How To Decide which workspace Type suites best

[han_rj]

May I have guidance know based on what criteria/check list can I decide which workspace [Pro/Premium] will work best.

And why doesnt Pro workspaces have connection Links like Premium workspace

Screenshort of premium workspace connection link

[Jai-Rathinavel]

@han_rj  Server Conenction Strings are only available in Premium / Premium per User workspaces. Please check the below chart and conclude which workspace option suit your needs.

[han_rj]

Thank You

[BhavinVyas3003 · Accepted solution]

To decide between Pro and Premium workspaces in Power BI, here’s a clear checklist to guide your choice and also explain why Pro workspaces don’t show connection links like Premium ones.

Checklist to Decide Between Pro vs Premium Workspaces

Criteria	Choose Pro Workspace	Choose Premium Workspace
User License	All users have Power BI Pro licenses	You want to support Free users (Premium capacity covers them)
Data Volume	Moderate datasets (less than 1 GB per dataset)	Large datasets (up to 400 GB in Premium Gen2)
Concurrency	Limited concurrent usage is acceptable	Need high concurrency and performance at scale
Auto ML & AI Features	Not available	Available in Premium
Paginated Reports	Not supported	Supported in Premium
Incremental Refresh	Limited	Fully supported
Deployment Pipelines	Not available	Supported in Premium
API & Dataflow Performance	Limited	Enhanced performance
Workload Isolation	Not supported	Yes (dedicated capacity allows isolation by workload)
Usage Metric / Audit Logs	Basic	Advanced usage metrics and centralized logging
Connectivity (XMLA endpoint / Direct Workspace connection)	Not available	Available (needed for tools like SSMS, ALM Toolkit, Tabular Editor)
Cost	Lower (pay per user)	Higher (capacity-based pricing)

[han_rj]

This is Perfect, Thank You very much for the details.
I have a follow up question how should I determine the Data Volume ?

[BhavinVyas3003]

Check Dataset Size:

• Go to Workspace > Datasets.
• Click "..." > Settings to see dataset size.

Use Desktop Estimation:

• In Power BI Desktop, save the file.
• Check the .pbix file size (compressed, gives rough idea).

Use DAX Studio (Advanced):

• Connect your model → Use View Metrics → See size per table/column.

General Guideline:

Dataset Size	Suggestion
< 1 GB	Pro is fine
1–10 GB	Premium (for performance)
10–400 GB	Premium Gen2 required

[han_rj]

May I know in dax studio Summary View --> total size in memory is this a good estimate?

[BhavinVyas3003]

Yes, the Total Size in Memory in DAX Studio’s Summary View is a good and reliable estimate of your model’s in-memory size. It excludes engine overhead and query memory though. For deeper analysis, check detailed table sizes.

[Jai-Rathinavel]

@han_rj  You can also see your Semantic Model size in Service by going to Semantic Model-> Settings -> Large semantic model storage format