Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Next up in the FabCon + SQLCon recap series: The roadmap for Microsoft SQL and Maximizing Developer experiences in Fabric. All sessions are available on-demand after the live show. Register now

Reply
BugmanJ
Helper V
Helper V

Feeling the need for Speed! (Using DirectQuery Vs Summerize) and measures off these?

Good Morning,

Quick question, whats the best/preferred way to use DirectQuery? Do you use it direct into your visuals, or build Summary Tables off of it which you then use in your visuals?

In addition, measures based off which (direct/summary) offer faster value?

Thank you

2 REPLIES 2
BugmanJ
Helper V
Helper V

Thanks for the reply @Uzi2019 but it doesnt quite answer my question.

Uzi2019
Super User
Super User

Hi @BugmanJ 
Direct Query Advanatge and use case:

DirectQuery in Power BI offers the greatest benefits in the following scenarios:

  • The data changes frequently, and you need near real-time reporting.
  • You need to handle large data without having to pre-aggregate.
  • The underlying source defines and applies security rules.
  • Data sovereignty restrictions apply.
  • The source is a multidimensional source containing measures, such as SAP BW.

Some general implications and limitations of using DirectQuery follow:

 

If data changes, you must refresh to show the latest data.
If data changes, there's no guarantee of consistency between visuals.
You must refresh in Power BI Desktop to reflect schema changes.

A limit of 1 million rows can return on any query
ou can't change a model from import to DirectQuery mode.

 

It is recommended to use when you have large dataset but slow down the performance because everytime when you hit the slicer of select any visual data complete query go back to orginal data source and fetch the result. You  dont have full capacity f calculation also. Few DAX supported in Direct query mode.

 

If hope this post helps you please give kudos and accept it as a solution!
Thanks

Don't forget to give thumbs up and accept this as a solution if it helped you!!!

Helpful resources

Announcements
New to Fabric survey Carousel

New to Fabric Survey

If you have recently started exploring Fabric, we'd love to hear how it's going. Your feedback can help with product improvements.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.

Join our Fabric User Panel

Join our Fabric User Panel

Share feedback directly with Fabric product managers, participate in targeted research studies and influence the Fabric roadmap.

March Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Community Update - March 2026

Check out the March 2026 Power BI update to learn about new features.