best Microsoft monthly plans for personal use

[MikeSolvesBI]

Hello,

I just got Power BI Certified and I would like to continue to use my personal Microsoft Office account which is onmicrosoft.com.  I found having access to the Power BI Service for my use very helpful.

What can I purchase that will  allow me to use the following:

1. Power BI Pro.  I want to use the service

2. Sharepoint 

3. Power Platform

4. Azure Virtual Machines

My next goal is to get Power Platform Certified.

This will only be for my learning and not for production use but I want an environment that I can test with.

Thank You,

Michael

[Greg_Deckler]

@MikeSolvesBI You can use the Power BI Service with a Free account, you just can't share anything. There are some features that you won't have access to, like Scorecards for example but depends on whether you need those features. 

Azure Virtual Machines are billed differently, those are consumption based so you just have to create one, enter a credit card and you are good. You might consider a Visual Studio Professional License. The cost is $45/month but you get up to $50/month in Azure credits that you could use to run virtual machines in Azure. 

An Office 365 E1 gives you web-based version of Office as well as PowerApps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, SharePoint Online Plan 1, Teams, Outlook (web), etc. Office 365 E1 | Microsoft. At $10/month, very economical way to go. 

So Power BI Pro ($9.99/month and an Office E1 ($10/month) is basically $20/month. This is going to be less expensive than any other license bundle that includes Power BI Pro (Office 365 E5 at $38/month). Even if you step up to an Office 365 E3 at $23/month plus your Power BI Pro at $10/month that is still cheaper than an E5. 

[MikeSolvesBI]

Hello,

Thank You.

With Office 365 E1 is there any limit on the number of Powerapps I can create?

Also if I purchase Office 365 E1 then I can use Word, Excel and drop my personal Office 365 Home that I have?

Thanks,

Michael

[Greg_Deckler · Accepted solution]

@MikeSolvesBI There are limitations, you'll have to read the footnotes closely: Compare Office 365 Enterprise | Microsoft. For example Power Apps is limited to 2,000 steps apparently. 

Also, the E1 provides web-based Office apps, not desktop Office apps. So if you want the desktop versions you would want to keep your Home license or step up to the E3.