specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Power BI
providerId: power-bi
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Analytics
  - Business Intelligence
  - Microsoft
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: >-
  FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Power BI: hybrid model combining per-user
  subscriptions (Free, Pro $14/user/month, Premium Per User $24/user/month)
  with hourly Azure capacity (Power BI Embedded A SKUs and Microsoft Fabric
  F SKUs that host Power BI Premium workloads). Per-user charges land on the
  Microsoft 365 / commerce invoice; capacity charges land on the Azure
  invoice and reconcile to FOCUS Pay-As-You-Go + Commitment Discount.
sources:
  - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/pricing
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/embedded/embedded-faq
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/power-bi/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Microsoft Corporation
serviceCategory: Analytics
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription + Capacity (Pay-As-You-Go + Reservation)
  billingFrequency: Monthly (per-user) and Hourly (capacity)
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Purchase
    - Usage
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
    - Credit
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Power BI
  ServiceCategory: Analytics
  ServiceSubcategory: Business Intelligence
  ProviderName: Microsoft
  PublisherName: Microsoft Corporation
  InvoiceIssuerName: Microsoft Corporation
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingUnit: seat-month or v-core-hour
  RegionId: varies (capacity is non-regional; data plane region per tenant)
meters:
  - name: pro_seats
    description: Power BI Pro per-user subscriptions.
    unit: seat-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - tenant
      - department
      - cost_center
  - name: ppu_seats
    description: Power BI Premium Per User subscriptions.
    unit: seat-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - tenant
      - department
      - cost_center
  - name: embedded_capacity_hours
    description: Hourly v-core capacity billed for Power BI Embedded (A SKUs).
    unit: capacity-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - sku
      - region
      - capacity_id
  - name: fabric_capacity_hours
    description: Hourly v-core capacity billed for Microsoft Fabric (F SKUs) hosting Power BI Premium workloads.
    unit: capacity-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - sku
      - region
      - capacity_id
      - workload
  - name: capacity_reservation
    description: Annual capacity reservation purchase that earns the 40.5% commitment discount over pay-as-you-go.
    unit: reservation-year
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - sku
      - region
  - name: dataset_storage
    description: Storage consumed by datasets, dataflows, and Lakehouse content.
    unit: GB-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - capacity_id
  - name: dataset_refreshes
    description: Scheduled and on-demand dataset refresh operations.
    unit: refresh
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - dataset
      - workspace
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Use the Microsoft Fabric Capacity Metrics app and Azure diagnostic logs to track v-core utilization on a 30-second evaluation cycle; per-user license consumption surfaces in the Microsoft 365 admin center and Cost Management exports.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate per-user costs by department/cost center via Microsoft Entra group membership; allocate capacity costs by workspace assignment - the utilization report's bar chart visual maps directly to chargeback by workspace owner.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Pause Embedded A-SKU capacity when not in use to stop hourly billing; choose annual capacity reservation for 40.5% over pay-as-you-go; right-size SKUs using the metrics-app utilization data to avoid interactive request delay.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Capacity admins receive utilization-threshold notifications (default 80%) from the Power BI admin portal; Azure Alerts can be configured on the Premium CPU metric; workspace owners are accountable for refresh and dataflow load profiles that drive background utilization.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com