, it sounds like Power BI Report Server is provided free to those with existing agreements for SQL Server Enterprise edition.  

 

Thanks!

Pricing

5 Replies

  • v-yulgu-msft's avatar
    v-yulgu-msft
    Microsoft Employee
    8 years ago

    Hi pbiwork,

     

    If you already have a SQL Server Enterprise SA agreement, you can get your Report Server product key from the Volume Licensing Service Center. There is no other costs to set up a Power BI Report Server environment.

     

    If you need to publish Power BI report from desktop to PBI Report Server, the report publisher should have a Power BI Pro account.

     

    Best regards,

    Yuliana Gu

    • pbiwork's avatar
      pbiwork
      Frequent Visitor
      8 years ago

      Could you help me to better understand why a user would need a Pro account to publish to a local PBI Report Server?  My current understanding is that any of my users can install Power BI Desktop (version designed for Report Server), create reports with it, and then upload/publish those reports to the PBI Report Server. 

       

      What added benefit/functionality would a Power BI Pro account offer?