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Software · head to head

Power BI vs Zoho Analytics

Power BI logo

Power BI

Software

Business analytics by Microsoft

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Analytics logo

Zoho Analytics

Software

Self-service BI and analytics platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Power BI free tier cannot publish or share reports; Pro tier required for collaboration; Zoho Analytics the free plan is limited to 2 users, 10,000 rows and 5 workspaces
  • They diverge on capability: Power BI covers AI-powered Insights, Zoho Analytics covers AI Assistant.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Power BI and Zoho Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Power BI and Zoho Analytics differ
AttributePower BIZoho Analytics
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, Mobile, Embedded
Founded19751996

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 Power BI

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

Only in Zoho Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Drag-and-drop Reports
  • Auto-blending
  • Embedded Analytics
  • White-labeling
  • Zoho CRM
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • Web support
  • Mobile support

What people use each for

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

Power BI

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

Zoho Analytics

  • Self-service dashboards and reports over business datanot Power BI
  • Blending data from Zoho apps, databases and cloud services into one workspacenot Power BI
  • Embedding white-labelled analytics inside another productnot Power BI

Where each one falls short

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

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

Zoho Analytics

  • The free plan is limited to 2 users, 10,000 rows and 5 workspaces
  • Plans are sold with a minimum user count: Basic starts at 2 users, Standard at 5, Premium at 15 and Enterprise at 50
  • Row capacity is part of the plan, starting at 0.5 million rows on Basic, and additional rows are sold as add-ons
  • Viewer licences are sold in blocks of 25 minimum rather than one at a time
  • Data alerts are capped per plan at 10, 30 and 100 active alerts across the whole account
  • REST API usage is metered in API units per day, from 4,000 per day on the lowest paid tier, with extra units sold separately
  • Logo rebranding and hiding the Powered By Zoho Analytics message on embedded reports are not available on the lower plans
  • Activity logs and cluster analysis are excluded from the lower plans
  • The white label embedded analytics offering has no published price and requires contacting Zoho
  • Local taxes such as VAT and GST are charged on top of the listed prices

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zoho Analytics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 Users
    • Basic Features
    • 10K Rows
  • Basic$24/month
    • 2 Users
    • 500K Rows
    • Email Support

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Zoho Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
  • You also want drag-and-drop reports.
Zoho Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Power BI or Zoho Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Power BI starts at Free and Zoho Analytics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Power BI or Zoho Analytics?
Power BI starts at Free and Zoho Analytics at Free.
Does Power BI or Zoho Analytics run on more platforms?
Power BI runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. Zoho Analytics runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
Can I use Power BI for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Power BI best used for?
Power BI is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what Zoho Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Power BI do that Zoho Analytics cannot?
Power BI covers AI-powered Insights, Natural Language Queries, Real-time Dashboards, Paginated Reports. Zoho Analytics covers AI Assistant, Drag-and-drop Reports, Auto-blending, Embedded Analytics. Both handle Salesforce, Google Analytics, 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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