Migration from Power BI Pro to Power BI Report Server (On-Premises): Licensing & Cost Differences

A few points that may help:

• Power BI Report Server is licensed through SQL Server Enterprise with Software Assurance (or via specific Power BI Premium/Fabric entitlements, depending on your licensing agreement). It's no longer a simple per-user licensing model.
• Read-only users accessing reports through Report Server generally do not require Power BI Pro licenses. The server licensing covers report consumption.
• Developers typically use Power BI Desktop for Report Server to author reports. They don't need Pro just to publish to Report Server, although they may still need Pro if they also work with the Power BI Service.
• Keep in mind that Power BI Report Server uses a separate Desktop version, so not all features available in the Power BI Service or the latest Desktop releases are supported. Depending on your reports, some features may need to be redesigned before migration.

One question though: why are you considering Report Server instead of an on-premises embedded solution? If your primary requirement is keeping all data on-premises, there are alternatives that let users access reports through a web portal while the data and Power BI environment remain on-premises. That may preserve more of the modern Power BI experience than Report Server alone.

I'm curious what your main driver is, is it purely regulatory compliance (KVKK/GDPR), or are there other technical or organizational requirements as well?

Hi nucan 

You’re making the right move for KVKK/GDPR compliance. Migrating from Power BI Pro to Power BI Report Server is common for on-prem requirements.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Licensing Requirements & Procurement
To run PBI RS On-Prem you need:
`SQL Server Enterprise Edition + Software Assurance`
SA is mandatory because `Power BI Report Server` is included as a benefit of SQL Server Enterprise with SA.
You buy it per 2 cores. Min 4 cores per server.

No separate "PBI RS license" purchase. It comes with SQL Ent + SA.

2. User Licensing After Migration
This is the biggest cost saver:
- Read-only End Users : NO Power BI Pro license needed. Anyone on your domain/network can view reports on PBI RS web portal for free.
- Developers/Authors : YES, they still need `Power BI Pro` license to publish from Power BI Desktop for Report Server to the PBI RS.
So: 5 Devs = 5 Pro licenses. 500 Viewers = 0 Pro licenses.

3. Cost Dynamics - Break Even Point
Pro = $10/user/month = $120/user/year
PBI RS = SQL Ent Core + SA. Approx $7,000 per 2 cores/year with SA. 4 core min = ~$14k/year

Rule of thumb: If you have >120-150 users, PBI RS becomes cheaper.
With 500 users: Pro = $60k/year vs PBI RS = ~$14k/year + server hardware.

# 4. Technical Migration Constraints. 
Main things to watch:
1. Power BI Desktop : Must use `Power BI Desktop for Report Server` version, not regular Desktop.
2. Cloud Missing: No AI visuals, No Q&A, No Dataflows, No Real-time streaming, No Sharing to "My Workspace". Only Paginated + PBIX reports.
3. Refresh : Scheduled refresh works, but needs On-prem Data Gateway only if data source is outside PBI RS server. Gateway is free.
4. Migration : Just download .pbix from Service and Upload to PBI RS. Most reports work, but test visuals/features first.

TLDR: You trade per-user cost for per-server cost. Great for 100+ users and strict data residency.

I’d also recommend talking to a Microsoft Licensing Specialist or your MS Partner to get exact quote for SQL Ent + SA in your region.

Hope this helps!

Hi nucan 

Following up to confirm if the earlier responses addressed your query. If not, please share your questions and we’ll assist further.