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Business Intelligence · head to head

Databox vs Power BI

Databox logo

Databox

Business Intelligence

KPI dashboards for business performance

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Power BI logo

Power BI

Business Intelligence

Business analytics by Microsoft

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Databox data sources are the billing unit, and the $159 Pro plan still includes only 3 before charging $5.60 for each additional one; Power BI free tier cannot publish or share reports; Pro tier required for collaboration
  • They diverge on capability: Databox covers Pre-built Dashboards, Power BI covers AI-powered Insights.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Databox and Power BI actually diverge.

Attributes where Databox and Power BI differ
AttributeDataboxPower BI
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, TvWeb, Desktop, Mobile
Founded20111975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Business Intelligence).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Databox

  • Pre-built Dashboards
  • Goal Tracking
  • Alerts
  • Scorecards
  • Mobile App
  • HubSpot
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Only in Power BI

  • AI-powered Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Real-time Dashboards
  • Paginated Reports
  • Mobile Apps
  • Excel
  • Azure
  • Dynamics 365

Both cover

  • Google Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Databox

  • Building business dashboards from multiple SaaS data sourcesnot Power BI
  • Tracking KPIs and metrics across marketing, sales and finance toolsnot Power BI

Power BI

  • Self-service analyticsnot Databox
  • Data explorationnot Databox
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Databox
  • Collaborative analysisnot Databox
  • Embedded analyticsnot Databox

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Databox

  • Data sources are the billing unit, and the $159 Pro plan still includes only 3 before charging $5.60 for each additional one
  • The $64 Analyst plan is capped at 5 data sources and a single user
  • The free plan allows 3 data sources, 10 custom metrics and one user
  • AI credits are metered monthly, from 50 on free to 4,000 on Growth
  • Every published price assumes annual billing, with monthly costing 20% more

Power BI

  • Free tier cannot publish or share reports; Pro tier required for collaboration
  • Free tier cannot schedule automatic data refreshes
  • Offline capabilities limited to local Power BI Desktop; cloud service always requires internet
  • Data refresh capped at 8 times per day on Pro tier without Premium Per User

Pricing, plan by plan

Databox

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 data sources
    • 1 user
    • 1 dashboard/report
  • Analyst$64/month
    • 5 data sources
    • 1 user
    • Unlimited dashboards and reports
  • Pro$159/month
    • 3 included data sources (additional at $5.60/month)
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited dashboards, reports, custom metrics
  • Growth$399/month
    • 3 included data sources (additional at $5.60/month)
    • Unlimited users
    • All Pro features plus full datasets and forecasting

Power BI

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Local report creation in Power BI Desktop
    • Cannot publish or share
    • No scheduled refreshes
  • Power BI Pro$14/user/month
    • Publish and share reports
    • Up to 8 scheduled refreshes/day
    • Collaborate with other Pro users
  • Premium Per User$24/user/month
    • All Pro features
    • Up to 48 scheduled refreshes/day
    • Copilot integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Databox if

  • You need pre-built dashboards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Tv.
  • You also want goal tracking.
Databox review

Choose Power BI if

  • You need ai-powered insights.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want natural language queries.
Power BI review

Questions people ask

Is Databox or Power BI better?
Neither clearly leads. Databox starts at Free and Power BI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Databox or Power BI?
Databox starts at Free and Power BI at Free.
Does Databox or Power BI run on more platforms?
Databox runs on Web, Mobile, Tv. Power BI runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use Databox for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Databox best used for?
Databox is most often used for building business dashboards from multiple saas data sources, tracking kpis and metrics across marketing, sales and finance tools. Of those, building business dashboards from multiple saas data sources and tracking kpis and metrics across marketing, sales and finance tools are not what Power BI is typically brought in for.
What can Databox do that Power BI cannot?
Databox covers Pre-built Dashboards, Goal Tracking, Alerts, Scorecards. Power BI covers AI-powered Insights, Natural Language Queries, Real-time Dashboards, Paginated Reports. Both handle Google Analytics, Salesforce, Web support, Mobile support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Databox: How much does Databox cost?

Databox is free for basic use with 3 data sources and 50 AI credits. Paid plans start at $64/month for the Analyst tier, $159/month for Pro, and $399/month for Growth (most popular). Prices shown are for annual billing; monthly billing costs more. Custom enterprise pricing is available.

Source
Power BI: Can I use Power BI Desktop offline?

Power BI Desktop runs locally and can edit reports offline, but publishing to the service and refreshing cloud data sources requires internet connection. Offline reports show cached data from the last refresh.

Source
Databox: What is the difference between Databox plans?

Free plan limits users to 1 with 3 data sources. Analyst tier allows 1 user with 5 data sources and API access. Pro tier adds unlimited users and hourly syncing. Growth tier (most popular) provides 15-minute sync, full forecasting, and a dedicated customer success manager.

Source
Power BI: What are the data refresh limits for each tier?

Power BI Premium Per User allows up to 48 scheduled refreshes per day, while Pro tier is limited to 8 scheduled refreshes per day. Free tier cannot schedule automatic refreshes.

Source
Databox: How many users can I add to Databox plans?

Free and Analyst tiers are limited to 1 user. Pro, Growth, and Custom tiers offer unlimited users with no per-seat fees.

Source
Power BI: Can I use Power BI Free with shared data sources?

Free tier users can create local reports in Power BI Desktop but cannot publish to the Power BI Service for collaboration. Publishing requires Power BI Pro ($14/user/month).

Source
Power BI: Is SSO available and on which plan?

SSO is available on Power BI Premium Per User ($24/user/month) and Fabric capacity plans through Azure AD integration.

Source
Power BI: What does Copilot require in Power BI?

Copilot for natural language queries and automatic report generation requires Power BI Premium Per User or Fabric capacity pricing, not available on Pro or Free tiers.

Source
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