Real-time updates from Google Sheets in Power BI — is this supported

[wisamessalwa]

Hello,

Is it true that Power BI does not support real-time (live) updates directly from Google Sheets?

If so, is there any official roadmap or way to request this feature?

Thank you very much for your help!

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @wisamessalwa  - Google Sheets is supported via connector, but it only provides import mode. but Power BI does not support real-time (live) updates directly from Google sheets.

Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

you can use above link to submit it as an idea. 

Hope this helps.

[danextian · Accepted solution]

Hi @wisamessalwa 

True real-time is supported with streaming datasets. While DirectQuery to databases offers near real-time capabilities—updating data as users interact with the report—it is not true real-time. In contrast, flat files such as Excel, CSV, and spreadsheets do not support real-time updates. 

You can post that as an idea here: https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/idb-p/fbc_ideas 

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @wisamessalwa,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.  Also, thanks to @GrowthNatives, @danextian, @rajendraongole1, for those valuable insights on this thread. Here I mentioned few alternative workarounds that might be resolve the issue. Please take a look into it.

You’re right. Power BI doesn’t support real-time (live) updates directly from Google Sheets currently. What is supported is connecting to Google Sheets using the built-in connector and setting up a scheduled refresh (usually up to every hour, depending on your license).

When using Google Sheets as a data source, Power BI imports the data and refreshes it on a scheduled basis (e.g., via Power BI Service up to 8 times a day with a Pro license or 48 times with Premium). It is not a live connection.

Use Power Automate to trigger a refresh of your Power BI dataset whenever changes are made in Google Sheets (though this is still not "live", it can minimize delay).

Push data via a custom connector or API: You can build a solution where Google Sheets data is pushed into a database (e.g., Azure SQL, OneDrive Excel, or streaming dataset), which Power BI can connect to for near real-time updates.

If you'd like to see native real-time integration between Power BI and Google Sheets in future updates, I encourage you to submit your idea or upvote existing ones on the Power BI Ideas Forum here: Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

If this post helps, then please give us ‘Kudos’ and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you for using the Microsoft Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @wisamessalwa,

We are following up once again regarding your query. Could you please confirm if the issue has been addressed or considered through the Microsoft Fabric Ideas forum?

If the issue has been resolved, we kindly request you to share the resolution or key insights here to help others in the community. If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread.

Should you need further assistance in the future, we encourage you to reach out via the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum and create a new thread. We’ll be happy to help.

Thank you for your understanding and participation.

[wisamessalwa]

@GrowthNatives 

@danextian 

@rajendraongole1 

Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful response. I truly appreciate it. I’ll try using OneDrive with Excel as you suggested — it sounds like a great alternative for my use case.

[GrowthNatives · Accepted solution]

Hi @wisamessalwa 👋

You’re right—Power BI doesn’t support real-time (live) updates directly from Google Sheets at this time.

What is supported is connecting to Google Sheets using the built-in connector and setting up a scheduled refresh (usually up to every hour, depending on your license). That works well for most use cases, but it’s not truly “live” in the sense of streaming updates instantly.

If you’re looking for near real-time data, a couple of workarounds might help:

ODBC connectors like CData – These let you query Google Sheets via DirectQuery in Power BI Desktop or Report Server.

ETL approach – Use a tool or script to sync your Google Sheet data to a database (like Azure SQL or BigQuery), then connect Power BI to that.

As of now, there’s no official roadmap update about full live connectivity from Google Sheets.

Aditionally, You can use Excel files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online, as Power BI offers near real-time synchronization with these sources — making it a reliable alternative for frequently updated datasets.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you’d like help exploring one of the workaround options.
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[danextian · Accepted solution]

Hi @wisamessalwa 

True real-time is supported with streaming datasets. While DirectQuery to databases offers near real-time capabilities—updating data as users interact with the report—it is not true real-time. In contrast, flat files such as Excel, CSV, and spreadsheets do not support real-time updates. 

You can post that as an idea here: https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Ideas/idb-p/fbc_ideas 

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @wisamessalwa  - Google Sheets is supported via connector, but it only provides import mode. but Power BI does not support real-time (live) updates directly from Google sheets.

Fabric Ideas - Microsoft Fabric Community

you can use above link to submit it as an idea. 

Hope this helps.