Power BI Desktop for macOS - How can my friend with macOS view and interact with my report?

[_Ester_]

Hi all!
I've prepared a Power BI Desktop project using data from an e-commerce owned by a friend. Unfortunately, I just found out that he has macOS, and Power BI Desktop is not available for that operating system.

What (I believe) I've understood so far:

🔳 For me to work on the project and for him to view and interact with the report, we would both need a Power BI Pro subscription. 
🔳 Alternatively, I could be the only one with the Pro plan and publish the report online. However, in that case, the data would be public, which makes this option a no-go.
🔳 I could export the report as a PDF periodically and send it to my friend. In this case, he wouldn't be able to interact with it.
🔳 Set up a virtual machine on his computer with Windows as the operating system and install Power BI Desktop (pretty techy, and probably not worth it for just one report).

Can anyone think of a solution that would allow me to work on the report while he can view and interact with it?

Thanks!

[Arul]

@_Ester_ ,

For your friend's scenario, if they only need to view and interact with reports that you've created and shared via the Power BI Service, then a Power BI Free license would be sufficient.

[_Ester_]

I understood that only Power BI Desktop was free and that Power BI Service is always paid  😲

If I’ve already created the report in Power BI Desktop, is there a way to have it automatically available on Power BI Service and then share it?

Thanks a lot!

[Arul · Accepted solution]

@_Ester_ ,

Power BI is free to view and interact with in Power BI service.
Check License Types here - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/consumer/end-user-license

Your friend can access the Power BI reports and dashboards through a web browser by using the Power BI Service (app.powerbi.com). You can publish your Power BI Desktop report to the service, and then your friend can view and interact with it online.

Alternative with OneDrive - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-sharepoint-viewer

[_Ester_]

Hello @Arul !

I still don’t understand how I can allow another person to view and interact with the report without a paid plan.

1) I’ve published the report
2) I go to Power BI Service -free version- (app.powerbi.com) and can see the report in my workspace. 

However, I can’t figure out how to invite my friend to view it.

When I click on “Share” or other options highlighted in red below, it says I need a paid plan:

Could you guide me on how to share it with a Power BI Service Free plan?

Thank you!

[_Ester_]

Many Thanks!!!