Forum Discussion
Helper IVHow To Decide which workspace Type suites best
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)
Super UserTo 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_rjThis 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?