Leave Microsoft's Power BI Behind
Power BI's licensing costs, DAX learning curve, and Microsoft ecosystem lock-in add friction as your data needs grow. Preset runs in any browser, costs $20 a user, and doesn't tie you to any vendor.
Why Data Teams Are Choosing Preset
Predictable pricing, no capacity surprises
Microsoft Power BI separates licensing across Power BI Pro and Premium capacity tiers, making costs hard to predict as usage scales. Preset offers a free tier for smaller teams and a single Professional plan at $20/user/month: no capacity fees, no volume limits, and no procurement complexity from tiered seat types.
Fully browser-based data analysis
Power BI requires a Windows installation for dashboard authoring. Preset runs entirely in the browser on any operating system, so data analysts can build, edit, and publish dashboards without managing local software. Collaboration is immediate, and data teams on Linux, Mac, or Windows all work from the same interface.
Native connections to your data warehouse
Preset connects directly to Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, and more than forty others. Power BI often requires an on-premises gateway for data sources outside the Microsoft stack. Preset uses SSH tunneling instead—no gateway, no extra infrastructure.
Open-source core, no lock-in
Preset is built on [Apache Superset](/apache-superset/), the most widely adopted open-source business intelligence project. Your dashboards, datasets, and data models remain portable. If your strategy changes, your work is not stranded inside a proprietary platform.
SQL-first, code-friendly analytics
SQL Lab gives engineers and analysts a first-class environment for exploration, virtual datasets, and Jinja-templated dynamic queries. Power Query offers some transformation capability inside Power BI, but does not give teams the same level of SQL control or the ability to version and deploy those assets through code-based workflows.
Full theming and style customization
Power BI offers limited theming through report templates. Preset supports full CSS control, letting teams apply a custom style and a consistent analytics experience across their entire workspace. For details on embedding dashboards in your product, see [Embedded Dashboards](/embedded-dashboards/).
AI on one license, not two
Preset Chatbot is included with Preset Enterprise — one SKU, one line item. Power BI's Copilot is a genuinely separate licensing track *on top of* Power BI Pro: either Power BI Premium Per User ([$20/user/mo](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/pricing)) or Microsoft Fabric capacity (F64+, starting around $5,800/month). Two licenses, two budget lines.
Bring your own AI client (Preset MCP)
[Preset MCP](/ai/mcp/) exposes the same analytics platform to any MCP-compatible AI client — Claude, Cursor, Gemini CLI — with your existing RBAC, row-level security, and audit logging. Microsoft is building Copilot for the Microsoft ecosystem; Preset is bringing-your-own-AI.
Bring your own model (BYOK)
Preset Enterprise customers can plug in their own OpenRouter API key to route Preset Chatbot through the model provider of their choice. Power BI Copilot doesn't currently offer a customer-supplied model option.
Preset vs Power BI at a Glance
Pricing model
Power BI Pro costs $10/user/month for basic cloud access, and Premium capacity starts at $4,995/month for dedicated resources. Preset offers a free tier for up to five users and a single Professional plan at $20/user/month—no capacity fees and no self-serve analytics penalty for growing teams. Full details are on our pricing page.
Deployment and connectivity
Power BI Desktop is a Windows-only authoring tool, and Power BI Service is Microsoft's cloud platform. Preset is entirely browser-based, cloud-agnostic, and connects natively to data sources across AWS, GCP, and Azure without a gateway.
Vendor independence
Power BI ties your analytics stack to the Microsoft ecosystem and Azure-first features. Preset runs on an open-source foundation where you can export your work and data at any time and move it elsewhere. For a broader view, see Preset vs. the Competition.
Built for teams across industries
A few representative stories of teams running their analytics on Preset.
How Preset Deploys
Most data teams start on Preset Cloud, which is fully managed, multi-tenant, and available in minutes. Regulated or security-sensitive teams run on Preset Managed Private Cloud, which gives you an isolated environment in your own cloud account, or move to Preset On-Prem when a fully self-hosted footprint is required. All three paths run the same certified Apache Superset build, so you can change deployment models without rebuilding your dashboards.
Preset Cloud
Fully managed, multi-tenant, and available in minutes. The fastest path to production analytics.
Managed Private Cloud
An isolated environment in your own cloud account. Ideal for regulated or security-sensitive teams.
