RLS issue

[Ashish1212]

I have 2 Power BI Pro licenses for report creators and about 250 users who only need view-only access to dashboards. These users are from different zones and states and do not have Power BI licenses.

I want to allow them to securely view reports with Row-Level Security (RLS) applied—so that each user can see only their own data.

What would be the simplest and most cost-effective solution to achieve this?

#RLS  #Licensing  #PowerBI

[tayloramy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212, 

For viewers to see reports without a license, you need to have at least an F64 capacity.  

To view Power BI content with a Microsoft Fabric free per user license, your capacity must reside on an F64 or larger SKU, and you need to have a viewer role on the workspace. Understand Microsoft Fabric Licenses - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Given the costs of an F64, it would actually be more cost effective to purchase 250 pro licenses. 

If you found this helpful, consider giving some Kudos. If I answered your question or solved your problem, please mark this as the solution.

[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 

Another alternative solution is to use Power BI Embedded where you can then embed the reports into your own application and then the users would be able to view the reports without using a Power BI license. Here is an example of how you could get this done.  Power BI embedded analytics overview - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

And here is a product that you could simply use: Entelexos

[Poojara_D12 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 

In your scenario, where you have two Power BI Pro users who create reports and around 250 view-only users without Power BI licenses, the simplest and most cost-effective way to share dashboards securely with Row-Level Security (RLS) is by using a Power BI Premium per capacity (or Fabric capacity F SKU) workspace. With Premium capacity, you can publish reports from your Pro accounts into a Premium workspace, and then share those reports with free users—allowing them to view and interact with content without requiring individual Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) licenses. This setup ensures that RLS still functions properly, so each user sees only their authorized data, typically managed through Azure AD or email-based mapping. Without Premium capacity, free users cannot access shared reports, as Microsoft requires a Pro or PPU license to view any shared content. Therefore, enabling a small Premium capacity (e.g., P1 or F64 SKU) offers the best balance between cost and scalability—it allows centralized, secure sharing, supports RLS, and eliminates the need to buy hundreds of individual licenses while still maintaining enterprise-grade performance and governance.

[v-tsaipranay · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 ,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Also thank you @SatishKarkare , @tayloramy , @GilbertQ  and @Poojara_D12  for your helpful response.

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided . If you still require support, please let us know, we are happy to assist you.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 ,

We haven’t received an update from you in some time. Could you please let us know if the issue has been resolved?
If you still require support, please let us know, we are happy to assist you.

Thank you.

[v-tsaipranay · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 ,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Also thank you @SatishKarkare , @tayloramy , @GilbertQ  and @Poojara_D12  for your helpful response.

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided . If you still require support, please let us know, we are happy to assist you.

Thank you.

[Poojara_D12 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 

In your scenario, where you have two Power BI Pro users who create reports and around 250 view-only users without Power BI licenses, the simplest and most cost-effective way to share dashboards securely with Row-Level Security (RLS) is by using a Power BI Premium per capacity (or Fabric capacity F SKU) workspace. With Premium capacity, you can publish reports from your Pro accounts into a Premium workspace, and then share those reports with free users—allowing them to view and interact with content without requiring individual Power BI Pro or Premium Per User (PPU) licenses. This setup ensures that RLS still functions properly, so each user sees only their authorized data, typically managed through Azure AD or email-based mapping. Without Premium capacity, free users cannot access shared reports, as Microsoft requires a Pro or PPU license to view any shared content. Therefore, enabling a small Premium capacity (e.g., P1 or F64 SKU) offers the best balance between cost and scalability—it allows centralized, secure sharing, supports RLS, and eliminates the need to buy hundreds of individual licenses while still maintaining enterprise-grade performance and governance.

[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212 

Another alternative solution is to use Power BI Embedded where you can then embed the reports into your own application and then the users would be able to view the reports without using a Power BI license. Here is an example of how you could get this done.  Power BI embedded analytics overview - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

And here is a product that you could simply use: Entelexos

[tayloramy · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ashish1212, 

For viewers to see reports without a license, you need to have at least an F64 capacity.  

To view Power BI content with a Microsoft Fabric free per user license, your capacity must reside on an F64 or larger SKU, and you need to have a viewer role on the workspace. Understand Microsoft Fabric Licenses - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Given the costs of an F64, it would actually be more cost effective to purchase 250 pro licenses. 

If you found this helpful, consider giving some Kudos. If I answered your question or solved your problem, please mark this as the solution.