Microsoft Azure Map is INCREDIBLY slower than Microsoft Bing map in Power Bi

[Sahibpreet]

I’m experiencing a major performance regression after moving from Bing Maps to Azure Maps in Power BI. I use map visuals for Account Coverage data with a large number of data points. The exact same dataset and report loads in seconds with Bing Maps, but with Azure Maps it takes extremely long to load or does not render at all.

This is having a direct impact on my day‑to‑day work and report usability. Azure Maps may have more features, but the current performance makes it impractical for real‑world, high‑volume business data.

If Bing Maps is being deprecated, Azure Maps needs to reach at least the same baseline performance first. Otherwise, please allow users to continue using Bing Maps until Azure Maps performance is improved.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Sahibpreet, 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to @RicardoTraNa, @danextian, for those inputs on this thread.

Based on your description, the Azure Maps visual is loading slowly or not rendering when displaying a large number of location points. This can happen because Azure Maps processes more advanced rendering, and performance may be impacted when using many individual records, text-based locations (such as address or city), or high-cardinality fields in Legend or Tooltips.

To improve performance, please use Latitude and Longitude fields instead of text-based locations to avoid geocoding delays, and enable Clustering (Format pane → Clustering = On) to improve rendering efficiency. Also, reduce the number of points displayed by applying filters (such as region or timeframe) or aggregating data (such as city or region level), and limit high cardinality fields in Legend, Size, and Tooltips, as these increase rendering load. If the dataset is large, consider using summarized or filtered data instead of displaying all records at once. These steps help Azure Maps render large datasets more efficiently and improve overall performance.

Hope this clarifies. Let us know if you have any doubts regarding this. Please feel free to reach out to us. We will be happy to help.

Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

[Sahibpreet]

Hi, I am using parameters to change aggregated/summarized measures. But I want to use the Territory-Country-state-city-postal code location options in order to drill down. This was one of the features which we really enjoyed and used for our business problem in Bing maps. Using geocodes, will increase an extra step on a very highly sensitive and versatile data. Adding filters will create confusion for smaller scale users and for the senior and VP level management will face issues analysing it at the bigger picture. This all accounts to depreciating the quality of Maps which already existed.  

[v-kpoloju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sahibpreet, 

Thank you for explaining your requirement.

I understand that you want to preserve the Territory → Country → State → City → Postal Code drill-down hierarchy in Azure Maps, similar to Bing Maps, without using Latitude/Longitude or adding filters that could impact usability for business users. Azure Maps supports this drill-down capability, but it is important to ensure each geographic column is correctly configured. Please assign the proper Data Category to each field (Country → Country/Region, State → State or Province, City → City, Postal Code → Postal Code), and add them into the Location field in hierarchical order. This allows Azure Maps to resolve locations efficiently and support smooth drill-down functionality.

To improve performance while preserving the full hierarchy experience, enable Clustering (Format pane → Clustering = On) so higher-level views render faster while still allowing drill-down. Also, ensure the map initially loads at a higher level such as Territory or Country instead of Postal Code level, and avoid adding high cardinality fields (such as Account ID) in Legend or Tooltips, as these increase rendering load. If the dataset is highly granular, using a summarized table grouped by the geographic hierarchy can further improve performance without affecting drill-down. This approach maintains the same business friendly drill experience while improving Azure Maps performance.

Thanks again for using the Microsoft Farbic Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Sahibpreet, 

Just checking in to see if the issue has been resolved on your end. If the earlier suggestions helped, that’s great to hear! And if you’re still facing challenges, feel free to share more details happy to assist further.

Thank you.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Sahibpreet, 

Just wanted to follow up. If the shared guidance worked for you, that’s wonderful hopefully it also helps others looking for similar answers. If there’s anything else you'd like to explore or clarify, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Sahibpreet,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to @RicardoTraNa, @danextian, for those inputs on this thread.

Has your issue been resolved? If the response provided by the community member @RicardoTraNa, @danextian,  addressed your query, could you please confirm? It helps us ensure that the solutions provided are effective and beneficial for everyone.

Hope this helps clarify things and let me know what you find after giving these steps a try happy to help you investigate this further.

Thank you for using the Microsoft Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Sahibpreet, 

Just wanted to follow up. If the shared guidance worked for you, that’s wonderful hopefully it also helps others looking for similar answers. If there’s anything else you'd like to explore or clarify, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you.

[RicardoTraNa]

Hey! You may also want to consider alternative map visuals while Azure Maps performance improves. My preferred option is the custom visual from AppSource  Mapbox ...it generally handles large point datasets much more efficiently and offers strong styling and clustering features.

It’s been a solid workaround for high-volume scenarios in my reports.

hope that help!

[Sahibpreet]

Sure, I'll try that!

[danextian]

Have you posted this on reddit - Power BI. For things like,  honestly, you'll get more faster response from MS employees.