Preset On-Prem
A fully self-hosted footprint for teams that require complete infrastructure control.
Preset vs Power BI Feature Comparison
| Feature | Preset | Power BI |
|---|---|---|
| 100% browser-based (no desktop app) | ✓ | ✗Requires Desktop app |
| Open source foundation | ✓Apache Superset | ✗ |
| Standard SQL (no DAX required) | ✓ | ✗DAX learning curve |
| 40+ native database connections | ✓ | ✓Gateway often required |
| No on-premises gateway needed | ✓SSH tunneling | ✗ |
| Cloud agnostic (AWS, GCP, Azure) | ✓ | ✗Azure-optimized |
| No dataset size limits | ✓Query warehouse directly | ✗1GB Pro / 400GB Premium |
| Real-time OLAP database support | ✓Druid, ClickHouse, Pinot | ✗Limited streaming |
| Jinja templating for dynamic SQL | ✓ | ✗ |
| Full CSS and Theming customization | ✓ | ✗Limited theming |
| REST API & CLI access | ✓ | Partial |
| Scheduled alerts to Slack/email | ✓SQL query-based | ✓ |
| Separate workspaces/environments | ✓Isolated instances | ✓ |
| Semantic layer support | ✓dbt, Cube, OSI | ✓ |
| Private cloud in your account (fully managed) | ✓MPC/PCS | ✗Self-managed on-prem only |
| AI on one license (no second AI-specific SKU) | ✓Chatbot in Enterprise | ✗PPU or Fabric required on top of Pro |
| MCP server for AI clients | ✓Preset MCP | ✗ |
| Bring-your-own-key (BYOK) AI | ✓Enterprise — OpenRouter | ✗ |
| Public roadmap you can influence | ✓GitHub | ✗ |
Enterprise-grade security, out of the box
Preset is SOC 2 Type II certified and supports SSO/SAML, SCIM, role-based access control, row-level security, and audit logging. Your data stays protected across all deployment models. For details on controls, certifications, and data handling, see our trust and security page.
- SOC 2 Type II
- SSO / SAML
- SCIM
- RBAC
- Row-level Security
- Audit Logging
- Private Cloud
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Preset customers run data analysis against billions of rows in enterprise data warehouses like Snowflake, BigQuery, and Databricks. Performance at scale is driven by the warehouse, with Preset's caching layer optimizing repeated queries.
Preset is SOC 2 Type II certified with SSO/SAML, SCIM, role-based access control, row-level security, audit logging, and private-cloud deployment for teams with stricter security isolation requirements.
Yes. Preset offers a drag-and-drop chart builder with curated datasets so business users can explore data without writing SQL. Power users also get SQL Lab, virtual datasets, and Jinja templating for dynamic queries.
Power BI Copilot is a genuinely separate licensing track on top of Power BI Pro: you need either Power BI Premium Per User ($20/user/mo on top of Pro) or Microsoft Fabric capacity (F64 minimum, starting around $5,800/month). Two SKUs, two budget lines. Preset Chatbot is included with Preset Enterprise — one SKU. Enterprise is a premium tier, but it bundles AI alongside the rest of the enterprise feature set (governance, dbt, MPC, SSO/SAML, dedicated support) rather than charging for AI as its own line. Preset MCP also exposes Preset's data to any MCP-compatible AI client (Claude, Cursor, Gemini CLI), with BYOK available on Enterprise.
Dashboards are rebuilt rather than directly converted. Most data teams prioritize their highest-usage workloads first and run both tools side by side during the transition. Our team provides migration guidance and reference patterns. For a broader look at migrating between BI platforms, see our post on assessing BI migration reasons and risks.
Preset sits on top of your data warehouse with native connectivity to Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Redshift, and more, and integrates with dbt for semantic models. For embedded analytics use cases, see Embedded Dashboards and our API.
Our blog covers the key business intelligence and analytics differences between these tools in depth, including when each tool is the better fit.
Get in Touch
See why data teams are choosing open-source business intelligence over Microsoft Power BI. Start on the free tier and upgrade when you're ready, or talk to our team for a scoped evaluation against your current analytics footprint.
Power BI is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Apache Superset is a trademark of The Apache Software Foundation. Preset is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or The Apache Software Foundation. Feature comparisons are based on publicly available information and may not reflect the most recent product updates.