Power BI Desktop VS Power BI Service: Which is the Best Choice?
Introduction
Data analysis is becoming an asset for any company looking to accelerate its digital transformation . In this context, Power BI stands out as a powerful solution for data analysis and visualization. But there are two main versions: Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service .
➡️ Which version to use according to your needs? This article helps you understand their features, benefits, and specific use cases.
What is Power BI Desktop?
Power BI Desktop is the go-to tool for any data analyst. This free application lets you design interactive dashboards , model data, and create custom visualizations from your desktop.
With an intuitive interface, it offers advanced features such as data transformation with Power Query or the creation of dynamic measures using DAX (Data Analysis Expressions).
👉 It’s a powerful tool for those who want to explore data in depth before sharing it with a team.
What is Power BI Service?
Power BI Service is the cloud version of Power BI, is mainly designed for sharing, collaborating and publishing reports, but it also offers some reporting features directly from the browser. Unlike Power BI Desktop, it is not a software that you install, but a platform accessible online via a web browser.
👉 The goal? Ensure real-time access to data and promote rapid decision-making, no matter where you are.
Comparison: Power BI Desktop vs Power BI Service
Connecting to data sources
With Power BI Desktop, you can connect directly to on-premises data sources like Excel files, Google Sheets, SAP, SQL databases, or APIs.
Power BI Service also offers cloud connections, allowing you to integrate remote data sources and manage dataset updates directly from the cloud service.
Data preparation
One of the main strengths of Power BI Desktop is the preparation of data before creating reports.
- Power Query lets you connect data from multiple sources (Excel, SQL, SharePoint, API, etc.), transform it (filter, merge, create calculated columns), and clean it before using it in reports.
- DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) allows you to create dynamic measures and advanced calculations, such as KPIs or time-based analyses.
Data Refresh
In Power BI Desktop, data refresh is typically manual. Users must refresh datasets locally or use a Gateway to automate the process.
In contrast, Power BI Service allows for scheduled automatic refresh, which is a major advantage for businesses that need real-time reports with constantly updated data.
Learn more in this guide " How to create a Power BI dashboard? "
Collaboration
Power BI Desktop is limited to local use, meaning that created reports must be manually shared by the analyst via an exported file.
Power BI Service enables extensive collaboration, where multiple users can access, comment and work on reports online, facilitating teamwork and collective decision-making.
Publication of reports
With Power BI Desktop, users can create reports locally, using rich data models with DAX and Power Query. Once reports are created, they need to be published to Power BI Service so the entire team can access them in real time.
This complementarity allows you to benefit from both the power of local creation and cloud collaboration features. Dashboards published on Power BI Service can be refreshed automatically, ensuring analyses are always up to date.
Accessibility
Power BI Desktop is only accessible locally on the computer where the application is installed.
Conversely, Power BI Service is accessible from anywhere via a web browser. Users can view dashboards at any time, whether from a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Integration with other services
One of the great strengths of Power BI is its flexibility of integration with many third-party tools and Microsoft services.
As mentioned before, Power BI Desktop allows users to connect to a wide variety of on-premises and cloud data sources, such as Excel, SQL Server, SharePoint, Azure, and many more.
For its part, Power BI Service goes even further by facilitating the sharing of reports via collaborative tools such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, or even direct integration into external applications and websites thanks to the embed functionality.
Cost
Power BI Desktop is free and available for download for all users.
Power BI Service requires a Power BI Pro or Power BI Premium license to access all of its advanced features, including report sharing and automatic refreshes.
Mobile access
Power BI Desktop does not offer a mobile app, limiting access to reports from a computer only.
On the other hand, Power BI Service is accessible via the Power BI mobile application, allowing users to consult dashboards on the go, for this it is enough to download the Power BI app or your own app created by power apps (a low code tool from Microsoft Power Platform )
Creating dashboards
Power BI Desktop is the ideal tool for advanced creation of interactive dashboards. It allows users to create advanced visualizations.
Power BI Service, on the other hand, also allows you to create simple reports directly from the browser, but its creation features are more limited.
Summary Table
Concrete examples of use
In this video, we see how Power BI Desktop can create a project management report with a Gantt chart. The user starts by importing data from Excel, then uses Power Query to clean and transform the data. The user then customizes the report by adding advanced visualizations, such as an interactive Gantt chart with progress indicators and timelines.
Download these free Power BI templates for project management, production monitoring (TRS) and FMEA risk analysis
The following video then shows how the report created in Power BI Desktop is published to Power BI Service . Once the dashboard is available online, users can access it from any device and easily share it with their team. We also see that Power BI Service allows reports to be embedded in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, making it easy to collaborate in real time.
Conclusion: Which tool to choose?
➡️ Power BI Desktop is perfect for on-premises reporting and data analysis. It’s ideal for analysts who prefer to work offline and have full control over data modeling.
➡️ Power BI Service is a key solution for sharing and collaboration. It is essential for companies looking to automate reports and make dashboards accessible in real time to their teams.
With the introduction of Microsoft Fabric, Power BI becomes an even more competitive solution for managing large volumes of data. Fabric allows you to centralize data sources, automate processing via pipelines, and integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to enrich reports.
Powered by Fabric's Synapse Real-Time Analytics, Power BI Service provides users with access to constantly updated dashboards, enabling fast and effective decision making.
