Why do users need power Bi Pro licenses to see reports ?

[Starekss]

Like in the subject. I purchased myself Power BI pro license as I was told I need it to publish reports on Sharepoint.

All other users have free Power Bi Licenses. When they are trying to see my report, it tells them they have to open it in Power BI.

After they click on it, it takes them further and applies 60 days Trial License. Only to see the report ? 

I understand I need Pro Licenses to create and share my report. But License just to view it ?

Purchasing it for 500 users just so that they can see my report, for 10 pounds a month ? 

That is ridiculous.

[betterreportsDK]

Is it correct that users with af free trial Power BI Pro does not have to shared content either?

[Merlyn]

Hi,

I am having the exact same issue. My coworkers with a free license cannot access my reports. (I have a Pro license). They do not even see the 'Start a Free Trial' option anymore.

[samwillam]

Power BI Pro licenses are required for users to access and view reports in Power BI  for several reasons:

1. Collaboration and sharing: Power BI Pro licenses enable users to collaborate and share reports with others within the organization. Without a Pro license, users can only consume content that has been shared with them but cannot create, publish, or share their own reports.

2. Content creation and publishing: Power BI Pro licenses allow users to create and publish their own reports, dashboards, and datasets. This includes the ability to connect to various data sources, transform and model data, and design visualizations for meaningful insights.

3. Advanced sharing and collaboration features: Power BI Pro licenses provide additional features for collaboration, such as the ability to create and participate in shared workspaces, share reports with specific individuals or groups, and control access permissions for different users.

4. Scheduled data refresh: Power BI Pro licenses enable users to schedule automatic data refresh for their reports and dashboards. This ensures that the data displayed is always up-to-date and reflects the latest information from connected data sources.

5. Mobile access and alerts: Power BI Pro licenses allow users to access reports and dashboards on mobile devices using the Power BI mobile app. Additionally, Pro users can set up data-driven alerts and notifications to stay informed about critical changes or trends in the data.

In summary, Power BI Pro licenses  provide users with the necessary capabilities for report creation, sharing, collaboration, data refresh, mobile access, and advanced features. These licenses are essential for organizations that require extensive reporting and analytics capabilities across their teams and departments.

Read more on: https://www.dynamicssquare.com.au/blog/guide-power-bi-free-pro-premium/

[Sermsuk]

I'm confused, are you not contradicting yourself?

Here you say you need Pro to view reports.

'Power BI Pro licenses are required for users to access and view reports in Power BI'

Here you're saying you can consume content, another way of saying can view content that has been shared without a pro license???

'Without a Pro license, users can only consume content that has been shared'

[v-zhangti · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Starekss 

With sharing, whether you share content inside or outside your organization, you need a Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) license.

Your recipients also need Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) licenses, unless the content is in a Premium capacity.

You can refer to the following methods to share your reports and dashboards：

1. First, you can put the contents of the workspace into premium capacity：

Purchase Power Bl Premium: https://docs.microsoft.com/power-bi/admin/service-admin-premium-purchase

Assign a workspace to a capacity:    https://docs.microsoft.com/power-bi/admin/service-admin-premium-manage#assign-a-workspace-to-a-capac...

2. If you want to share it with users outside the organization, you can try this method：

https://docs.microsoft.com/power-bi/admin/service-admin-azure-ad-b2b

The guest user must have the proper licensing in place to view the content that you shared.

There are a few ways to make sure the user has a proper license: use Power BI Premium, assign a Power BI Pro license, get a Premium Per User (PPU) license, or use the guest's Power BI Pro license.

3. If you don't want to buy Premium and Pro licenses, you can try publishing to the web.

However,when you use Publish to web, anyone on the Internet can view your published report or visual. This method is not safe.

Publish to Web: Publish to web from Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Docs

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Charlotte

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[Greg_Deckler]

@Starekss Yes, if you use Pro then everyone that wants to see it needs Pro unless you use Publish to Web. At your level, the more inexpensive option would be Premium. Technically, you are right on that dividing line. Power BI is one of the less expensive commercial options out there. Power BI Licensing in Pictures - Updated! - Microsoft Power BI Community

[dbrazelton]

Ok, I want to confirm that I understand the answer correctly.  Currently I have a Pro license and those in my organazation with a free license are not able to see my reports.  If I have a Premium license then my coworkers with the free version will be able to see my reports.  Correct???

[dbrazelton]

I am reading a comparison of Free, Pro, versus Premium.  It says that a Pro user can share a report with a free user.  The limit is that the free user can only view the report.  That is actually all that I need.  But, why can my coworkers with the free version not see my Pro version report.  UGH

Power BI Free Vs. Pro vs. Premium Version: Comparison

Power BI Free Version	Power BI Pro	Power BI Premium
Free to use	Requires a Power BI pro license	Requires a Power BI Premium license
The content a user produces is accessible	Share and publish material to several other workspaces, subscribe to reports and share them with the users that hold a pro license.	Share and publish material to several other workspaces, subscribe to reports and share them with the users that hold a premium license.
You can see and consume the information shared by the users with a pro or Premium license	You can provide information and reports to the users with either a free or a premium license	You can share your reports and other material with users holding both free and paid licenses.
10 GB storage space available	100 TB storage space available	100 TB storage space available

[dbrazelton]

I have tried many times.  None of the "free users" in my company can open a report that I make in my Pro version.  I ONLY need for them to view the report - but they can not even see it.

Microsoft says, "Without a Pro license, users can only consume content that has been shared."  I understood this to mean that they could read my reports, just not edit or share.  But, apparently that is not the case.  Noone with a free license can read my Pro license report.

But, what I still want to understand is:  If I purchase a PREMIUM license, then can a free license finally read my report.  .....  Ugh, just typing that gives me a headache.

[Gerardo83]

<But, what I still want to understand is:  If I purchase a PREMIUM license, then can a free license finally read my report.>

Yes, in a premium capacity all free users can access your reports.

[yves34690]

Bonjour,

Avez vous eu une réponse à votre question, je me pose la même questions ?