Drill down Map in Power BI to demonstrate as Heat Map

[ShellySaini]

Hi, 

I need to create a Map Visual in Power BI with some geographical data such that, I'm able to drill up/down when I hover overthe points.

Also, I don't want to use bubble map. The areas should be shown as heat map, such that the highest value should be shown as dark and then it should fade with the lowest incoming data.

Any suggestion on the map visual to be used (license free) or any guidance will be highly appreciated.

[wardy912 · Accepted solution]

Hi @ShellySaini 

 I use Azure map, it has a heatmap option in formatting. It gives the following result:

It also provides drill down.

If you prefer to use 'filled map', you could add conditional formatting to simulate heat map

I hope this helps, please give a thumbs up and mark as solved if it does, thanks!

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @ShellySaini ,
Just wanted to check if the responses provided were helpful. If further assistance is needed, please reach out.
Thank you.

[ShellySaini]

Hi, Thank you for the follow-up. It was helpful. Although I applied the similar steps earlier but few things were missing. The comments from the contributors helped me to fill in the gap.

Thanks again! 🙂

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @ShellySaini ,

Glad to hear the responses helped you resolve the issue. If any of the replies provided the solution, please mark it as the accepted answer so that others in the community can easily find the resolution.

Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @ShellySaini ,

Following up to see if your query is resolved and if any of the responses helped.
If you still need assistance, feel free to reach out.

Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @ShellySaini ,

Just checking in to see if you query is resolved and if solutions from @wardy912 and @Mauro89 were helpful.
Otherwise, feel free to reach out for further assistance.

Thank you.

Thanks to @wardy912 and @Mauro89 for addressing it earlier.

[Mauro89 · Accepted solution]

Hi @ShellySaini ,

You can achieve a heat-map style drill experience in Power BI without relying on bubble maps:

1. Map Visual Choice

If you want a true heat map (color intensity by value) instead of sized bubbles, your main options are:

• Azure Maps Visual (built-in, license-free for most usage)
  
• Supports heat map layer with color gradients.
• Can layer data points and apply drill-down if your data model is set up with geographic hierarchy (e.g., Country → State → City).
• You can configure Color gradient by measure value for darker-to-lighter effects.
• Note: It’s not a hover-to-drill feature — you click to drill up/down.

• Shape Map Visual (built-in, license-free)
  
• Great for region-level coloring (choropleth style).
• Lets you import custom topoJSON maps for detailed areas.
• Can use the same hierarchy for drill-down.
• Color saturation is controlled by your measure.

2. Drill-Up/Down Setup

• Create a hierarchy in your data model:
  
• Example: Country → State/Province → City
• Add this hierarchy to your chosen map visual.
• Enable Drill Mode in the top-right corner of the visual.
• In Azure Maps, the map will zoom into the selected region; in Shape Map, the region boundaries change accordingly.

If this helps you, please mark my post as solution. 
If not, please share more details about your requirements, e.g. drilling through hover over datapoints. 

Best regards

[wardy912 · Accepted solution]

Hi @ShellySaini 

 I use Azure map, it has a heatmap option in formatting. It gives the following result:

It also provides drill down.

If you prefer to use 'filled map', you could add conditional formatting to simulate heat map

I hope this helps, please give a thumbs up and mark as solved if it does, thanks!