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Software · head to head

Holistics vs Power BI

Holistics logo

Holistics

Software

Self-service BI for data teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Power BI logo

Power BI

Software

Business analytics by Microsoft

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Holistics the entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool; Power BI free tier cannot publish or share reports; Pro tier required for collaboration
  • They diverge on capability: Holistics covers Data Modeling, Power BI covers AI-powered Insights.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Holistics and Power BI differ
AttributeHolisticsPower BI
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Desktop, Mobile
Founded20151975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Holistics

  • Data Modeling
  • Version Control
  • Scheduling
  • Caching
  • Embedding
  • BigQuery
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift

Only in Power BI

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

Both cover

  • SQL Server
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Holistics

  • Modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with Git version controlnot Power BI
  • Self-service exploration and dashboards for non-SQL usersnot Power BI
  • Embedding analytics into a customer-facing productnot Power BI

Power BI

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

Where each one falls short

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

Holistics

  • The entry plan is $960 per month billed monthly, which is a high floor for a BI tool
  • Every plan includes only the first 10 users, with additional users charged at $15 per month each on Entry and Standard and $18 on the Security Compliance Suite
  • The Entry plan caps reports at 100, and each additional 100 reports costs $120 per month
  • Google SSO requires the Standard plan at $1,200 per month; enterprise SSO with SAML and SCIM provisioning requires the Security Compliance Suite at $2,400 per month
  • Row-based access control, IP whitelisting, pass-through authentication and user activity monitoring are all Security Compliance Suite features
  • Connecting Git version control to your own repository requires Standard; Entry only gets Holistics-hosted Git
  • White labelling, dynamic row-level permissions and unlimited dashboard viewers for embedded analytics are Custom Plan only, with no published price
  • Bank payments and custom payment terms are Custom Plan only, and custom infosec or legal paperwork is Enterprise plan only
  • The two months off discount requires yearly billing

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

Holistics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 Users
    • Basic Features
    • Community Support
  • Standard$250/month
    • Unlimited Users
    • Advanced Features
    • Email 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 Holistics if

  • You need data modeling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want version control.
Holistics 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 Holistics or Power BI better?
Neither clearly leads. Holistics 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, Holistics or Power BI?
Holistics starts at Free and Power BI at Free.
Does Holistics or Power BI run on more platforms?
Holistics runs on Web, Cloud. Power BI runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use Holistics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Holistics best used for?
Holistics is most often used for modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control, self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users, embedding analytics into a customer-facing product. Of those, modelling business metrics in a code-defined semantic layer with git version control and self-service exploration and dashboards for non-sql users are not what Power BI is typically brought in for.
What can Holistics do that Power BI cannot?
Holistics covers Data Modeling, Version Control, Scheduling, Caching. Power BI covers AI-powered Insights, Natural Language Queries, Real-time Dashboards, Paginated Reports. Both handle SQL Server, Web 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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