This whitepaper debunks the idea that Power BI is free by outlining four hidden costs: bundling, curiosity, chaos, and compute. Bundling forces reliance on Azure, leading to migration and integration costs. Curiosity costs arise when advanced use demands coding in DAX or M, requiring training or developers, while Tableau’s VizQL and natural language features enable easier exploration. Chaos results from Power BI’s limited governance, risking conflicting data and mistrust. Compute costs escalate with Azure-based capacity pricing as usage scales. Tableau offers transparent licensing, flexibility, and trusted governance, making it a more cost-effective, scalable analytics solution.

Join for free to read