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Software · head to head

Dundas BI vs Power BI

Dundas BI logo

Dundas BI

Software

Flexible business intelligence platform

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Power BI logo

Power BI

Software

Business analytics by Microsoft

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Power BI has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Dundas BI the published Embedded BI Package starts from about $4,738.70 USD per month billed annually for 8 core capacity; Power BI free tier cannot publish or share reports; Pro tier required for collaboration
  • They diverge on capability: Dundas BI covers White-labeling, Power BI covers AI-powered Insights.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Dundas BI and Power BI differ
AttributeDundas BIPower BI
Starting price$500/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Embedded, MobileWeb, Desktop, Mobile
Founded19921975

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Dundas BI

  • White-labeling
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Data Preparation
  • Custom Visualizations
  • API
  • Oracle
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL

Only in Power BI

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

Both cover

  • SQL Server
  • Azure
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

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

Dundas BI

  • Embedding dashboards and analytics inside another applicationnot Power BI
  • Self service business intelligence and ad hoc reportingnot Power BI
  • Building custom data visualisations against open BI APIsnot Power BI

Power BI

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

Where each one falls short

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

Dundas BI

  • The published Embedded BI Package starts from about $4,738.70 USD per month billed annually for 8 core capacity
  • That figure reflects a limited time 35 percent promotional discount rather than list price
  • Licensing is by CPU core capacity rather than by user, so cost scales with server hardware
  • Dundas is now part of insightsoftware following acquisition
  • The page states that a pricing plan is worked out together with the vendor rather than published as a rate card

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

Dundas BI

$500/month
  • Professional$500/month
    • Full Platform
    • Embedding
    • Support
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Unlimited Users
    • Multi-tenant
    • Premium Support

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 Dundas BI if

  • You need white-labeling.
  • You work on Web, Embedded, Mobile.
  • You also want embedded analytics.
Dundas BI 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 Dundas BI or Power BI better?
Neither clearly leads. Dundas BI starts at $500/month and Power BI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dundas BI or Power BI?
Power BI has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/month for Dundas BI and Free for Power BI.
Does Dundas BI or Power BI run on more platforms?
Dundas BI runs on Web, Embedded, Mobile. Power BI runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use Power BI for free?
Yes. Power BI has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dundas BI starts at $500/month.
What is Dundas BI best used for?
Dundas BI is most often used for embedding dashboards and analytics inside another application, self service business intelligence and ad hoc reporting, building custom data visualisations against open bi apis. Of those, embedding dashboards and analytics inside another application and self service business intelligence and ad hoc reporting are not what Power BI is typically brought in for.
What can Dundas BI do that Power BI cannot?
Dundas BI covers White-labeling, Embedded Analytics, Data Preparation, Custom Visualizations. Power BI covers AI-powered Insights, Natural Language Queries, Real-time Dashboards, Paginated Reports. Both handle SQL Server, Azure, Web support, Mobile support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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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